ALL: Do some actors realize how much their characters are actually disliked by the audience?

[YRfan23]

So this might get me in a lot of trouble, but It's been on my mind a lot these days. I was just curious if some soap actors (mostly current ones) have any idea how much contempt most of us have for their characters and their actions onscreen? I get it's a job, and it's most definitely not their fault the writers write them that way, but for the sake of knowing I was just curious if any of these actors feel the same frustration about certain things their characters do or say as we do. 

I guess to make an easier explanation, do the likes of Laura Wright, or even  Steve Burton, know how much GH fans are sick of the writing always seeming to make Carly, Jason's priority over his own family and kids and if they ever spoke out about how they dislike or don't agree with their characters choices...

As some of you know I'm very back and forth with Steffy on B&B, and it's nothing against JMW, but I sometimes wonder if she even knows or really cares how hypocritical Steffy really is. 

Again this isn't to bash actors that are just doing their jobs on a daily basis, but I was just curious if any of them have ever spoken out about any of these things we constantly talk or complain about. 

[DRW50]

There have been actors who have spoken of being physically abused in the street, like Eileen Fulton, so I imagine they knew.

In other cases, it's more difficult, because it would entail reading social media posts about your work, and would you really want to do that?

Edited June 29, 2024 by DRW50

[YRfan23]

I guess actors are given orders not to read everything fans say on social media, Unless you are Eric Braeden who just enjoys engaging in political arguments, and just adds a bunch of silly emoji's when someone expresses something bad Victor has done...which always seems to be for his own self satisfaction but we are not getting into that....haha 

I guess this is mostly about actors who are/aren't completely unaware how toxic their characters have become. Like Scott Clifton at least knows Liam is an a**hole, and even speaks out about how angry he gets at him. 

Edited June 29, 2024 by YRfan23

[titan1978]

I also think fans believe their corner of the internet translates to more of the fandom than it does.

There is a huge difference between Jackie Zeman saying people were throwing tomatoes at her in the grocery store when Bobbie was mean, and posting how annoying Carly is. What happened to people like her and Fulton was visceral. Zeman could laugh about it, Fulton seemed less amused.

Many of us have bitched about Sonny for decades. Decades! But the truth is he is popular with the greater audience.

I have seen posters here and on other sites complain about Luke and Laura for a long time. People post things like they weren’t an actual cultural phenomenon. Feelings are not facts.

Everywhere I turn online where people talk about soaps there are fans that think GH should rehire Roger Howarth and hope Finn is back soon. I have never wanted anything less than either of those. To me, they are symptoms of the problem, not a solution. And yet they have plenty of fans clamoring for them to return.

Based on things I have seen them comment on, LW and Burton are aware that enough of the audience would like more balance. So they have some idea.

[Maxim]

I agree about Steffy right now... It seems like everywhere I go, I see people annoyed by her character and the way she is acting. Back in the day there were periods where Brooke was so hated and despised you couldn't even utter a positive word on some boards, without getting backlash. I think the actors know. There have been situations where actors have been attacked or stalked by fans who hate or are obsessed with their characters. Just two examples.

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[SteelCity]

It's good to know that some actors are at least aware. What exactly has Laura Wright said?

[j swift]

Maybe she knows, but why would she care?

I fully understand why modern daytime actors might prefer to ignore negative feedback from fans about their character on social media. For instance, Laura Wright doesn't write her own dialogue, pitch storylines, or cast her co-stars. Since she has no control over how Carly lives her life, it makes no sense for her to engage with that feedback.

Finally, hot take, I've never believed that the Eileen Fulton story about a fan throwing fruit at her was true.  I live in Los Angeles, and I've seen Laura Wright at the supermarket with her boyfriend (flawless skin, huge wavy hair, and braless).  I've never seen or heard anyone bother them, and I've certainly never seen anyone throw a piece of fruit.  I think Ms. Fulton was trying to be funny in her cabaret show, and the press mistook it for reality.  She's a fanciful lady, and it is too contrived to believe that a New Yorker would be that out of pocket.

Edited June 30, 2024 by j swift

[Khan]

 

I'm sure many actors do, but they know that what they do for a living beats doing what a lot of us do everyday, so they just learn to come to work, do the work, and then collect their pay and go home.

That's why I don't feel bad about ragging on Joshua Morrow, for instance.  Because, why the [!@#$%^&*] should he care what I or anyone else has to say online about his acting skills (or lack thereof, lol)?  At the end of the day, he's the one who gets to go home to a nice house in a nice neighborhood while many of us...?  Don't.

Edited June 30, 2024 by Khan

[YRfan23]

Haha well in his case, while  I can’t stand Nick most days, my number one beef with him if I ever wrote the show would be that if I wanted to put Nick and Sharon back together and STAY together he better deal with it, or there’s the door! And no more younger actresses he wishes to work with. I would have no problem telling him to his face that I think these other writers put it in his mind he’s perpetually 21 years old, and all this “frat boy” stuff at 50 years old needs to stop! 

[j swift]

I agree, which is why I’m always surprised when actors publicly express their disagreements with the writing in interviews. It's one thing for Kim Zimmer to tell 60 Minutes once GL was cancelled that it was absurd for Reva to get pregnant after her character had already gone through menopause. But when actors claim that their character would never say or do something, my reaction is always, “They would if your job depended on it.” We've all been in situations where a boss asked us to do something that seemed silly, but we did it because keeping our job was important.

This topic also made me realize how challenging it must be for long-time actors to gauge the consensus opinion on their character. We often assume there’s a consensus because of online agreement.  But actors encounter fans willing to pay hundreds of dollars to see them at fan events, receive gifts and letters at the studio, and experience adulation on the red carpet at soap opera award shows. So, it might be easy for them to dismiss online chatter when everyone they meet in person loves and adores their character.

My takeaway is that we can’t assume our dislike of a character is a commonly held belief when we only interact with like-minded individuals.

Edited June 30, 2024 by j swift

[carolineg]

I agree @j swift.   I said this on the GH thread months ago, but even though most here hate Sonny MB has a huge fan base.  Steve, Laura, and Mo have a legions of fans even if this corner of the internet is over them.  I assume most people that approach them are fans and praise them.   So they may here some negative chatter and comments, but I assume the adoration they get outweighs it.

I suppose a newbie in their first soap role may be more sensitive to the internet, but any of the vets probably don't care.

[dragonflies]

Scott Clifton sure seems to, keeps his foot on Liam's neck constantly, says he's the villain, and shouldn't be with anyone but "his hand and some lube" lol 

[kalbir]

100% this. 

[Taoboi]

I think this is a VERY good question.

 

And to use SB as an example...well his character...I found it telling on his return story arc...that the writers were writing in how his absence has not only affected his kids and his babymamas, but they had all gotten to express it TO him...something the audience or us here have been saying about him for YEARS. The self-awareness of it all I guess you would call it.

 

 

and goodness knows he looks...allegedly.

 

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[YRfan23]

Yes! the Frat Party should have ended 30 years ago...or never began!

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That's definitely good to an extent, but I feel like if the writers would even think of pitching a story to Burton that Jason is FINALLY going to become the ideal father and "family man" to his kids...he would object to it....I've always gotten the vibe he doesn't really care how limited his acting appears while he's portraying "cool, stone cold Jason"....

And as for Carly/Laura Wright's ...they just need to not be afraid of portraying her as the villain she really is, and not claim she's the show's leading "anti-heroine"....