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The Scott Clifton Interview – The Bold and the Beautiful

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At his young age, Scott Clifton has become quite the accomplished actor and a daytime favorite, having now appeared on three top daytime soap operas; General Hospital as Dillon Quartermaine, One Life to Live as Schuyler Joplin, and now as Liam Cooper on The Bold and the Beautiful.  And, with four Daytime Emmy nominations under his belt – three for GH and one this past year for his work on OLTL – Clifton is creating another unique character over at B&B with a whole new set of dilemmas and problems!

A bit of the back-story: the versatile Clifton wasn’t off of our daytime screens for too long.  Once OLTL let him go, he was back in L.A. looking for work, and B&B head honcho, Brad Bell, had the good sense to hire him for the role of Bill Spencer Jr.’s son. (The one he never knew he had!) And while Liam came to town in search of his father, he soon stumbled onto computer intrigue (after all he is computer tech) that revealed the accidental sex romp of Brooke and Oliver!  And after a ‘who’s the daddy’ story somewhat in reverse, we all learned that Liam is the son of Bill Jr, and neither one is too pleased…and that’s putting it mildly!  Add to the mix the beautiful young Hope Logan, who has fallen for Liam’s quirky charms, and we could be seeing the emergence of the breakout character of the 2010 soap season, and perhaps a new set of star-crossed lovers.

As for Clifton himself, “talented,” “funny,” “articulate,” “intelligence abounds,” are just a few of the words On-Air On-Soaps would use to describe him in this brand new in-depth feature conducted recently in his dressing room at the set of CBS.  So how did he keep the secret storyline under wraps?  What is it like working with Don Diamont (Bill) as father and son?  What is Scott doing on YouTube?  And we find out, of all of his soap roles, which one is the most like him.  The answer may surprise you.  One of the true originals of daytime… here’s Scott!

MICHAEL:

How much did you actually know when we last spoke to each other around the Daytime Emmys, about the role of Liam?

SCOTT:

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Around the Emmys, I was not allowed to talk about what I did know.  And there were three or so weeks at the set where I was not supposed to tell people there what I knew, and that was at Brad Bell’s request.  This is actually the first job and role that I booked where I did not know who the character was that I was going to be playing.  It was on my first day that they said, “Oh, by the way, your character is going to be called Liam.”  That was all I knew, and then I went up to Brad’s office.  He said, “What do you want to know?  Do you want to know everything?  Or, I could not tell you everything?”  I said, “Tell me, I want to know.” And that is when he said, “Well, your mom died of cancer, and long story short, you are Bill Spencer’s son.  So you are going to be working a lot with Don Diamont, and that is why we decided to make him Liam, short for William.”  So there was a period I knew about it, but I still did not tell people about that until it came out in the script.

MICHAEL:

So wait… when you took the job, were you taking the role “sight unseen” not knowing how it would be integral to the canvas of B&B?

SCOTT:

I should be clear, I auditioned like everybody else and it was not like it was a role that was just offered to me.  And it wasn’t until a few days before that I even knew that B&B was a half hour show!  I had been looking at YouTube for clips.  But you can’t tell from YouTube clips that it is a half hour show.  That made a big difference.  I noticed it right away when I got here.  Everyone was so relaxed and everybody is so nice to each other, and there is such a great vibe here. I think that has to do with that it is much easier to run a tight ship when you are shooting less material a day.  So everybody is kind of on their mark and so non-stressful. I was prepared for more stress, and so I was very pleasantly surprised.

MICHAEL:

It was a very big letdown when they let you go, and wrote you out at One Life to Live. Schuyler had such great material at the end and he had just been revealed to be Mitch Laurence’s son.  But in soap land, it almost always seems when they are ready to write you out, they hand you powerful scenes as your parting gift. (Laughs)

SCOTT:

Not everyone, so I am pretty lucky and grateful for that. They could have just let me fade out, and if it weren’t for One Life to Live, I might not have created enough buzz to audition for this.  So I kind of owe one to OLTL.

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MICHAEL:

Do you think of B&B’s Liam as a computer nerd or geek?

SCOTT:

“Geek” is not the right word.  He is definitely not a stud. General Hospital’s, Dillon, was like this weird, quirky, punk kid, with rocker hair and chain length metal bracelets.  And then you’ve got Schuyler, who is wearing sweater vests, and comb-over hair and parted on the side.  Liam, I think, is the first character that is supposed to be closest to my maturity level.  He is just a young guy who has not gotten his life together yet, and he is still not a kid.  So, he is in this in-between stage, and now we get to discover who he really is.  This story arc is about discovering his identity, which I did not have the opportunity to do with Dillon or Schuyler’s story. This was a huge challenge for me, because sometimes when characters are introduced in a scene, it’s like, “Here’s this new character!”  With Schuyler, I had this huge teacher monologue, and with Dillon, I had these scenes with Tracy Quartermaine (Jane Eliot) bringing him into town.  Liam was like an extra for the first several episodes.  I think that was part of the plan.  You are not supposed to take note of him. And if you remember, they even had me with another guy who was an extra and we had the same amount of lines, which was really smart.  I would go on message boards and see what people were saying and there was no chatter about it at all, and that is what it should be.  Then slowly, I would read, “Who is that kid? And why is Justin talking to this kid?”  It was great, and slowly people started to notice Liam more. Then, some people thought he was really annoying and some people thought he was this punk. Now, Liam’s notoriety in the show has grown exponentially and I love that about him, but I had to work for that.  I thought it was a cool aspect of this.  I never really got an introduction and it sort of just grew.  The character is the same way. You learn a little bit about him, and then he claims Ridge is his father.  And believe me, his story is not complete yet, and there is still more to it.  What is interesting for me is that I don’t know everything either.  Granted, I knew Bill was going to be my Dad, but I did know what kind of person my mom was, and why they didn’t get together. This stuff came up later.  So, I could not make these bold choices and then find out a week later I was wrong when I would read my scripts. There was some treading water while I was waiting for the story to do its magic, and now it has, and it has been really a great story.

