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THE HEATHER TOM AND JACK WAGNER INTERVIEW- THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

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-Breaking Up Is Hard To Do-

This week on The Bold and the Beautiful, Katie makes a decision about the future of her strained relationship with Nick, and it looks like it’s the beginning of the end for this duo, which over the past year has endured so much tragedy and little triumph.

Two of soaps most recognizable and respected performers, Heather Tom and Jack Wagner, brought viewers some dynamic moments as Katie and Nick, including Katie’s heart transplant and the aftermath. In fact, it was Brad Bell who chose the special episodes of Storm’s suicide and Katie’s receiving the gift of life as his choice for Outstanding Drama Series for Daytime Emmy competition. His decision paid off with a nomination.

TV SOAP sat down inside Heather Tom’s exquisitely decorated dressing room (Yes, she is an interior design consultant in her spare time) with her and her co-star, Jack Wagner, for this moving and bittersweet interview, as two top notch talents reflect on their work and the realization that they won’t be working so close anymore….or will they?

Here’s Heather and Jack!

TV SOAP:

First off, congratulations to “B&B” for getting a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series, and it’s for the Storm suicide/Katie heart transplant episodes that you two were a part of! What did you think of those shows?

transplant.jpgHEATHER:

I thought those were really amazing shows, and we took the time with it. I think Cindy Popp, who directed them did a beautiful job. Everything came together, the writing, the music and the lighting, made it a great show. I think we have a great shot this year. I think they were really emotional shows, too. Even if you don’t watch our show, they were interesting and you could get into them.

TV SOAP:

If we go back to the beginning of what drew Katie and Nick together, Jack, why do you feel Nick was so supportive of her in the first place?

JACK:

All relationships that have chemistry are about two people who don’t like each other and that’s how we started out. Our characters were a little bit at odds with each other, and because of a tragedy…in this case, a heart transplant… it drew them together. That’s where the magic started, and Nick was in a heroic position to be there for a woman who was really empty.

TV SOAP:

Then, didn’t Nick take Katie away to an Island, and isn’t that where you ‘made love’?

HEATHER:

Unbeknownst to any of us… (She laughs)

JACK:

That never happened on-screen!

sexonbeach.jpgHEATHER:

We did some flashback stuff, and honestly we had no idea. I was not playing in those scenes that we had sex, just the complete opposite of that! Then all of a sudden, Brad Bell (executive producer and head writer, “B&B”) called me one day and said, “By the way, remember when you guys went to the islands?” And I go, “Well that kind of changes everything I have been playing for the last few
months!”

JACK:

It kind of goes to show as actors, that this was “off-camera sex”. I remember Heather and I going, “What are we going to do here?” And we kind of tracked in our minds, will it work or not? And it did work. We could have been ultimately covering the fact that they had been intimate. So, that is what worked and was justifiable, but it was backwards how it happened, so we shot it out of sequence.

TV SOAP:

On “B&B” it’s known that story direction can change quickly on a dime. How did you adjust your performances?

katejacksheets.jpgHEATHER:

I am not sure it would have made any difference on how I played it, because I wouldn’t have wanted to tip my hand, no matter what. As an actor, I do give myself secrets even if they don’t have anything to do with anything, but that would have been a fun secret to have. Even though I would not have wanted to play that for the audience, I think that pretty much changed how the audience perceived it. As an actor, I would have been playing more subtext, and on this show you have to be open to all of the twists and turns. It can always go off in some new direction.

TV SOAP:

When we last spoke, Jack, you referred to Nick as “The Seed Man” because he was sleeping with and/or impregnating almost every woman on the show.

JACK:

I just show up at work and say, “Hi, will you marry me?

HEATHER:

And apparently he is very fertile!

TV SOAP:

The relationship is taking a turn now, and we are seeing the dissolution of the Katie and Jack pairing. Heather, in your words, why has Katie been acting so insecure?

breakup.jpgHEATHER:

I think Katie feels residual guilt. She did this thing to her best friend that was awful. While she loves Nick and she wants him, I think she feels its stolen goods and it’s a little tainted. He is back at work and he is working with Bridget, and she knows he still has feelings for her. I think anyone would be insecure in that situation.

