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Robin Wright’s ‘Santa Barbara’ Beginnings Recalled by Former Co-Star, A Martinez and Series Co-Creator, Jerome Dobson

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: JPI

When motion picture star, Robin Wright first came on to the scene, it was Santa Barbara’s co-creators and co-head writers, Jerome and Bridget Dobson, who cast the very ‘green’ actress when she was only 18 in the role of Kelly Capwell on the NBC soap opera.

Wright appeared as Kelly from 1984 to 1988, and became famous for her role as Princess Buttercup in The Princess Bride. Since that time, she has earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Jenny in Forest Gump, and starred as Claire Underwood in Netflix’s drama House of Cards for which she won a Golden Globe. Robin has also appeared in the films: The Girl With the Dragon TattooWonder Woman, Blade Runner 2049, and Justice League, to name a few.

In 2019, Robin added director credits to her impressive resume with her first feature, Land, and later directed a couple of episodes of the hit Netflix drama, Ozark.

Photo: NBC

Santa Barbara’s Jerome Dobson and Daytime Emmy-winning star, A Martinez (ex-Cruz Castillo) recently chatted live on the Michael Fairman Channel were they offered up many behind the scenes stories of the beloved the soap opera. When the question came up of what was Jerry and A’s experience working with Robin Wright, both TV legends (and now Daytime Emmy Gold Circle Inductees) had some very interesting and complimentary things to say.

Dobson began, “When we tested her to come on the show, we weren’t sure of ourselves because she was basically a model, and hadn’t done any acting, but she had an interesting, very gorgeous look, but there was more to her than that.”

Photo: NBC

With her stunning looks and raw talent, Dobson added about Wright, “We thought, this may be a gold mine. We hired an acting coach for. She would have trouble some with some of the scripts, and she would come up to my office and we’d talk over the script. It’s like she had learned from Dame Judith Anderson (ex-Minx Lockridge), ‘I need to know why I’m saying this line, and why am I flirting with this person and where am I going?’ Robin was incisive, interested and involved, and she took off.”

A, who shared numerous scenes with Robin, recalled, “One of the things that I sort of reduce it to is the two words, ‘b*s detector.’  I think that as you go through the the journey of doing this (acting), you have to have a ‘b*s detector’ operating at all times, just to check yourself. I learned early on that if you think you have just transgressed on your intentions in terms of being truthful, you need to stop yourself immediately. You don’t want to finish up something that’s already broken because you had a false moment in it.”

“You want to have a detector working, and when something doesn’t go right, you just stop, and I just thought what Robin developed in that regard was just impeccable,” Martinez explained. “You look at the run she had on Santa Barbara and the depth and the truth that she found in that character.  She went from starting so raw, but I just thought her sense of honesty was impeccable. Working with Robin was a great joy. It is so great to see all that has happened for her, and for all of us that we got to know her. Once in a while, I run into her still and it’s literally like Christmas. I just love her so much.”

You can watch the full chat with A Martinez and Jerome Dobson and their walk down Santa Barbara memory lane below, and then take a look at an early clip of Wright in a scenes with Louise Sorel from the series.

Now let us know, did you know Robin would become a huge success from her work on Santa Barbara? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

 

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Honestly Robin Wright was hands down the best Kelly Capwell her story with Dane Witherspoon was classic soap and robin really was in a class of her own ! For me her leaving was a game changer and I lost interest but Lane Davies Robin Mattson Justin Deas were amazing and sorry GH fans Nancy lees best moments were in Santa Barbara

I loved robin as Gina she was so damn funny

Omg, her and Justin Deas were a show, all on their own!

I watched SB occasionally when Carrington Garland played Kelly and she was great too. It was great fun to watch but I was too much into Guiding Light at the time and had to watch Reva’s adventures!

I really think that Robin has forgotten where she came from. She seems oblivious to the fact tat if it were not for SB she probably would not have the career that she has had.

Whenever SB comes up in an interview you can just see that she doesn’t want to talk about it.
In an interview with Gwynneth Paltrow she exclaimed that “it was such a cheesy show”!! in another interview she said she was hesitant to do House of cards because of her bad experience on SB where you had to memorize 30 pages of dialogue and say “really cheesy words”.

