ALL: Recasts who seemed like a different character.

[AMCOLTLLover]

He portrayed the more misunderstood version of it who constantly is making the wrong choices and screws up anyhow lol

[Liberty City]

For me, there was more contrast between Byrne & Noelle Beck than there was with Bryne & Rattray (who, in clips I've seen, really worked well as Lily as written).

Other examples:

Another World:

• Jacqueline Courtney vs. Susan Harney vs. Wesley Ann Pfenning vs. Vana Tribbey vs. Linda Borgeson (Alice Matthews Frame) ⏤ a classic case of continued recasting gone wrong. Both Courtney and Harney's take on the role of Alice Matthews Frame complimented each other from my viewpoint, but both were also very different. Pfenning did a decent job following her predecessors, but it was not until the castings of Tribbey and Borgeson really just showed how poorly things has fallen apart; by Courtney's return, the role of Alice Matthews Frame was a shell of itself, as fortunate as it was.
• Beverlee McKinsey vs. Carmen Duncan (Iris Wheeler) ⏤ probably one of the most glaring examples of a change of character, but was it for the worst? I don't think so. Both portrayed the role so amazingly well, yet so different at the same time. The previously-mentioned Tribbey, from my point of view, would have faired better as a follow-up to McKinsey's final 1980 exit in 1981 than when she was cast as Alice Frame Matthews.

Days of Our Lives:

• Eileen Davidson vs. Stacy Haiduk (Kristen DiMera) ⏤ this boils down to the "writer" and their inability to write for character, but instead for the talent.
• Melissa Reeves vs. Cady McClain (Jennifer Horton) ⏤ McClain's stronger acting abilities really brought some much-needed depth and talent to the role.
• Lisa Rinna vs. Krista Allen vs. Julie Pinson (Billie Reed)

General Hospital:

• Kristen Alderson vs. Hayley Erin (Kiki Jerome) ⏤ not an immediate change, but Erin was able to make Kiki less of an annoying, entitled brat to someone who really could have been the Jerome heir apparent, but turned their life around into being a blossoming nurse.
• Steve Burton vs. Billy Miller (Jason Morgan) ⏤ Miller's warmer, less dead take on Jason (as well as returning him to more of a Quartermaine than a Morgan) helped really change this character overall.
• Julie Berman vs. Emme Rylan (Lulu Spencer) ⏤ again, I blame the "writer" for changing Lulu from a headstrong Spencer to a dull and boring mother (a poor trope in soaps overall).

Guiding Light:

• Beverlee McKinsey vs. Marj Dusay vs. Dame Joan Collins (Alexandra Spalding) ⏤ probably one of the most-discussed recasts for a character. The switch from McKinsey to Dusay was semi-well done but also a jarring change in pacing. Then, introducing Collins as a replacement as Dusay re-infused some of the magic McKinsey had in the role, but we know how that ended.

Santa Barbara:

• Roberta Bizeau vs. Marguerite Hickey (Flame Beaufort) ⏤ does this need to be explained? No? Cool.
• Lynn Clark vs. Paula Irvine (Lily "Light" Blake) ⏤ Clark's Lily felt like Mattson's daughter and had a fully vixen-type vibe about her. She commanded her performance. Meanwhile, Irvine's Lily felt like an innocent doormat to me, and could not see her taking on the material Clark so effortlessly tackled in the earlier days of the role. Plus, never would have Clark's Lily fit with Ted Capwell.
• Shirley Anne Field vs. Dusay (Pamela Conrad Capwell) ⏤ does this need to be explained? No? Cool.
• Linda Gibboney vs. Robin Mattson (Gina DeMott) ⏤ from the warm, torture soul of Gibboney's portrayal to the comedic troublemaker Mattson changed the role into, these two portrayals feel nothing alike and completely turned the tide for the role. Personally speaking, I found Gibboney's take on the role much more favourable and would've suited the long-term of the role much better than Mattsson's take.
• Ava Lazar vs. Margaret Michaels vs. Gina Gallego vs. Wanda DeJesus (Santana Andrade) ⏤ this is a simple case of each recast completely changing the role and furthering it from Lazar's brilliant portrayal and establishing of Santana from a mother consumed with the desire to find her long-lost child, to a desperate woman. Each recast worsened the role and, by the same of DeJesus' casting, Santana was nothing more than a boring, run-of-the-mill character that was easily replaceable on the canvas.
• Todd McKee vs. Michael Brainard (Ted Capwell) ⏤ McKee's Ted was the "least Capwell" of the family and more of the heart than anything else. The least likely to be consumed with the turmoil of the Capwell bulls**t, but with Brainard, it felt like they were trying to change that and make him a so-called "true Capwell," and it felt out-of-character for the role.
• Julie Ronnie vs. Susan Marie Snyder vs. Shell Dennison (Laken Lockridge) ⏤ another poor take of miscasting as its finest. Ronnie's take on Laken was the mirror of McKee's Ted, and with the recast of Snyder into the role, it was too hard tried to make her appear as some kind of manipulative vixen, and it failed. Dennison's take felt like a poorly-executed mix of both Ronnie & Snyder's takes, and by this point Laken was just wasted.
• Dane Witherspoon vs. Mark Arnold (Joe Perkins) ⏤ does this one need to be explained? What could've been an ever-lasting supercouple in Joe & Kelly, became a complete destruction of the character. Huge mistake in swapping Witherspoon's warm Joe with Arnold's cold take on the role. Perhaps with more time it could have been different, but, alas, we'll never know, will we?
• Robin Wright vs. Carrington Garland (Kelly Capwell) ⏤ yes, Kimberly McArthur played the role in between but her time was what I call a "blip," while the arrival of Garland's Kelly really helped re-develop and re-characterize the role of Kelly into less of the "eternal ingenue" (a.k.a. their version of Laura Webber), but instead into a leading lady worthy of the same treatment received by Marcy Walker's Eden.