JACK:

I agree with Heather. Where people agree they have crossed that boundary, and they go through the initial rush of passion these two went through, all of a sudden you are left with a dose of reality and its kind of an understanding. We did not get to play out a whole lot of drama here, and to answer that other question to make a quick turn like that, (which I think Heather is great at) is a real challenge as an actor. That’s why it’s a play a day. You can’t get ahead of yourself in this medium, and that’s the challenge

TV SOAP:

Now that “Breaking up Is Hard to Do”, do you hope these two will remain connected, or do you think they will fall by the wayside like other soap couples who pretend their past never existed?

HEATHER:

I am hopeful they can maintain some of their history, and not throw it under the bus, and try and forget that it ever happened. There were a lot of good things that came out of it.

JACK:

It’s about the commitment of the writing. Once I started working with Heather we could do anything we want. We can be funny…we can cry together….

HEATHER:

And I felt that, too.

prom.jpgJACK:

We connected as actors. We have never really talked about it, but we did not over- rehearse. We knew our lines. The beauty of working with Heather is that it is so rich and she has a gift, and it’s so unexpected. That is what is so great about working with a talented actor. It just is there, and she has it all…. comedy, drama, and passion.

HEATHER:

Also, it was easy to do with an actor you really trust. I think that was there with Jack from the start. We had mutual respect and trust, for sure. I was really excited to be working with Jack. I felt an immediate camaraderie. You have to trust that the actor you work with is going to throw the ball back at you. I never for a moment doubted that we could play
with each other and throw each other
curveballs.

JACK:

I think they will go back to this sometime in the future. Brad has a tendency to write that, but again, you never know.

TV SOAP:

What worked in the storyline?

HEATHER:

I have to say; when I read it I was hesitant about it. But, I thought the prom worked, and was really pretty. I liked a lot of our earlier material when there was a lot of nice banter and throwing the darts. Up until the “sex on the beach” thing, I thought it was going in a nice direction. We will see what happens for them in the future.

JACK:

Hers was an underlying defiance, and my character is defiant. So, when two defiant characters butt heads, which they did, and for the time he was asking her with tears in his eyes on the beach, “Please take the pills. I can’t stand to see you in pain,” out of that came their lovemaking where they finally surrendered to each other. I think that is what worked, and they challenged each other. It was fun to watch and play. And these are challenges for an actor, when you look at a script and go, “This is going to look so stupid!” Quite often on daytime, I have to say the things I thought wouldn’t work, did work!

emmys.jpgHEATHER:

I would have to agree with that, too. It’s like when I see something and go, “Are you kidding me?” And then it actually works pretty well. Even the flashbacks with the zits on my face, which I was HORRIFIED having to do, was just awful, but I thought it was just funny.

JACK:

I learned from working with her, the more she bitches and moans on set, I know it’s going to be magic! If she is bitching and moaning, it will be awesome!

TV SOAP:

Will you go to the producers with issues if there is something you don’t feel is right for the integrity of your character, or if there is something you feel completely ill at ease doing?

HEATHER:

I did take issue with the flashbacks and the pimples. Ultimately I lost, and I was wrong. They write the show and we do our jobs, and I have to trust what they write.

JACK:

Through experience, as far as acting, you get better as you get older with more life experience. For me, when something doesn’t work, I have to come in with an option. You can’t go in and just say, “This doesn’t work.” You have to go in with a “What if?” and some other idea or two. “For me…would you consider this?” I no longer do the type of thing where you would call Aaron Spelling and say this and that, and then have him say, “You know, we can find someone else to play that part!”

TV SOAP:

Heather…in a few words describe Jack?

HEATHER:

I would say he is really smart. I think that comes across at how he approaches the role and in his work, and working with the other actors. Jack is really trustworthy. The most important thing for an actor is that they are in this 110% with you. I would say he is trustworthy outside of his work, too. I would think that applies to his whole life.