When she was still on the show she told Vanity fair that the show was “puke suck” and that she had made a vow to herself “to never make that kind of television show again and that she couldn’t wait to get out of her contract so that she could “act” again.She has also said that she hated it at the time and that it “was like being forced into the army”

I think all of this really speaks to her as a person and not in a good way. I loved her on the show but when she makes comments like this it is as if she is saying that her fans from the show were not important. I take it all as a real slap in the face!

I agree with you, what the hell does she think she was a Princess or something?

Greg…oh, I agree. I was never a fan of Robin Wright. At all. She always struck me as being a two-faced kind of person. And I think that she sets off negative vibes. Yuck.

Why is this site not reporting about the big Santa Barbara 40th anniversary reunion that’s supposed to be happening next month? I hope that you’ll have extensive coverage of it, Michael, for those of us that won’t be able to attend. It sounds like it’s going to be a great event for all of the fans who loved and still miss this show (myself definitely included).

I don’t think Robin Wright would even be acting still if she didn’t do Santa Barbara though I do like her I didn’t appreciate some of the rude comments she made about Marcy Walker and the nose comment especially since Marcy only has good things to say about Robin

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‘The Young and the Restless’ and ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ Cast Attending Monte-Carlo TV Festival 2026 Revealed

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Each year in June, various cast members from CBS daytime’s The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful are appointed as the representatives of their shows to attend the biggest TV event in Europe, the Monte-Carlo TV Festival.

Now in its 65th year, and beginning this coming weekend June 12-15, the annual event brings television stars, producers and more from around the globe, for interactive fan events, and the annual Golden Nymph Awards which concludes the competition.

Attending from The Young and the Restless will be the on-screen mother/son duo of Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) and Michael Graziadei (Daniel). The two will have their own autograph signing and fan event on June 15, where according to the official TV festival website, they are capacity and no tickets are currently available.

Courtesy/MonteCarloFilmFestival

BIG BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL NAMES

Then, the most recognized soap opera in the world, The Bold and the Beautiful brings with it, series legacy star, Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke), along with Thorsten Kaye (Ridge), Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy) Tanner Novlan (Finn) and Kimberlin Brown (Sheila). The B&B fan event is also on June 15 and at capacity and no tickets are currently available. As B&B fans know, many times the soap will schedule a remote or scenes to be taped in Europe around the same time as the actors trip to Monaco. No word yet if that is true this year, or not.

OPENING CEREMONIES

The 65th Monte-Carlo Television Festival will open at the Grimaldi Forum on June 12, with the prestigious Opening Ceremony. An exceptional Red Carpet with international stars – actors, directors and producers – of the most popular series worldwide followed by the Ceremony with the Golden Nymph Awards Jury presentation.

Dame Kristin Scott Thomas will receive the prestigious Crystal Nymph Award recognizes a prominent figure in the television industry for their outstanding career and lasting impact on the industry.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN NYMPH AWARDS

At the heart of the Festival the Golden Nymph Awards Competition gives the opportunity to present to the public, the press and professionals, a selection of high level and unreleased programs.

The Competition is divided into four categories: Fiction, Feature Reports & News, Digital and Prince Rainier III Special Prize. It is complemented by two Special Prizes, awarded by partner organizations, the winners of which are selected among all the programs entered in the Golden Nymph Awards Competition. The Competition is open to all formats specially produced for television and new steaming platforms.

The Bold and the Beautiful had previously won the Golden Nymph Award at the festival 13 times in the International TV Audience Award category for “Telenovela/Soap Opera.” The American daytime drama historically dominated the category, picking up its 13th Golden Nymph at the 58th annual festival back in 2018.

So, what do you think about the line-up of stars who are heading to Monaco from The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful? Let us know via the comment section below.

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Shemar Moore Makes Another Return to ‘The Young and the Restless’ as Malcolm Winters

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When Shemar Moore (Malcolm Winters) made his most recent on-screen return to his old stomping grounds at The Young and the Restless back at the beginning of April. Viewers also know that it has been teased that he was not done taping his most recent return story arc, and that he would be back to wrap it up.

Circle next week on the Monday, June 8 and Wednesday, June 9 episodes of the top-rated CBS soap opera, when Malcolm Winters, who has survived his bone barrow transplant surgery after being diagnosed with aplastic anemia, is back for some important conversations.

This time out, he will reconnect once again with his daughter Lily (Christel Khalil) and is recently discovered biological son, Holden (Nathan Owens). In addition, according to Parade, he will interface with his son’s New York City “travel companion” in Claire Newman (Hayley Erin).