MICHAEL:

You seem to be working a lot of late!  Your story has finally picked up steam.  And what is great to see, in a show that has limited airtime for its characters, is that Brad is giving you a great opportunity to shine.

SCOTT:

I don’t think it’s going to stay like that, but I think for now it is true, because they had to establish a push between he and Bill.  I think that was really important.  I could not ask for better writing. There is going to be a lot of conflict, and what is really cool is there is such a dichotomy between Bill and Liam.  Bill has some things to teach Liam about manhood and being a leader, and being a presence, which Liam is not.  But maybe, Liam has something to teach Bill about ethics.  Eventually, if Liam gets to some place where there is a middle ground, because something has to give, there are huge divides between how Liam sees the world and Bill sees the world, and they are stuck together.  So I think that makes for even greater story.

MICHAEL:

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Did Don Diamont know you were going to be his son from the beginning?

SCOTT:

I think Don knew, too.  I think he may have even said something to me when I first met him about it, and I didn’t catch it.  I know that he knew he was going to have a son before I was hired.  Don has been really, really, great and always really nice.

MICHAEL:

Don is one of the greatest guys and one of the greatest dads.

SCOTT:

In real life, Don sounds like a great father.  I think this story was important to him, and I get that sense.  The first time he clued me in on that, he walked over to me and whispered, “I am so glad it’s you.”  That was nice to hear him say.  He will tell me if I am doing a good job in a scene, and that feedback is really nice.  But I am not acting in a void, either.  I have to work with him, too.  What I do has to tell a story as well, and part of that story is his story.  I can’t just make any character choice I want that seems cool to me, because it has to be in relation to what is going on with Bill’s character.  So, if I am too challenging in a scene where he needs to be on top, I can’t do that.  And that burden is much more on me. The audience knows Bill’s character, they don’t know as much about Liam.  So I have to find the right way of doing it.

MICHAEL:

There had to be some inside jokes on the set, when the men who could have fathered you were wondering who was the poppa?

SCOTT:

That never really happened on set, just because the scripts were coming out about whose kid I really was.  I think I remember when there was a moment on the first day I was working with Ron Moss (Ridge).  And it was Ridge going, “Get out of my office!” And I was like, “But I am your son.”   And when we went to rehearse that scene and we got up on set, Ronn said to me, “You’re not really my son…. are you?”  And I said, “Nah, I don’t think I am.”

MICHAEL:

What about Winsor Harmon (Thorne)?  He had to be in on the shocker!

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SCOTT:

Winsor knew all along that it was a red herring, and that was a cool thing to play.  The funniest thing happened shooting those scenes, and Winsor was so good.  He and Don were playing this yin and yang so well off of each other, especially in the hospital DNA scenes.  It made it really easy for me.  Liam wanted it to be Thorne!   What is also funny was on my first day, just because of my pathetic excuse for an iron-jaw beard, one of the make-up artists said to me, “I don’t know what you’re doing on the show, but you should play Bill’s son, because you have the same beard.”  And I was like “Guffaw-Guffaw.” (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Liam was the vehicle that brought to the forefront, Brooke and Oliver’s sex mishap and exposed it!

SCOTT:

Indirectly, Liam brought out the Brooke and Oliver sexcapade, and because of Hope’s forgiveness of the whole situation, she allowed him to feel released from all of that. If Liam hadn’t screwed up and left the computer on, the truth would never have come out that way.  Well, it probably would have come out.  Who am I kidding? (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

You know that the infamous “Party Boink,” as we now lovingly call it, is one of my all-time my favorite story points!

SCOTT:

I know, mine, too.  My dad started watching the show, maybe five episodes before Oliver and Brooke have sex, and she takes her mask off and reveals herself to be Brooke.  And my dad called me and went, “Did you know that Oliver slept with Brooke?” And you got to know my dad; he is like a camping, fisherman, manly man, and yet he is like into this show, which is great!

MICHAEL:

It was one of the greatest cliffhangers in the history of soaps!

SCOTT:

It was shocking, and nobody saw that coming, and it was really cool.

MICHAEL:

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How is working with new B&B producer, the legendary Ed Scott?

SCOTT:

It is really, really cool!  Ed comes down from the booth and is very hands on.  He is the first person I worked with in a very long time who gave me some feedback from time to time, because sometimes we are all, as actors, just feeling around in the dark.  And, Ed will come down and say, “Hey, you look like you are anticipating the end of the scene, and maybe you could let that surprise.”  Or, “We need you to be more hurt by that,” or whatever it may be.  You get the sense right away in the quality of the show, and he came right into his new job and knew what he wanted, and that is so nice for us.  Actually, it creates less work for me. (Laughs)  He is so approachable, too.

MICHAEL:

How is working with Kim Matula (Hope)?

SCOTT:

She is great, and is funny, too.  I cannot tell you how much I appreciate doing a scene with someone and you know going in it’s just going to feel like you are having a conversation, and that has a lot to do with her.  You know what she is really good at, that I am not good at?   It’s listening.  She can hear you in a scene as if it’s the first time she has ever heard that, even though we have rehearsed twenty times!  That is a really valuable quality to have.

MICHAEL:

So, Liam is really falling for her big time?  She is Miss Goodness!  Where is he coming from with this?  Does Hope represent something for him?

SCOTT:

Liam comes to this new strange foreign situation and everyone hates him. He can’t do anything right.  He thought he was a good guy, and then he started to question himself, and here is the one person he feels like he has trespassed against the most, and she is the first person to forgive him.  Not just forgive him, but also almost give him empathy.  That was a lifesaver and a really profound gift for him at that time, because he was feeling so low.  I think he does see Hope as this glimmering light that represents all things just and fair and good, and he has said lines to that affect.  He fell hard for what Hope represents, and you also start to learn a bit about Liam’s mom, and how she died of cancer.  He was raised by her, and there are scenes where Liam is talking about his mom and all the qualities he loved about his mom, and then you can see other scenes where he talks about all the qualities he loves about Hope… same qualities.  Maybe it’s a little bit of a “mommy” issue, but I also think Hope represents a big hole that Liam has in his heart.