TV SOAP:

Jack, tell me about working with Heather.

hugonbeach.jpgJACK:

This will be on a critical note, but positive. When Heather is unconscious, she is the best actress on a daytime. When she removes herself, she is without a doubt the most talented person on daytime television. We always have a tendency to be conscious when we work so fast, and a lot has to do with speed sometimes, but I feel so honored to have worked with her …

HEATHER:

Same here….

JACK:

She makes things fun and she makes things sad, which I like to feel everyday. I also would like to say; I did not know what episode was nominated for Drama Series for the Emmys. And so, congratulations Heather, because for her not to get nominated (and I think she should have been nominated for that performance) is a bit shocking to me. I remember that period of time. There was a block of a month where Heather had about 40 pages a day, and she had five three-page monologues. So by the end of it, I built a noose and we would walk around rehearsal with it and say, “Who’s going to work with Heather today?” and hang ourselves because all we did was listen and look. The show will probably win an Emmy, because she is awesome.

losingbaby.jpgTV SOAP:

Heather, you are always pregnant in the storyline of each soap you have been on. You have miscarried, had your baby stolen and/or switched, and I could go on. It seems like the soap gods don’t want you to have a baby and play the soap mom.

HEATHER:

I have had a baby stolen and one who died. I am childless in real life, as well. The only thing this time was I was hoping that it would go on a little longer and it would be fun if Katie was flaunting her belly, but she lost it so quickly. Rubbing the belly, “Baby wants a cupcake,” I was looking forward to that, but “No!” (She laughs)

TV SOAP:

Jack are you looking forward to the next chapter in Nick’s life?

JACK:

I always look forward to the next chapter. I embrace it. But, it’s hard not to take things personally because you really do get personal with these actors, and when they go in different directions it feels sad. I am sure Heather feels the same way. In your career you enjoy working with actors who do comedy, actors who can cry, and different storylines are fun. Some storylines are not so much fun. You embrace it and you have to learn to let it go.

TV SOAP:

What do you think about some other leading ladies on “B&B”, namely Ashley Jones (Bridget) and Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke) who are pivotal to Nick’s story?

HEATHER:

I really liked what Ashley and I were doing. At the end we seemed to have a little more bite to us. I don’t think that is going to continue because they have seemed to sanitize that out of our characters. What I love about daytime is there is a built in history. This show has been on for more than two decades, and you have that to draw on where you don’t in primetime shows. There you have to build your own history. Here at “B&B” we have our own history, let’s use it. That is what I find exciting with the other characters on the show, and with Katherine and Ashley. We try to find those places.

bridget2.jpgTV SOAP:

Nick has been a man going back and forth to different women…..

JACK:

It’s been a weird couple of years for me on the show. I thought the chemistry between Heather and Ashley was interesting, and then the way they would embrace and then go about cat fighting. I thought they brought a new youthful energy to the show.

HEATHER:

I thought all three of us were good together.

JACK:

I agree with Heather. It just did not have enough history. You go through Bridget, Brooke and Taylor on this show, and they seem to go back to that and they will go back to this because it worked. It has some fun energy. I just remember that Nick was pretending he wasn’t there when he saw two women fighting. A man always wants to get out of the room. So it was those uncomfortable feelings, as the man in those scenes, that I know worked, because I felt so uncomfortable.

TV SOAP:

Jack, who is the ultimate love of Nick’s life?

JACK:

brooke.jpgI would love to say, I knew. I would say they are heading towards Bridget being his ultimate love, but I just don’t think that is the case. I think they are going to have to get back to Brooke one day. They keep touching on it and going away. I think their super couple here is Ridge and Brooke. But, I think Nick made an impact with Brooke and every time those two touched, the storyline crossed and something happened. So,
to not get back to that some
day, the audience would be
robbed.

TV SOAP:

Recently, Don Diamont has started on “B&B” as Bill Spencer Jr. Heather, you knew him from your days together on “Y&R”. How do you think he will fit in here?

HEATHER:

I am thrilled and happy he is on the show. I think he will make a great addition to the show. I think it will be interesting to see what could happen with Bill and Katie. So, we shall see. It will be interesting now, because you have the Nick character that is the hero character, and you have Bill, who is sort of the anti-hero. So it might be dynamic!