Photo: CBS

THE LEGACY OF MALCOLM WINTERS

Part of the bigger story is Malcolm’s relationship with his ex Dr. Stephanie Simmons (Vivica A. Fox), who happens to be the mother of his child, Holden. Viewers can look for some unfinished business that the two need to settle in the upcoming episodes. Both Moore and Vivica A.Fox first appeared together on Y&R back in 1994 and then some 30 years later just a few months ago.

Shemar Moore made his debut as the younger brother of the late Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John) back in 1994 and stayed with the soap until 2005. A Daytime Emmy win later, and with his first television experience under his belt, Moore went on to major primetime success on CBS’ Criminal Minds. Next, he helped launch and was the centerpiece for S.W.A.T. also on CBS, until it was canceled. Now, he will soon be seen in the new spin-off series, S.W.A.T. exiles.

During a recent conversation for Michael Fairman TV, Christel Khalil shared of working with her TV dad again: “It’s always amazing to have anyone come back that’s been away for a while, but especially, Shemar. It’s all the history with him being Lily’s dad. For me, it’s been 20 years of knowing him. Obviously, I don’t get to talk to him or hang out with him and that kind of thing. So it was just nice just to see him again and have that moment around Neil’s portrait, and to be able to share that together and even talk about that off-camera. It’s just special and feels like family, which is nice.”

So, looking forward to seeing Shemar Moore for a few more episodes as he wraps up Malcolm’s recent story arc and visits with his newly found son, Holden and his ex Stephanie? Do you hope for more emotional scenes that were not played out the first time he was back looking for a bone marrow donor to save his life? Weigh-in via the comment section below.

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How ‘The Young and the Restless’ Mark Grossman Almost Became ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Thomas Forrester

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As initially reported by Michael Fairman TV, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation recently held a live daytime drama casting directors panel which featured: Greg Salmon (The Young and the Restless), Marnie Saitta (Days of Our Lives), Christy Dooley (The Bold and the Beautiful), and Kim Coleman (Beyond the Gates).

The four soap opera casting directors traded behind the scenes stories, their process to help actor’s in the audition process, the most difficult and important recasts to their respective shows during their tenure, and the challenges of casting under-five roles, which surprisingly can harder than finding the series regulars.

When the talked turned to a major recast that Greg Salmon had to find it was to fill the shoes of Justin Hartley who exited the CBS soap to star on the NBC drama, This Is Us.  The role of the black sheep of the Newman clan was previously played by Chris Engen and Michael Muhney, before Hartley. Salmon knew they found their man to be the fourth Adam when Mark Grossman entered the picture.

Photo:JPI

THE SEARCH FOR ADAM NEWMAN

Salmon explained, “That was a really tough role to recast. Before Justin, there were two other people who played the part. Adam Newman is central to the show. This is Victor Newman’s son, so it’s an incredibly important character. I remember Mark came in and read with Eric Braeden (Victor Newman) and a few other members of the Newman family. His energy was just off the charts. It felt like this is how Adam should be. Eventually, I think the audience really accepted him. Mark has playing the role for several (7) years now and he’s completely made the role his own.”

However, in an ironic twist, it appears that Grossman came very close to joining Y&R’s sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful in the part of Thomas Forrester played most recently by Matthew Atkinson, and before that Adam Gregory and Drew Tyler Bell.

THE SEARCH FOR THOMAS FORRESTER

Responding to Salmon, The Bold and the Beautiful ‘s casting director Christy Dooley revealed that Mark Grossman was once in the running for the role of Ridge and Taylor’s son. “He tested for us,” she recalled. “Mark came in and read for the role of Thomas Forrester, and he was my choice for the role,” Dooley shared.

Dooley added, “The role wound up going to Matthew Atkinson. But then Mark came down (the hall) to read for The Young and the Restless.”

Fans of The Young and the Restless know that during his 7-years as Adam Newman, that Mark Grossman has become one of the most popular stars on the show. So it’s difficult to wrap you head around that B&B might have nabbed his first as Thomas, and if so, we wouldn’t have gotten to see him turn out those stellar performances in Genoa City .

So, what did you think of this casting tidbit? Could you have seen Mark Grossman as Thomas Forrester? Glad that Y&R had him firmly as their Adam Newman? Let us know via the comment section and you can check the full daytime drama casting director panel below.

 

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