MICHAEL:

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If you were to think of a celebrity to play your mom, Kelly, who would you see cast in the role?

SCOTT:

We have had to use 8X10 glossies and there was a woman who was actually cast and is probably in her mid 40s to 50’s now. They used her as model, and they took all these retroactive images of when she was suppose to be a high fashion model.  So I already have an image of what this woman looked like.

MICHAEL:

Right, but who out there in primetime, daytime, feature film or the theatre, do you think would embody Liam’s mother?

SCOTT:

When I am picturing my mom, and I remembering things about her, I imagine a Meryl Streep type!  If you could imagine Meryl Streep in deathbed scenes, she still pulls off sensitivity and warmth.  

MICHAEL:

Would you love to work with Meryl Streep?  I know I would!  Sign me on!

SCOTT:

No, not ever.  Yes! God Yes! You don’t get better than that.

MICHAEL:

Scott, you have one of the most refreshing acting styles. It is not forced.  It’s a very realistic style, and it’s not “soapy”.  Do you realize that, and what you bring, as opposed to other guys acting in your age bracket?  You have something very unique!

SCOTT:

That is a wonderful, wonderful compliment.  I am aware of it, in so far as that is what I am going for.

MICHAEL:

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So you’re not striving to be the leading man?

SCOTT:

No, and I disagree with that.  Just like in life, the world does not revolve around us.  I sometimes think a supporting role is infinitely more valuable than a leading role.  And, a submissive role is infinitely more valuable that a superior role.  I think I learned a lot about that from General Hospital. GH has a lot of static issues. You have Maurice Benard (Sonny) and people around Maurice and there is inferiority. There are two issues here; doing a scene as if it were taking place in real life, and then there is an understanding that every scene is not about us, or about making us look cool.  I think I almost feel a little more uncomfortable where I have to be in scenes as the leading man, or in charge, or sexy.

MICHAEL:

I recently interviewed One Life to Live’s Nicolas Robuck, who plays James Ford, and he was saying something very similar, that although his character is called upon to be tough and macho, it is easier for him to play the more emotional side of his character, and he is more comfortable with that aspect of the role.

SCOTT:

I know the feeling!  I am OK with feeling that way, because there are probably a lot of actors that don’t have that philosophy.  It works out very well for me, because those are shoes that somebody has to fill.  I will do that gladly, and I think that’s important.

MICHAEL:

I had the pleasure of briefly meeting your girlfriend, Nicole, at the whole Daytime Emmy shindigs and Red Carpets, etc.  How many years have you been together now?

SCOTT:

Almost four years.

MICHAEL:

How does she fair with you kissing other gals in your job as an actor on daytime?  Have you had “the talk”?  Most actors have to at some point discuss this with their significant others.

SCOTT:

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There was a period where it made her uncomfortable.  I could not stress enough that I am not actually kissing somebody; it’s just that my lips happen to be touching their lips, and that is not me doing the kissing anyway, it’s Liam, or Schuyler, or it’s Dillon.  So there was a period where she would test me, and ask me all these questions like, “What if I decided I wanted to start acting, and I had a scene where I had to kiss a guy, would you feel jealous?”  And I thought, “Is this a trick?  Am I supposed to say yes?”  But I wound up saying no, because that is closer to the truth.  That is the answer that she hoped I would say, because if I would have said yes, than that means that I can empathize with feeling something. There were times where I would try to explain the difference between a stage kiss and a real kiss to her.  I would give her examples of guys I have seen screw this up where you see tongue.  Sometimes she will go, “Scott, show me a stage kiss!” (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Since you have been here at B&B, have you heard from any one of your former castmates from OLTL?  Perhaps, Farah Fath (Gigi)?  You know the soap world has become so transient; everyone at one point seems to circulate to other soaps!

SCOTT:

Last night I was texting Farah, and I talked to Daphne Duplaix (Ex-Rachel).  I am facebook friends with Brett Claywell (Ex-Kyle) and Scott Evans (Ex-Fish).

MICHAEL:

How is Scott doing?  What is he up to these days?

SCOTT:

I think he is doing well.  All of his facebook posts are fitness oriented.  So I am not sure what is going on there, but I believe Scott is still out in New York.

MICHAEL:

How was Emmy night for you?  What happened when you heard your name was not called, but your then future castmate, Drew Tyler Bell’s (Ex-Thomas) name was, as the winner of Younger Actor?  It had to be awkward.

SCOTT:

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It was awkward, nothing to do with Drew, but I had you and other journalists telling me I should win.  I was disappointed.  I think it came from worry, as I only have one year left in the Younger Actor category.

MICHAEL:

Right.  So you will soon be ineligible in this category after next year.  For your fans that will read this, explain how this Emmy eligibility process works?

SCOTT:

So how that works is; supporting actor is the most competitive area.  If you get nominated for supporting actor your odds are down to nothing, because there are so many great performances up against each other.  Younger Actor is a great category to get nominated in, and you have got good chances there. You have to be 25 years old or younger at the time you shot the scenes.  I am 25 now, and in a month I will be 26, and anything I shoot after that will not be eligible anymore.  However, this year is going to be really sticky for me, because I think the best work I have done so far this year was at the end of my run on One Life to Live.  But, by the time Emmys come around for next year, I will not have been on that show for a year and half. And, it’s a bit presumptuous for me to call over there and go, “Hey, can you guys pre-nominate me even though I have not been on the show?”  So there is that.  Now here at B&B, I don’t have much time left under the age guidelines, even though you are technically allowed to submit material from both shows you were on during the eligibility year, which can be tricky because you wind up splitting the vote.  I was aware of all this before the Emmys.  Once I got nominated I told everyone, “I know for a fact I am not going to win this, because I know what I submitted and it had to be before the good work I did.”  Those scenes were from 2009 and the good work was in 2010.  However, everyone and their mother were coming up to me saying, “We watched the tapes. We read the polls.”  I kept telling people please stop telling me this because it gets in your head and then you believe it and you get heartbroken, and it’s happened to me before.  And objectively speaking, Drew Tyler Bell deserved that Emmy because his performance was very well done.  All I can do is try not to screw it up this year!

