Roles that Suffered After 3 or More Recasts

[Planet Soap]

Name a role that was negativity impacted after being recasted 3 or more times.

Basically the opposite to my other thread 

Billy Y&R. I see why they went back to OG actor David Tom after Billy Miller left the role. He should have been given more of a chance. Burgess Jenkins and Jason Thompson did not fit.

Edited March 27, 2023 by ironlion

[Faulkner]

David Tom was set up to fail, of course, by an unprofessional actress who tanked all her scenes with him and an EP/network who didn’t step in.

My choice would be Joey on OLTL. He was such a bright, vital (if a touch naive) character with Chris McKenna and Nathan Fillion but became a watery forgettable (and just plain dumb) character with Don Jeffcoat in the role.  No shade to DJ, who did his best, but the writing just wasn’t there for him. Joey was off the canvas for a few years, then, in a supreme act of casting WTFery, blond Bruce Michael Hall was hired to play Joey as a priest for like ten seconds, and it was clear that no one really had a grasp on the character anymore. Tom Degnan restored a lot of the heart and magnetism (and even some of the humor) to Joey in the show’s final years, but the character was off canvas for most of the 2000s.

OLTL had probably 10 dozen Kevins, but somehow Dan Gauthier righted the ship before he too was written off.

[Liberty City]

• Vivian Alamain
• Nikolas Cassadine
• Scott Chandler
• Jack Deveraux
• Rick Forrester
• Thomas Forrester
• Thorne Forrester
• Casey Hughes
• Beth Logan
• Tina Lord
• Jake Martin
• Adam Newman
• Lily Snyder
• Justus Ward

 

This is why William J. Bell believed no role should be recast three or more times. The problem with David Tom's return is he visually still looked young, while Billy Miller did not look young. Both Burgess Jenkins & Jason Thompson work in the role... but the stories they've been given do not do their talents justice.

Edited March 27, 2023 by Liberty City

[Soaplovers]

Victoria on Y & R.. Heather Tom was great, Amelia is passable though non descript.. and Sarah A was the Charity Rhamer (Days Belle) of this show.

Looking at past soaps...

Tara on AMC had 4 recasts that diluted the character to the point where she was written out in the early 80s after the final recast failed to take off (The original Tara was memorable to veteran viewers.. and the 3rd Tara was well regarded).

 

 

[lucaslesann23]

Jason Thompson said recently that the show wasn't even looking to cast Billy's. JFP just heard he was leaving GH and called immediately.

[Spoon]

Chris Hughes (bob & kim's son).  They finally got him right with Daniel Cosgrove but by then the show was on borrowed time.

[Liberty City]

Dylan Bruce was good in the role, but the story he came in with wasn't right.

[Darn]

Mac on Y&R, a legacy character who should still be on the canvas, was destroyed by one bad recast (Kelly Kruger, who we are now stuck with as the character because she was cast close enough to the golden years that the audience is like "Sure, why not?") then another in Rachel Kimsey and finally a truly terrible turn with Clementine Ford. Since then she's been saddled with TWO children with JT, a character they destroyed for a stupid story, and will probably never return to the show.

[Soapsuds]

Yeah I preferred Dylan over Cosgrove. Bruce was Chris Hughes.

[Jeff]

Chance, Y&R comes to mind.  How many actors have portrayed him??...Be done.

I would say Adam, Y&R, however I think Y&R has been lucky in the casting department on this one.  All actors have brought a different element to this complex character.  Mark Grossman is holding his own.

Edited March 27, 2023 by Jeff

[DRW50]

Pat on Ryan's Hope. Robert Finnocolli was atrocious.

 

[Planet Soap]

Yes to the person who said Kevin & Joey on OLTL. There were countless recasts. The Kevin who was a senator and going to marry Kelly is the one that I enjoyed the most. Nathan Fillon and the Joey during the Sloan affair were the best!

[Jeff]

Dan Gauthier?  He was my favorite Kevin.

[kalbir]

From Chance's 2009 return, there was John Driscoll, Donny Boaz, Connor Floyd. If you count Justin Gaston, even though he was a fill-in, then four.

Noah from his 2008 SORAS owns this thread for me.

Maybe also Kyle from his 2012 SORAS.

[Planet Soap]

YES! He was the best. Especially because OLTL had humor infused to the writing back then.