Sunset Beach:

• Vanessa Dorman vs. Kam Heskin (Caitlin Richards) ⏤ while neither were that fantastic in the role, Dorman's take felt more true to the innocent that was meant for the role, meanwhile Heskin's take seemed to completely void the role of that innocence. Plus, her chemistry with Eddie Cibrian's Cole lacked whereas Dorman's really pushed through.
• Adrienne Frantz vs. Jennifer Banko-Stewart (Tiffany Thorne) ⏤ while both very green, Frantz's take on Tiffany had that depth that Bank-Stewart just lacked, and it was clear recasting the role was just another way of writing it out by the end of its less than one-year run.
• Ashley Hamilton vs. Cibrian (Cole Deschanel) ⏤ from a coldly dead character to one that had heart, depth and perception, this recast really saved this role from being a one-bit storyline to a series-lasting one.

[Soapsuds]

And since you mentioned it McCouch as a horrible totally different Dusty. Dusty went from a sweet guy to some thug mobster.

Edited January 3, 2024 by Soapsuds

[SoapSurvivor]

 

Krista Tesreau was a different character than Andrea Evan's Tina.  

Krista Allen was not the same Billie as LR and JP.  Once LR returned she played a differect character as well.  

Robin Strasser was NOT Vivian Alamain.  

Edited January 3, 2024 by SoapSurvivor
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[Khan]

Yes!

[DramatistDreamer]

No disrespect to Beck but I completely forgot about her. I really wasn’t too invested in the show when she was on and I am not sure that she really inspired any deep discussion on specific storylines or character evolution. I am interested in hearing your thoughts on how her characterization contrasted to the others.
FWIW, I only mentioned Lucy Deakins as a counterpoint to Martha Byrne, I didn’t go into detail about her, although there is also a marked contrast between her Lily and Byrne’s iteration of the character. Again, I had no intention of slighting Beck but I just don’t remember enough of her time on the show to give any in depth analysis as I was pretty much done with the series by then.

Edited January 3, 2024 by DramatistDreamer

[Vee]

They did actively try to retain/migrate things over from Billy Miller's Faux!Jason to Burton's real Jason - the much closer relationship with both Jake and Monica, which Miller's Drew had, became something they tried to patch onto Steve. Didn't work for me, but regardless Jason and Monica's relationship changed from then on in a good way.

[DramatistDreamer]

Ugh, I don’t know if it was a conscious choice but I pretty much wiped him from my memory bank, lol!

McCouch tried to capture Brian Bloom’s Long Island swag but it just came off as an off-brand Cagney gangster flick imitation.

[dragonflies]

Jamie Luner as Liza Colby-for one JL was way too young for the role and was the polar opposite of Marcy Walker

Thorsten Kaye's Ridge Forrester he's been called "European Ridge" lol 

[Liberty City]

I barely knew Byrne was leaving; I remember her exiting, and then remember hearing "The role of Lily Snyder is now played by Noelle Beck" with that magic kind of sound, and my jaw dropped. And to think Beck beat out Susan Haskell, Tracy Melchior & Dedee Pfeiffer for the role, and just being shocked. Such a disappointing decision; Byrne's Lily, to me, was the heart of World Turns in many ways, and her departure was really the beginning of the end.

[Lye-C]

Priscilla Garita’s Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald was not the same. Lindsay Korman’s real Theresa was the heroine and ingenue. Garita played her like an evil psycho when we all know that role belonged to Gwench.

Deanna Wright played Kay too sweetly-nice compared to Taylor-Ann Mountz. Heidi Mueller was a nice balanced blend of the two.

Cathy Jeneen Doe’s Simone was so passive compared to the first two but I ultimately liked her a lot in the role. 

What do you mean? When Lisa returned in 2002? I was not a fan of Billie as a cop. That was OOC. All of Lisa’s returns since 2012 have felt like the real Billie to me. 

Edited January 3, 2024 by Lye-C

[DaytimeFan]

Even with an Emmy to his name, I don't buy Thorsten as Ridge in the slightest. The irony is that we think Ronn is dumb because he imbued Ridge with this vain, selfish, himbo energy while in real life he's really well spoken and thoughtful.  

I think Dame Joan had the advantage of being a recast for a character that had been off canvas for 3 years, so when she came on, she didn't have the same baggage that Marj did taking over the part from Beverlee in the middle of an active storyline. Dame Joan also had the advantage of having her recast being celebrated as an event, some excitement, while Marj's recast was an obligation.

It's so true about Lisa Rinna. When she returned as Billie she might as well have been a recast - it's like she forgot how she played Billie the first time.

I think for Krista Allen a lot had to do with the writing, wanting to make Billie a spoiler for Bo and Hope. 

Robin Strasser was a disaster as Vivian. She was flat out bad in the part. I can imagine that would have been a deflating experience.

I think of Thorsten's Ridge as 'Budget Ridge' because he reminds me of someone who'd work on a barge, rather than a fashion designer. 

[Liberty City]

Because the "writer" writes for actor not character; no way would Louise Sorel have done that material, plus, Strasser is a pet of the "writer."

[Soapsuds]

Lol

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Thorsten Kaye has never been Ridge and never will be. To this day I don't know who Thorsten Kate is playing but it's not Ridge Forrester.

Edited January 3, 2024 by Soapsuds

[dragonflies]

Who's Thirteen Kate? 

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