MICHAEL:

All of a sudden, bam… here we all find you on You Tube!  You are sitting in front of your computer and video taping these amazing sequences where you are talking about some very “heady” subject matters.  Are you looking to do a host gig?  What is this project all about?

SCOTT:

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It’s not that I am petitioning for a job as a news anchor.  I grew up in a very secular household and not religious.  I am from Southern California, but I grew up in the San Fernando Valley.  And then, when I was around ten, we moved to a very religious community, an evangelical Christian community, and this is stuff I had not really thought about.  There are people who believe in heaven and hell, and I had a very vague understanding of religion.  But moving to this community, I was propositioned by many of my newfound Christian friends.  “Are you coming to Church with us? Why don’t you go to Church?  Have you read the bible or hadn’t you read the bible?”  I became this practice dummy for apologetics and evangelism, and being the only person I knew in my community or school who did not believe in religion.  It was a rude awakening.  These were beliefs that they were trying to get other people to believe, and with good reason.  I can’t blame anybody for that.  However, I started to see that these beliefs inform our politics, and they inform our relationships, and our ethics.  I mean, you have things like Proposition 8.  It became a bigger and bigger deal to me that there seems to be in America a social convention, where you can think anything about the world as long as it’s religious or spiritual in nature, it’s immune from scrutiny and criticism.  And that is kind of the rules.  I don’t believe you should keep your religion to yourself.  If you believe that is true, then you should be allowed to argue for that.  However, I deserve my right to question you.  I see that a lot of people do not think that is OK.  I found YouTube and I went, “My God!  There are Cat People and skaters falling off everything.”   Then I went, “Oh, my God. YouTube is the greatest thing.  I love watching people fall and kitties and watching people playing the piano!”  Then, I stumbled on to this little community on YouTube of critical thinkers and philosophers and people who were exchanging ideas. It was so refreshing, and I wanted in. There was this guy on a YouTube channel who posed a question, “Anybody who does not believe in God, where do your values come from and where do your morals come from?” And I made a video response to that, and that was my first YouTube video and everyone liked it, and nobody knew who I was.  In fact, I have 15,000 subscribers and most of them don’t even know what I do for a living.  I like that, because it’s about what I am saying and not who I am, and it snowballed.  You talk about religion and it forces you to think about big ideas like eternity, and that is why I named my channel Theoretical Bullshit. I know that YouTube has made me smarter just by having to think about my views and how to defend them.

MICHAEL:

Is there a rhythm or rhyme to when you post a new video?   I know when the Proposition 8 same-sex marriage ban was on the way to being overturned in California for a millisecond, that you very timely posted something on this.

SCOTT:

Most of the times I have a backlog of concepts.  But the Prop 8 thing was so contemporary for the time, because Judge Walker had just made that ruling.  And people were going, “Judge Walker made that ruling because he is gay.”  Or they were saying, it’s unconstitutional, and now we have got lobbyists from the bench.  I heard all this junk, and so that video needed to get done now.  There are a lot of videos like that.

MICHAEL:

Do you then see yourself being a motivational speaker, or a speaker who gets up and challenges ideology and religion?

SCOTT:

Yeah, I would love to do that.  I don’t get to just say what I want, as I work for a company and I have obligations, and so I can’t go around being disrespectful to everybody. However, with as much integrity and respect as possible, I would love any public opportunity to challenge conventional beliefs, especially ones religious in nature and especially ones that have affected my life.  Someday it would be great to write a book on that kind of thing.  I feel like I have something to say, and it’s not something everyone else is saying.

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MICHAEL:

Back to B&B, do you have some favorite scenes thus far as Liam?

SCOTT:

I do, but I cannot tell you about them yet!  My favorite scene is with Hope and it was really recent.  It was just that Ed Scott let me be really weird and not cool in the scene. However, there has been some emotional stuff with Don Diamont that I am proud of, and objectively speaking those are my favorites.

MICHAEL:

You know what I have been thinking?  Something has to come up down the line where your father needs an organ donor and it’s up to you, as the son, to save his life, as you would be the match.  And, that would bond them and create a breakthrough in their relationship.  It’s the tried and true soap device 101 for familial situation like this.  However, I hope it does not go there, and become cliché.

SCOTT:

You know, Don talks about this where eventually Liam almost dies, or something like that, and where all of a sudden they realize it would be a loss if they did not have the other party in their life.  I think if that moment ever comes, that will be a nice moment for Liam and Bill.

MICHAEL:

So now, Liam is headed into a triangle or quadrangle with Hope, Oliver and Steffy all involved!

SCOTT:

And now they have the new Thomas! You know Adam Gregory (Thomas) and I both auditioned for Liam, and then it came down to both of us for the part.  But the irony is, Adam and I also were both up for 90210 and he beat me out for that part.  I am so glad he got hired on the show.

MICHAEL:

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That’s right, he could be the real spoiler here, perhaps.  So what do you think is Liam’s dream job?  I am very confused as to what he wants to do, or be.

SCOTT:

I am confused, too.  Liam so far, as writ, has not expressed a career dream. Right now, he can imagine that he is going to try on what it will be like to work for Bill.  So we know that that is on the table.  Liam has an education in computer technology.  He is young and has slang, but not a Spinelli sort of geek from GH.  He is a very real proto-typical kid in his early twenties. And, to introduce a real kid like that to soapland is a really cool contrast.

MICHAEL:

Do you think we will learn even more into Bill Spencer and your mom’s past, and what happened there?