JACK:

I have not worked with Don, but I think having any male character on this show besides me is a mistake (laughs)

heatherJackFinal.jpgTV SOAP:

And now, the most recent male casting buzz has Rick Hearst reprising his role as “Whip” Jones later in June. How do you feel about Rick coming into the fold?

JACK:

All male characters, other than Nick, are a mistake, thank you. (Laughs again)

HEATHER:

I am thrilled. I have kind of had a crush on him since his Guiding Light days.

TV SOAP:

I could see “Whip” and Katie together, easily. I want to suggest it.

HEATHER:

Yeah, I have already written the email, but apparently he won’t be whipping it out for Katie anytime soon. But you never know!

Interviews

The Young and the Restless’ Michael Damian On Christine/Danny/Phyllis: “It’s a Fun Triangle Story That They’re Having Us Do, Because It’s Very Retro”

This week on The Young and the Restless, while Danny (Michael Damian) and Christine (Lauralee Bell) hit the sheets, and Phyllis (Michele Stafford) sets off an alarm as payback (literally!), the top-rated CBS soap opera continues to weave the tale of these three characters decades later, finding themselves in very familiar territory with each other.

We know that Christine and Phyllis are basically, mortal enemies, while Danny, who has been the man in the middle, has had a past with both women. However, it is Christine who has been, for all intent and purposes the love of his life.  But, will Phyllis’ machinations make it near to impossible for Danny and Christine to be together? Stay tuned.

Last week, Michael and his real-life wife, Janeen Damian visited the Michael Fairman Channel promoting their #1 streaming film on Netflix, Irish Wish starring Lindsay Lohan. The film was produced by the Damians, while Janeen directed it and co-wrote the romantic story. Michael is featured on the Irish Wish soundtrack performing his track, Wild Irish Heart.

Photo: Netflix

During the conversation, Michael shared what it has been like revisiting the Christine/Danny/Phyllis triangle years later. Damian addressed the fans on the livestream, who inquired. “It’s a fun triangle story that they’re having us do, because it’s very retro. And I think it’s fun to bring that nostalgia, retro thing back.”

Photo: JPI

Recalling a tender moment between Danny on the piano alone with Christine (during the standalone episode which honored Lauralee Bell’s 40th anniversary with Y&R), Michael expressed, “I think what they’re doing is so smart, and they’re reconnecting a lot of the fans to a lot of the story. I mean, we’re talking years and years of story.”

Photo: JPI

The longtime Y&R fan favorite, added, “I’m really glad they did the thing on the piano because people have been asking, ‘Why are you not doing any music? Why are you not singing? Where’s your band?’ You know what I mean? Janeen is asking the same thing, ‘Why aren’t you singing something on the show?’ The last time I sang on the show was when we thought Phyllis was dead. So, you know, that didn’t count. (Laughs)

One of the funniest moment in the revisiting of the triangle occurred when Phyllis and Christine were arguing over Danny, and he was right there in the room with them. The two women got so engrossed in their fight, they forgot he was there, and thus he walked out of the room.

Photo: JPI

Michael revealed, he liked that scene too! “They’re fighting. They’re arguing and Danny’s like, ‘Listen, I’m over here. Please stop it.” And then they don’t stop,” Damian recalled. “And so Danny just grabs his coat, picks up his sheet music, because he was working on a song. He goes to the door. In the scene, I even look back to see if they are even noticing me leave, and then I just left. That one was pretty funny. I’ll be honest. I was laughing out in the hallway when I left. I was thinking, ‘Should I slam the door? But then if I slam the door, they still have dialogue.’ They’re still talking and they would’ve turned, and then it would’ve ruined it. So, I just gently closed the door and left.

Photo: JPI

During the livestream, Damian teased he has some upcoming scenes with longtime Y&R co-star Beth Maitland (Traci), “I just worked with Beth Maitland actually the other day, and that was really fun. I can’t wait for people to see that show.”

Check out the the Michael Fairman Channel chat with Michael and Janeen Damian below.

