Article: Soap Opera Actors & Actresses Who Simply Cannot Be Recast

[Liberty City]

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via Fame10

1. Katherine Kelly Lang as Brooke Logan
2. Melody Thomas Scott as Nikki Newman
3. Deidre Hall as Marlena Evans
4. Jacqueline MacInnes Wood as Steffy Forrester
5. Jess Walton as Jill Foster Abbott
6. Leslie Charleson as Monica Quartermaine
7. Alison Sweeney as Sami Brady
8. Kimberlin Brown as Sheila Carter
9. Sharon Case as Sharon Collins
10. Laura Wright as Carly Corinthos
11. Beth Maitland as Traci Abbott
12. Christel Khalil as Lily Winters

via Fame10

1. Eric Braeden as Victor Newman
2. Maurice Benard as Sonny Corinthos
3. Peter Bergman as Jack Abbott
4. Steve Burton as Jason Morgan
5. Don Diamont as Bill Spencer
6. Drake Hogestyn as John Black
7. Joshua Morrow as Nicholas Newman
8. Kin Shriner as Scott Baldwin
9. John Aniston as Victor Kiriakis
10. Bryton James as Devon Hamilton
11. Jon Lindstrom as Kevin Collins / Ryan Chamberlain
12. John McCook as Eric Forrester

[~bl~]

This made me laugh since some people listed were recasts and their predecessor is still remembered fondly.

[Paul Raven]

Really these lists should have been titled

'Actors who have played the role for a long time'

I could definitely see another actor playing Devon.

[AMCOLTLLover]

I disagree with Drake/John… Anyone could play John tbh

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Carly Corinthos is a hot topic. LW made it her own coz she stayed the longest and did great with that character. But the other two were magnificent too

[John]

They forgot Genie Francis

Ha Ha they think Lily cant be successfully recast. Y&R did it but brought CK back for some dumb ass reason

[SteelCity]

Is that why I'm still longing for Davetta Sherwood?

[AbcNbc247]

Yeah... it does kind of seem like the author of the lists is playing favorites

[SteelCity]

It definitely does. Lists like this are stupid.

[Videnbas]

There is a difference between being non-recastable because an actor has been playing the character for so long there would be no point in recasting because the character might as well be killed off when the actor retires, and being non-recastable because the actor and character is truly one of a kind. Like Darlene Conley's Sally Spectra or Susan Flannery's Stephanie Forrester - THAT'S non-recastable. 

[te.]

I don't think any character is unrecastable since it's such a soap staple - I mean, who thought they'd ever re-cast Ridge? But they did. It's funny that their #1 female is Brooke / KKL since she's probably one of the big soap staples/characters that I could see fairly successfully being recast (nothing against KKL or that I want Brooke to be recast, but I could just see it).

 

With that said, there are some characters that just shouldn't be recast - I guess most veterans fall into this category, especially those that are past carrying a storyline since there would be little point.

Edited September 5, 2022 by te.

[Contessa Donatella]

We just did a whole set of questions about what role could not be recast, best recast, worst recast, what role did the show have to have, and what character ate their show, ... elsewhere. Could not be recast was the least popular question with only 3 people answering it. One said only one - Stefano. One said the whole core of Y&R - Victor, Nikki, Jack, Traci, Sharon & Nick! One mixed it up more - Luke, Carl Hutchins, Rachel, Felicia, Marlena & Patch. The answers the most people were insistent about were on SB. Apparently only Robin Wright can be Kelly & Lane Davies has to be Mason. No negotiations!

[Planet Soap]

did a thread about this a while back. 

certain characters I think are unrecastable: Victor Y&R, Stephnie B&B, Stefano DAYS, Erica AMC, Viki (after Erika Slezac) OLTL, Sally Spectra B&B, Jason Morgan B&B, Todd Manning OLTL. 

The actors who played the characters I've listed, owned their role to a point where it'd be hard to except anyone else playing such character.

Steve Burton is the only person that can effectively play Jason. His recast did not go well. Likewise, despite Trevor St. John's great run, Roger Howorth is the only person who can put Todd's comedy, violence, and animated mannerisms on full display. 

[mikelyons]

Davetta Sherwood was a breath of fresh air as Lily. She firmly stood toe-to-toe with Victoria Rowell and Kristoff St. John while reminding us that Lily is Drucilla's daughter. 

[SFK]

What a joke. How old is the person who crafted this "list"?

I tend to look at this subject through a theatre lens. So many great roles have been played by a number of actors, all bringing something different to each part. Sure, we have our favorites, and some are the overwhelming favorites, but there's room for interpretation.

I adore Susan Lucci and it's easy to say that Erica could NEVER be played by another actress, and quite frankly, that's easy to say because that never happened. Look at the sister role of Rachel and how two strong actresses did marvelously in the part.

[Videnbas]

I agree - in theatre, "recasts" happen all the time.

In movies and TV I think it's more difficult because the medium has a lower "suspension of disbelief" threshold (greater demands on realism) and also more focus on closeups. Nevertheless, recasts on soaps can be successful, especially IMO "leading man/leading lady" types (where the character is needed more than the actor). "Character actors" are harder to replace because they usually bring more of their personal quirks to the role and build the role around those (case in point, Sally Spectra). And another category of characters that usually could not be recast are, paradoxically, very minor supporting characters (temporary characters unrelated to the main families, doctors, police officers, sidekicks), because they are not important enough to warrant the break of believability that a recast entails - it's easier to replace them with another character altogether filling the same plot function.