SCOTT:

We have done a lot of that… exploring what the real relationship was between Bill and the mom.  I think as we go we will learn even more, and the writing is really nice as clues are dropped like, “Handsome is as Handsome does.”  What does that mean?  It’s cool, and a reminder that there is more there than meets the eye.

MICHAEL:

B&B has such a talented cast.  Who else would you like to work with? Perhaps Sarah Brown (Aggie)?

SCOTT:

I would love to do scenes with Sarah. I would love to do scenes with Rick Hearst (Whip).  He is my boy and he is from General Hospital. I think I learned so much from him, Tyler Christopher (Nikolas, GH) and Maurice, when I was young and learning.  They influenced me the most.  And now to come back full circle, Rick would be real fun to work with, and Susan Flannery, (Stephanie) she was great to work with! I have been pretty lucky with the rest of the cast, who are great, great actors.

MICHAEL:

Ok Scott, so here is the big question.  Is this character of Liam more like you?  Or, is one of your other famous soap roles of Dillon, or Schuyler, the truer you?

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SCOTT:

Yeah, and in retrospect, is the least like me.  Schuyler represents certain parts of me, but here is what I do.  When I have a new character that I have to play and I am reading the script, I am imagining someone other than me saying the lines; a friend, or someone I know.  I picture how those lines would come out from them.  So it’s all kind of mixed.  OLTL’s Schuyler was a mixture of one of my friends, and Guy Pierce in Memento.  Then, Dillon was a different one of my friends, plus my gay friend, plus somebody else. And then I sprinkle a little bit of me in there with every one of them. Now, if you took me and made me more immature, that would be Liam. So, I can just go on-set and act immature! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

As we end our visit, what would you envision for Liam?  What can you see as his ultimate journey on B&B?

SCOTT:

I would like to see Liam struggle with and ultimately conquer the balance between leadership, like Bill has, and ethics that Bill does not have.  If Liam can find a way in his lifetime to reconcile, or on this show’s lifetime, (laughs) and he can find a way to reconcile those two, then I think he can become a wonderful man.

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Great interview, by a great actor.

There were some comments from him that seemed like passive aggresive digs at GH (how static it is, inferiority to Maurice Bernard) and OLTL (pressure filled environment). Actors shouldn’t diss their former employers. And he seems to be the kind of actor who’s in it to play the awards show game. It’s really refreshing when actors don’t care abt that or stop submitting when they feel like they’ve had enough awards or don’t have the material. I disagree though that Clifton is a good addition to B&B. The cast is overbloated. They need to trim it instead of putting more people. The love/hate bickering between Liam and Bill was so forced and contrived. They were aiming for comedy but it was very corny and really cringeworthy. Also, they already had the good storyline w/ the party boink that they didn’t need to include Liam in there. Hope/Oliver will have this angsty rel bec of him sleeping w/ Brooke. The conflict is already there. Conroy has more chemistry w/ Matula and JMW. He’s more of the leading man kinda guy and it’s more believable for them to be battling for Oliver instead of for Liam. Now w/ Steffy declaring that she now likes Liam, the char is painted as a pathetic, desperate mess who loses credibility bec she only likes men to compete w/ Hope. Also, Conroy is the better actor. He’s more laid back and natural, but can also be dramatic when Oliver angrily told Liam that he stole Hope. Clifton’s eyes kept darting and he makes distracting facial expressions and odd acting choices. It’s like his definition of acting is not being able to stand still for a few seconds. Now w/ nuThomas set to become interested in Hope, where does that leave Conroy? It’s doubtful they’d have 3 of their younger men go after Hope. It would be a mistake for B&B to write Conroy off the show, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if they do that, given B&B’s track record.

It would be a terrible mistake for them to get rid of Zack Conroy.Not only is he one of the better actors on this show, but he’s so adorable as Oliver.Also I love to see Scott acting with Don Diamont.Don is Mr. Gorgeous..i love his character of Dollar Bill.I hope Scotts’ Liam character won’t be following in his fathers’ footsteps.No one but Don Diamont can play that “i do it my way” role!

Conroy’s better than Clifton. Conroy’s more laid back and natural. But he can also be dramatic, like when Oliver confronted Liam abt Hope. Clifton’s acting was cringeworthy during the Bill/Liam arc. Their bickering was aiming for comedy, but it was very corny bec the acting from Diamont and CLifton were awful. It’s so typical of B&B that Liam’s search for his bio daddy was stretched out. While B&B had one of the few black chars, Marcus, search for his bio mommy on warp speed. Immediately, zillionaire Donna didn’t even think he was scamming her and already was saying “My baby!” And when his bio daddy arrived, he didn’t even question if Donna slept w/ other men. It almost felt like B&B couldn’t wait to wrap up Marcus’s storyline as quickly as they could. But Liam’s search lasted longer and involved more chars. Clifton made such odd acting choices and distracting facial expressions when Oliver confronted Liam. It’s almost like he was aiming for comedy, w/c was inappropriate for the context of the arc. Clifton’s Liam also acts overcaffeinated. It’s like he can’t stay still for a few seconds. It’s verging on screaming “Look at me! I’m acting!”. W/ nuThomas arriving and getting involved w/ Hope, it’s doubtful B&B will let 3 of their younger men go after Hope. So where does this leave Conroy? It would be a shame if B&B writes him out bec he can actually act. But it would be keeping w/ B&B’s track record. B&B shouldn’t have messed w/ Hope/Liam/Steffy. And after the party boink, the drama is already there w/ Hope and Oliver.