Now, let us know, are you rooting for Danny and Christine? Do you think Phyllis will continue to be a disruptor in this relationship and somehow worm her way back into Dannys good graces? Share your thoughts in the comment section. But first check out this sneak peek for this week’s Y&R featuring the trio.

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Days Of Our Lives

Days of our Lives Star Blake Berris Chats On the Everett Lynch/Bobby Stein Mystery, Working with His New Co-Stars, and the Last Christmas Episode with Bill Hayes

On Days of our Lives, the return of Blake Berris is making for some very intriguing drama, with the audience guessing just which way the story will go.

When Berris arrived back on Days of our Lives, after previously playing Nick Fallon, he was taking on the new role of Everett Lynch, who has a past with Stephanie Johnson (Abigail Klein) and Jada Hunter (Elia Cantu). Only, as it has been revealed, the past he had with Jada was under the name “Bobby Stein,” who from what we can tell was far from a nice guy.

Blake visited the Michael Fairman Channel for a livestream interview this week, where fans in the live chat were weighing-on what could be the truth about the guy – is he a split personality suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder? Did the accident that cost him a year of his life in a coma, never happen? Recently, someone set fire to the beloved Horton house. Fans are suspecting it would have been “Bobby” who is working for Clyde Weston (James Read). Others believe that Everett/Bobby could actually be Clyde’s son. With upcoming therapy sessions with Dr. Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) about to start, things are about to get more juicy in Salem.

Photo: JPI

Here are just a few excerpts from our conversation with Blake on a myriad of Everett/Bobby subjects. Make sure to check out the full interview for more.

Did you know that they were going to make Everett Lynch a Jewish character? This is only the second time in the history of the show that they have even had a Jewish character on the canvas. Didn’t they reveal this at the Horton family Christmas episode?

BLAKE: No, they never asked me. I am half-Jewish on my dad’s side. There was never like, ‘You’re Jewish, right? We can call you Jewish on the show?’ At the Horton Christmas, “They made a real point of it, yeah.”

And now the new ‘character’ is “Bobby Stein” …

BLAKE: “Right, and that suggests more Jewish, and then Lynch must be coming from somewhere else, maybe the mother. I was so curious because I think the show has been historically, I’m gonna say, Catholic more than like Wasps. With the Bradys there’s this sort of Irish influence, and then the DiMeras, that’s Italian. So, we’ve got Catholics sort of on both sides that are dominant. Now I, “represent”.

Photo: JPI

What has it been like working with Abigail Klein?

BLAKE: I think she is extraordinary. We start off sort of frosty, or she’s frosty with me, like she doesn’t want to let me in. And then, for a while things are going really well. I just could not adore Abigail more. She’s such a good actor. I could always rely on her to bring me back into a scene and be there in this emotionally, supportive way.

Photo: JPI

Everett and Chad seemed to be becoming friend-ish, when all went awry when at the PCPD interrogation room, Everett let him know about Elia and Bobby Stein, and Chad let him have it for worming his way back in to Stephanie’s life.

BLAKE: Billy would call us the ‘disgusting brothers’ and that’s a reference from Succession, because all of a sudden they’re just so chummy with each other. It’s like all of a sudden we just had this like ‘Bernstein and Woodward’, sort of dynamic duo. I think that Everett really started to think of Chad as a friend and feels sort of disappointed, and he feels, “Oh, it’s that easy? I just needed to have some other identity and now you’re a fair-weather friend?”‘

Photo: JPI

In recent scenes, Jada sees Bobby Stein for the first time, and we see you and Elia Cantu share scenes with each other for the first time. What is it like working with Elia?

BLAKE: She’s fire, man. She comes in hot and she tells you the way it’s going to be. I think early on, we were trying to suss each other out and the more we worked together, the more comfortable you get with somebody. I think actors do this sometimes with each other; if there’s spice on screen, you like to keep some of what you have on-screen in your (real-life) interactions because it helps … it helps the work.  Eventually, we just sort of wore each other down and we’re like, ‘I actually totally get you, and you’re great.'”

Did you know that they were going to make Everett Lynch a Jewish character? This is only the second time in the history of the show that they have even had a Jewish character and didn’t they reveal this at the Horton family Christmas episode?

BLAKE: No, they never asked me. I am half-Jewish on my dad’s side. There was never like, ‘You’re Jewish, right? We can call you Jewish on the show?’ At the Horton Christmas, “They made a real point of it, yeah.”

And now the new ‘character’ is “Bobby Stein” …

BLAKE: “Right, and that suggests more Jewish, and then Lynch must be coming from somewhere else, maybe the mother. I was so curious because I think the show has been historically, I’m gonna say, Catholic more than like Wasps. With the Bradys there’s this sort of Irish influence, and then the DiMeras, that’s Italian. So we’ve got Catholics sort of on both sides that are dominant. Now I, “represent”.

Photo: JPI

You were on set and in the annual Horton Christmas episode which sadly marked the last for Days of our Lives legendary Bill Hayes, who passed away in January of this year.  What do you recall of that tape day?

BLAKE: It was the Christmas episode when we were watching Susan (Julie) and Bill, say ‘Merry Christmas.’  And there was something about it that just felt like it could be the last time. I mean, it wrecked us all on set. Bill gets so choked up and there was something really profound about the moment. They kiss each other as they have so many times before on the show. It was just beautiful. It felt beautiful to be there for that last Christmas. He’s just such an icon. Every time I’d see him, he was so with it … he knew my name, he knew his lines. What an incredible, incredible man.

Photo: JPI

Fans will get to see Everett in therapy sessions with Dr. Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall)? Would you say she is helping the guy?

BLAKE: Deidre’s always making jokes about Marlena, ‘She’s the worst therapist in the world’ (Laughs) I remember in the first therapy session, we almost couldn’t get through the scenes because it’s just so clear that Everett has a litany of very profound psychological issues that he is going to have to work through. He’ll keep coming back. This guy’s gonna pay the bills!

Photo: JPI

Viewers are waiting to see how they mystery of Everett Lynch/Bobby Stein plays out. What can you say as a tease for what’s to come?

BLAKE: As far as a tease, I would say, you have all these characters sort of, trying to wake up the ‘sleeping giant’ in a way. I think it’s safe to say that like if you poke a bear, the bear might wake up.

Watch the livestream chat with Blake in full below.

Now let us know, what do you think is going with Everett/Bobby? What has happened to him in his past? Share your theories in the comment section below, and make sure to catch Days of our Lives next week on Peacock for more to his story.

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Interviews

Y&R’s Melody Thomas Scott Talks on 45 Years as Nikki Newman, the Keys to Playing Drunk, And Those Genoa City Relationships

February is ‘Nikki Newman Month’ in soapland as the The Young and the Restless iconic Melody Thomas Scott celebrates her 45th anniversary in her leading role.

My how time flies! Nikki has had numerous marriages, and some to the same man, battled her addiction to alcohol too many times to count (and we loved it all), and faced so much heartache in the process.

Currently, on all-new episodes of the top-rated CBS daytime drama series, Nikki can’t quite get a grip as Jordan (Colleen Zenk) is out there and in the middle of her next master plot to make Nikki suffer, all the while Nikki is drinking again. Thanks to the heinous plot concocted by Jordan and Claire (Hayley Erin) that revealed itself last November.

Photo: JPI

In a special conversation for You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel, Melody shared her thoughts on a myriad of subjects including: her current story, those long tape days at Victor and Nikki’s weddings, why she plays drunk better than anyone on television, plus we take a mini-deep dive into Nikki’s past.

Y&R fans were stunned when the powers-that-be had Nikki kidnapped and then hooked her up to an IV of booze. Just how much did Melody know of the story going in? She elaborated, “I knew Nikki would be terrorized. That’s all that I knew. I thought that sounded like great fun. I didn’t know for a little bit that she was going to fall off the wagon in the process of it. And then when I heard how it would happen, I was thrilled to bits. I did kind of want to have a little leader (or crawl) down at the bottom of the screen saying, ‘Hey, people don’t put an IV with vodka in your arm because that will kill you.’ But, poetic license, I suppose.”