I rather enjoy the character of Liam. Particularly how he entered subtely and and I think his character is a refreshing change for the show. The actor Scott is great too. One day I actually paused the show to show my boyfriend, because I think they look alike. Needless to say, I think Scott is cute 🙂 I also think Scott seems very talented, smart, mature and down-to-earth. As per the show, I like Liam & Bill’s dynamic. At this point they accept each other but will definitely butt heads considering Liam was very distressed by what happened with Steffy’s presentation and Bill’s job is to cover (and initiate or at least become involved with) these situations. So that will be interesting for them as well as Liam and Hope. I also think that Hope has her hands full especially if the new Thomas is interested in her, too. So you know what the show needs? Another younger female actress to be a love interest for the emerging younger men in the show and guess what? Today is your lucky day, becuase you have a huge fan and volunteer right here 😉 Being a soap actor seems like so much fun! Best of luck!

I have seen Scott in all three roles of GH, OLTL, and now B&B. He has done major jobs on all of them. So, he is certainly employable by the best soaps for good reason. He can act! He can fit any role, I think because he is like Everyman. I just knew he would be Bill’s son, because Bill was too obvious in not wanting him and Thorne did. It was no surprise to me. He is very intelligent with various thoughts on life and religion. So it will be interesting to see if he takes those things further. This was a very good interview, Michael. I was really interested in learning more about Scott.

Scott’s quirky movements and cadence are his own….not much acting there. At times, his delivery is forced and insincere….would love to see him create a character rather than repurpose himself for the show.

Glad to see that on a personal level he has challenged the false premises of modern, counterfeit Christian organizations. Ironically, his counterarguments run more parallel to Jesus’ castigations of the false church than he realizes.

Great interview! Scott is so awesome!

I think having Scott Clifton as Don Diamont adds some adventure and some reality to Bill’s father figure and it makes it more appetizing in a more challenging pursuance for boy get girl, boy loses girl, like father like son.

Keep Scott Clifton as Liam Spencer he is Awesome.

Like to see liam and Hope back together pls, they make a good young couple, I m hurting seing hope like this, she can not be hurt by her first lover no pls, if so she ll end ud like her mom trying to find true love.

Who is Scott Clifton married to

He is a great, sexy actor.

Interviews

Y&R’s Michelle Stafford Talks on Her Lead Actress Daytime Emmy Nomination, Allison Lanier, and ‘Pacific Palisades’ with Finola Hughes

It has been 20-years since daytime dynamo, Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) of The Young and the Restless, has captured the Daytime Emmy for her continued outstanding performances. She previously won Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1997 and Outstanding Lead Actress in 2004, and along the way has amassed 12 nominations for her work.

Now, Stafford finds herself in a crowded field of women going for gold at the upcoming 51st annual Daytime Emmys to be handed out on Friday, June 7th on CBS. Nominated along with Michelle in this year’s Lead Actress race are: Finola Hughes (Anna, GH), Annika Noelle (Hope, B&B), Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke, B&B), Cynthia Watros (Nina, GH) and Tamara Braun (Ava, DAYS).

Michael Fairman TV chatted with Michelle about her nominated scenes, her on-screen daughter, Allison Lanier being recognized for the first time in her career for her work as Summer, and her enduring friendship with Finola Hughes; which dates all the way back to when they were co-stars on the 1997 primetime soap opera, Pacific Palisades. 

Photo: JPI

Michelle participated in the Michael Fairman Channel’s 10th annual Daytime Emmy Nomination Special last Friday, where she chatted with us and the fans live to celebrate her nomination along with several other actors. Here’s what Michelle shared on these key topics below.

Photo: JPI

What scenes did you submit, and what about those scenes did you think showcased you as an actress for the Lead Actress competition?

MICHELLE:
I went from the beginning of Phyllis’ spin out, to her pleading to be exonerated. The thing that I liked is it showed what I do love about the character of Phyllis, and that is that she is dark. She can be very dark and really fierce, but then very broken. I liked that it showed all of that. I had some scenes with Tracey E. Bregman (Lauren) and Christian LeBlanc (Michael) that I started with that weren’t really meant to be as intense as they were, but they ended up being very intense. Basically, Phyllis is talking to her friends and no one believes her about this woman, Diane (Susan Walters). No one believes her and she has no friends and no one wants to know her. She’s become the villain, and it showed her just complete frustration. Then, there is this scene. It was so funny because Phyllis is like in Diane’s face going, “You’re afraid of me.” And then, I got up in her face and Phyllis goes, “and you should be afraid of me.” I’m watching it going, “Bitch, I’m afraid of you!” And then, at the end of my reel, she is just so broken talking to the judge.

Photo: JPI

Your on-screen daughter, Allison Lanier, scored her first Daytime Emmy nomination and in the highly-competitive Supporting Actress in a Daytime Drama series category. What are your thoughts on Allison?

MICHELLE: Allison worked so hard last year. She works hard all the time. She’s so great. I’m so happy for her because she’s just a very focused, hardworking actress. I think, she really has a great look and she’s just fantastic. I feel just so rich in that Hunter King played my daughter for so many years, and now I have Allison.  You know, Allison came into the story when my character was really jacked up and very adversarial and fighting with Summer all the time. I think it was a little daunting for Allison, but she got it. This is daytime, and you have to get on the express train. It’s moving. You either jump on or you don’t get on. Not every actor can do it. It’s a special technique and I think that’s what we all love about it, because that’s the challenge to actually put out something somewhat decent. I never want to say good, because I don’t know if it’s good but somewhat decent, in the limited time we have. I saw what Allison submitted which was fantastic. It’s really impressive. I always say anyone who could be good in daytime is phenomenal out there.

Photo Fox

You and Finola Hughes are nominated together, and are good friends dating all the way back to when you were both on Pacific Palisades together. You had played the character of Joanna, and Finola was the character of Kate. What do you recall about your time on the show?

MICHELLE: The characters we played were best friends on Pacific Palisaides, and I created a great friendship with Finola. Looking back at my time on that show, I don’t think I appreciated it as much as I should have. Of course, I was younger and I thought, “This is my first show. I’ll get many more.” You don’t appreciate things like you do when you’re older. Not that I didn’t appreciate it. I mean, I knew I was really fortunate. I knew I was lucky. I grew up in this business. I knew how lucky I was, but it was just a very different kind of character for me to play. I think it was a little challenging because I had gone from playing Phyllis, to playing like this wholesome Midwestern girl off the farm. So, that was a bit challenging for me, but I had a good time.