Photo: JPI

Melody also weighed-in on if she thinks Nikki will stop drinking anytime soon, expressing, “She just can’t get out of this. Then of course, Jordan’s not letting her out very easily. Just when Nikki thinks she is mentally strong enough to never take another drink, well, of course she does, because something else happens. I think it’s also a learning point for people who are watching the show who may have an addiction problem. Now, I could be wrong, but I think it’d be highly unusual for somebody to be just mentally strong to be able to stop.”

If you wondered if Melody enjoys playing a drunk Nikki, look no more, “I do. That’s simply for selfish reasons,” she shared. “That’s for my enjoyment. I take great pleasure in it. It’s fun for me, and just the process of pretending to be drunk. I love the end result. I try not to do too much because there’s nothing worse when an actor is overplaying drunk. So you have to kind of keep it a little bit underneath (the surface). However, sometimes because of Jordan, Nikki does get much sloppier than I normally would play it.”

Photo: JPI

In recent episodes, it seems that Jack (Peter Bergman) and Nikki are gravitating more to each other, as both are drawn together through their shared experiences with addiction. Victor (Eric Braeden) is not happy that his arch-nemesis is helping Nikki try to stay sober. Could Melody see Jack and Nikki becoming romantic again? “I love Peter. I mean, Peter was my second favorite husband on Y&R. It would be wonderful, but I don’t know if the fans would go for that,” she explained. “They’re so invested in Niktor that I think they would really be upset about that unless Victor did something really crummy, then I could buy that.”

Photo: JPI

One of the more ‘out there’ stories during Melody’s 45-year run, was when Nikki was paired with Crazy Edward, and he took her home to meet his mother … who was in an urn! You would think maybe Melody didn’t like the story .. but think again! “Bill Bell (co-creator, Y&R) was writing the show in those days, and Bill kept that information pretty tight. I don’t remember us knowing even a week in advance. Maybe, we would get our scripts, three or four days in advance and that was it. You knew nothing about future story, but I loved the story,” she raved. “It was almost Hitchcockian, shall we say. The actor who played Crazy Edward, Paul Tulley was so magnificent and such a sweetheart. We loved working with each other so much, but man, when that red light came on the camera, he scared the you-know-what out of me. He was absolutely terrifying. But then, the minute the scene was over, we’re fooling around and laughing and everything. He was so good. So good!”

Photo: JPI

According to Melody, the pairing of Victor and Nikki was not something she, nor Eric Braeden, initially thought would made sense: “I was a little terrified when I heard that he and I would be doing scenes. I thought, ‘What, what?’ He also wondered, ‘What am I going to be doing working with that young kid, that snotty kid?’ We had no idea what Bill Bell saw. He had a vision with us and somehow knew that we would have chemistry. It didn’t take Bill long to show us in the scripts why he put us together. Then, we started to see it. Although, it was hard to imagine at first, certainly we knew it worked by the time Nikki had baby number one during the ‘Who’s the father?’ storyline. Nikki and Victor weren’t even married yet. So, we did figure it out pretty early on.”

Photo: JPI

From her early years as Nikki Reed, Melody reflected back on some major story points in her character’s history, relating, “I actually did like her in the very beginning when she was just a little brat living with her sister and her father, who of course ended up trying to rape her…  and she had hit him over the head with a lamp … and he died. I did not care for the stripping storyline at all. Only because I knew that I didn’t have the natural dancing ability. I wasn’t fluid enough to really look good up there stripping. I know they hired wonderful choreographers and everything for me, but I just didn’t feel worthy of being up there … I guess is what it was. Of course, now I look back on it and I think, ‘Oh, I guess it wasn’t too bad.’ Later, there was a strip she did in the Colonnade Room. At the time, she was married to Jack. Victor’s sitting there with some other woman and she’s drunk. I saw that scene recently, and I thought it was great. I didn’t at the time, but looking back, I thought, ‘Wow, that was good.'”

Photo: CBS

Watch the full 45th anniversary conversation with Melody below.

Now let us know, are you enjoying Nikki being back on the bottle? Would you want to see Jack and Nikki try their relationship one more time? What has been your favorite storyline of Melody’s over the last 45 years on Y&R.  Let us know in the comment section.

 

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