So, what do you think of the scenes submitted by Michelle for this year’s Emmy competition? Will you be rooting for her to win her first Emmy in over 20 years? What do you remember about Finola and Michelle in ‘Pacific Palisades’? And, what do you think about the on-screen dynamic between on-screen mother and daughter as played by Michelle and Allison Lanier? Weigh-in via the comment section. And in case you missed it, you can catch the ’10th annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Special’ below featuring live conversations with 10 of this year’s acting nominees.

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General Hospital

GH’s Finola Hughes Chats on Her Lead Actress Daytime Emmy Nomination, New Directions for Characters in Port Charles, and Anna’s Love Life

In four out of the last five years, General Hospital favorite, Finola Hughes (Anna Devane), has almost become a perennial nominee having once again scored a Daytime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress for the upcoming 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.

Hard to believe, but Hughes won her one and only Daytime Emmy back in 1991, and has amassed a total of 11 Emmy nominations during her enduring daytime drama career. As those who have watched GH know, throughout any calendar year, you can find numerous stellar performances by Finola that could be tops on any Emmy reel.

Michael Fairman TV chatted with Finola during the 10th annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Special to get her reaction to landing in the field of six fantastic women vying for gold, what scenes went on her now Emmy-nominated reel, what she thinks of how GH is shaking things up under new head writers, Patrick Mulcahey and Elizabeth Korte, and the future of Anna’s love life. Here’s what she shared below.

Photo: ABC

What scenes did you wind up submitting that landed you in the running for the Daytime Emmy in this year’s Lead Actress category?

FINOLA: The whole Charlotte (Scarlett Fernandez) shooting and the accident and that whole thing. Then, talking about that with Sonny (Maurice Benard), and then a bit of the breakup with Valentin (James Patrick Stuart), and then finding out that Valentin had lied.

Who helped you put the reel together?

FINOLA: One of our producers at GH, Michelle Henry. We have these amazing producers. They’re sort of the unsung heroes. They’re in the booth all day when we’re shooting. They do this wonderful thing where they earmark something, if they think that it’s been a good performance. So, they just have this sort of little list (that helps come Emmy time). So, that’s how that worked with Michelle.

Photo: ABC

Now you’ve had a string of recent Daytime Emmy nominations. Do you think GH is  writing more for your strengths in the last several years?

FINOLA:  Yes, and I think it’s become stronger recently. I think writers really take the lead sometimes from an actress or an actor who’s going through something or moving through something in their life. Maybe, that’s they were just seeing, you know, different layers and colors and so they started to write to that.  I’m not sure. It certainly felt like I’ve had some things (material) that resonated with me.

What I have loved about Anna is that she is very complex. She often wrestles with herself over her past as a double agent, or certain guilt that she carries around. It’s interesting when the lines are blurred for her and things get messy.

FINOLA:  I do well with complex and I like messy.

So, what do you think about the nominees in the Lead Actress category with you?

FINOLA:  They are great. I don’t know Annika Noelle (Hope, B&B) very well, but I hear she did wonderful work and she sent me a lovely message. Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke, B&B) I obviously reached out to, Tamara Braun (Ava, DAYS) reached out to me, and Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, Y&R) and I just got on the phone last night and congratulated each other on our nominations, and of course, Cynthia (Watros) is here with me at GH.

Photo: JPI

You do like do like the fashion of it all for Emmy night, correct?

FINOLA: God, I I live for it. I’m as shallow as that. I might play some complex on television, but I’m that shallow in real life.

So, do you go by the trends of what to pick out to wear for a red carpet, or you just kind of go off what you think looks good on you?

FINOLA: I do like the trends. I really like the fact that the sleeve is having a big moment right now since the film Poor Things. It sent it into the stratosphere.

It’s been 33 years since you won your last Emmy. Do you think you’re a better actress now than when you were even 10 years ago?

FINOLA: I have no idea. It feels like a game of golf always for me, because get on set, like today, I was doing some work this morning and I just doubt myself.  I’m like, “Did I really bring it?” I do think I’m harder on myself now than I was when I was younger, because I really didn’t know what I was doing at all.  It’s a very hard question to answer. I feel like it’s different, but I’m constantly in battle with myself as to whether something works or not.

Photo: ABC


What are your thoughts then on being Emmy-nominated, at times, for more than three decades?

FINOLA: At this point in my life, I just find the whole thing encouraging and extraordinarily sort of affirming, and sweet and lovely. It’s extraordinary to even be acknowledged. That’s the truth.

Currently, on-air, Anna is taking a harder line with Sonny. There’s been a shift.

FINOLA:  Yes. That’s been really interesting. I was talking about this with Steve Burton (Jason), and we actually were working together today. We found like this level between the two of us when it comes to Sonny. It was just really like another whole level as to what I’m doing. I think what’s happened is people’s roles in Port Charles are becoming delineated, you know, where there’s less gray. It’s like we’re sort of moving into areas, right? All of us. That’s kind of great because then you’ve got the hospital, you’ve got the police station, you’ve got the mob, you’ve got the Quartermaines you’ve got Curtis’ nightclub, and so there’s these different areas. Then, your character becomes very specific.  I had those scenes with Genie Francis (Laura) that aired the other day, and it makes sense that we are sort of waking up because unfortunately Sonny’s going through something which we don’t know about, but he’s not behaving well. So, therefore we are like, “If he would do that, then we need to wake up to that Sonny has always been like that.” But, it’s not true. Sonny hasn’t always been like that. We still deal in the gray, because we are searching for the gray in ourselves, which is interesting. And then we have to make a decision, such as, “Where do you stand? Who are you actually?” I think posing those questions to the actual characters is kind of interesting.

Photo: ABC

Now, who’s going to be the man in Anna’s life?

FINOLA:  Well, I want to do some more stuff with James. Obviously, James and I text all the time about how we’re not working together. We all know what Valentin’s up to. However,  Anna doesn’t quite know.

I was originally thinking they might put John “Jagger” Cates (Adam Harrington) in a romance with Anna?

FINOLA: Oh, I know. I love Adam. He’s so wonderful, and so is Charles Mesure (Brennan). Obviously, Laura Wright (Carly) has been working with the two of them as well. They’re both looking like they are in love with Carly, so what can I do? I’ll just take the leftovers. However, I’m hoping that I get to play Valentin. The thing that’s interesting is that he’s a Cassadine. His father has now passed on, so he’s now at the front of the wagon of the Cassadines. It’s in his blood. So, I don’t know what they’ll do.

Photo: ABC

What was our family’s reaction when you told you are an Emmy nominee? 

FINOLA: We had just taped three days of a very big event on the show. I was really tired yesterday and I was sort of laying down pretending to take a nap, as I never can nap in the middle of a day. Then, Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital) called me to say that, Cynthia Watros and myself, had been nominated for Lead Actress. So, I actually got up and I walked outside and my three kids were sort of wandering around doing kid teenage stuff. I sort of told each of them individually. I was like, “I got nominated.”  They actually said, “Congratulations!” So, I think it actually resonated through the haze of online extravaganzas that teens are looking at it.

Make sure to check out the 2024 Daytime Emmy Nominations Special from this past Friday night below, where several of this year’s Daytime Emmy nominees stopped by the Michael Fairman Channel to share their reactions and more on going for gold come June 7th.

Now let us know, are you happy Finola was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series? Who do you hope Anna winds up with romantically down the line on GH under new head writers, Patrick Mulcahey and Elizabeth Korte? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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Days Of Our Lives

Stephen Schnetzer Talks On His Return to Days of our Lives and Working with Susan Seaforth Hayes In Emotional Episodes

Who says you can’t go home again? In the case of Another World favorite, Stephen Schnetzer (ex-Cass Winthrop), he has proven that it is true, and you can go back to your soap roots and where it all started for you.

Last week on April 11th, Schnetzer, along with several other key returns were on set at Days of our Lives taping all-new episodes of the Peacock streaming soap opera, centering on the funeral of Doug Williams (the late Bill Hayes), and as part of the iconic soap opera’s 15,000th episode.

Stephen is reprising his first daytime role as Steve Olson, the brother of Julie Williams (Susan Seaforth Hayes). The last time Schnetzer appeared on a DAYS set was during his one and only run on the show from 1978 to 1980. Clearly, viewers will be in for some very emotional scenes when Steve returns to Salem to be there for his sister, Julie in her time of need. In real-life, Susan has been going through her own grief, having just lost Bill back on January 12th at the age of 98.

Photo: NBC

Michael Fairman TV caught up with Stephen during the 15K episode celebration ceremony, and during a break from taping the gut-wrenching funeral scenes, to get his thoughts on being part of these highly-anticipated moments that will air later this year in December. Here’s what he shared with us below.

What has this been like for you to work with Susan Seaforth Hayes after all of these years?

STEPHEN: She’s a dream and she’s so bright. We ran lines yesterday and we ended up just visiting for about 45 minutes and just catching up and telling tales about each other’s career. She even dropped off the autobiography that she and Bill did. And being back here at DAYS, every time I turn a corner, there’s another familiar face. When I was on the show 40 more years ago, a bunch of the guys, played softball on a team together. This is really a trip down memory lane as I knew it would be.

Photo: JPI

Taping Doug’s funeral must be a hard day for Susan. Are you checking in with her to help hold her up through this?

STEPHEN: I am and I’m checking in with Amy Shaughnessy (Susan’s assistant), and she’s holding her up more than anybody. We’re there for each other.

There will obviously be some major hankie-inducing moments when Steve comes back to Salem to console his sister.

STEPHEN: Oh, wait till you see it in December. It’s going to be great.

Were you surprised you got this call to come back to the show decades later?

STEPHEN: It was out of the blue! I was completely surprised. They should have called me decades ago! That’s what surprised me. When Another World went down, I thought I’d land somewhere else and it never happened. That was more of a surprise.

Photo: JPI

Cass is such an identifiable character for you. As well, you and Linda Dano (ex-Felicia Gallant) are so synonymous together as best friends Cass and Felicia from Another World. When fans heard you were reprising your role as Steve Olson on DAYS, they are now hoping there will be more of you on the show to come.

STEPHEN: Steven Olson is a real “Cassian “character. I cut my teeth on Steve Olson and that’s how Cass was introduced. He was kind of a roguish charmer. And then when the character stuck for Another World, they rehabilitated me, and turned me into one of the shows heroes. And that’s what would’ve happened if I stayed as Steve Olson probably. So, Steve is the ‘pre-Cass’, Cass.

Photo: JPI

As the story goes, you originally decided to leave Days of our Lives?

STEPHEN: I was never on contract. I was doing a day and a half a week and I got a Broadway play directed by Franco Zeffirelli starring Joan Plowright and Frank Finlay. I was able to it as I didn’t have to break a contract or anything. I cut loose and went back to New York for that.

How well did you get to know Bill Hayes during your first time around on DAYS?

STEPHEN: My first episode was with Bill and Susan, as her long lost brother coming into Salem. They were so good to me. They were so kind. I had been doing eight years of classical repertory theater, never been in front of a camera. I tell everybody, it took me longer than any other actor I’ve ever seen to get comfortable in front of a camera. And they were very supportive at that time in my career. Coming back to honor Bill now in 2024, and to be see Susan, I am just so happy to be here.

Looking forward to seeing the scenes between Stephen and Susan Seaforth Hayes come December and Doug’s funeral and surrounding episodes? Do you hope that DAYS might bring the character of Steve Olson back for a longer stay? Comment below.

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