All this week we have been airing new episodes of our web series, WE LOVE SOAPS TV, that were shot on Damon L. Jacobs recent trip to the DAYS OF OUR LIVES studio. Actors Joseph Mascolo, Kristian Alfonso, Drake Hogestyn, Chandler Massey, Matt Ashford, Casey Deidrick, Camila Banus, Casey Deidrick and executive producer Greg Meng filled us in on what's ahead for the beloved soap as it counts down to a major "reboot" starting on September 26. Below are some excerpts from our interviews.
Joseph Mascolo: I'm always amazed at Stefano's being so prolific, having children all over the world. I'm amazed that a man as brilliant as Stefano, does not know how to make love to a woman without impregnating her. I mean, how can that be? Every time someone walks through the door, it's like, here's your other son! Oh, okay.
Joseph Mascolo: At the time that they called me [to join the cast in 1982] I was doing a play with Burt Reynolds down in Houston. So when they called me, I had no idea what they were talking about.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Stefano and Marlena have a very complex relationship?
Joseph Mascolo: Yes, as a matter of fact, we had a scene together a week ago, and it was really kind of fun, to get back to those notes again, and I think she enjoyed it, too. And God bless her, she looks wonderful.
Watch the complete interview on WE LOVE SOAPS TV at http://welovesoa.ps/JMascolo
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: In the past I've asked you about "Chill", the Chad and Will friendship, but lately I've been loving the scenes that have been going on between Chad and Sonny. Casey Deidrick: I've been hearing a lot about that after the scenes I had the other day where Chad sticks up for Sonny. It's fun because the thing with "Chill" we never expected to happen either. It just kind of happened and the fans just kind of enjoyed us together. And now Sonny and Chad, everyone wants us together. I'm cool with it, whatever, I'm enjoying it. I love working with Freddie [Smith]. He's amazing to work with, and same thing with Chandler [Massey]. Whatever happens happens. I just feel blessed I can work with such talented actors.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: On a much more surface note, Chad was shot this past week. Can I say, dude, you have been working out? You have been working it out.
Casey Deidrick: [Former executive producer] Gary Tomlin pulled me aside about three weeks prior to that shoot and was like, 'You're character is going to be shot.' I'm like, 'Oh no, I'm going to die?' And he said, 'No, no, no, no you're going to be shot in the shoulder. You're fine. I'm just giving you a heads up so you can work out, beef up.'
I was skinny. I immediately got onto the Brad Pitt workout program, the same workout program he used for Troy. I basically worked out every single day. I was on a strict diet no carbs, no sugar, just chicken, fish, vegetables, eating as much as possible every day.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: How did you do that? No sugar? No sweets?
Casey Deidrick: I'd wake up first in the morning with three eggs and oatmeal. Waited two to three hours, [then] I'd work out and have a protein shake. And then I'd have like a chicken salad for lunch, and then I'd have another protein shake or almonds or peanuts or something like that. And then I'd have fish and vegetables and spinach and stuff like that for dinner. And right before I went to bed I had another protein shake. Probably 200 grams of protein a day.
Watch the complete interview on WE LOVE SOAPS TV at http://welovesoa.ps/CDeidrick
Camila Banus: I remember, Gabi was getting her appendix removed, sitting in a hospital bed, thinking about if her boyfriend was into her! I remember that specifically... At this point, she's not even asking anymore, "Is he not into me?" She's basically saying, "What's wrong with me, that he doesn't like me?" She's blaming herself... Camila Banus: The gay storyline is just something that—we are so confused. Us as actors. We don't know! We honestly don't know. They are putting us in a position where we are just up in the air... One week, Gabi and Will are perfectly, wonderfully, wonderful and good together, and then another week, she's confused again. So it's very confusing for us and the audience, so I feel your pain!
Camila Banus: DAYS OF OUR LIVES is a very religious show, and [Will] feels all those pressures, especially when he has his grandma come in, you know: “What if my grandma's going to know, what if my mom's going to know?” It's all those things that you don't want to say, and you don't want to admit to yourself, either, you know what I mean? So it's hard.
Watch the complete interview on WE LOVE SOAPS TV at http://welovesoa.ps/CBanus
Eric Martsolf: It is very good to see you. You're actually one of the nicest media outlets around here, you know that? WE LOVE SOAPS TV: It's so people tell us their deepest, darkest secrets.
Eric Martsolf: So it's like a manipulation? Well, that's nothing I'm not used to. I work with women who... it's their job to manipulate any man that comes their way, that's all they do, all day long. So I'm good!
Eric Martsolf: What do you know, a new girl comes to town. In the form of Sarah Joy Brown, who I'm a big fan--she's great... I know her work very well. I did a little dance in my room when I found out who was coming on for me. She's a powerhouse, she's tough, and she has not come to this show lightly. She comes out in a big way and, Brady kind of digs her. He likes her power. He likes her strength.
Eric Martsolf: It takes home accessories to knock Brady out, I guess [laughs].
Watch the complete interview on WE LOVE SOAPS TV at http://welovesoa.ps/EMartsolf
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: We know that, as Jack has not been here, Jennifer has been developing a relationship with a "friend" Dr. Daniel Jonas, and their relationship has gotten pretty hot and heavy?Matt Ashford: Call it Team Daniel [versus] Team Jack. You know what, I really like him, as a great great guy, and a really good actor. So I really think Jack has more than his job cut out for him... and [Daniel]'s a doctor--can't beat that.
Matt Ashford: I've been working on THE BAY, actually, it's a little bit strange playing opposite Mary Beth Evans, and playing a very different kind of character... very dark, but strange.
Matt Ashford: It is kind of humbling, to realize your part of this story that just goes on, and is kind of woven into the fabric of America, and American couples. It's kind of like, all roads lead back to Rome.
Matt Ashford: It's a very difficult situation right now, with Peter and Christian, with Bo and Hope, because Bo and Hope and Jack and Jennifer, you could see we were kind of raising our kids side by side, and now, we've reached this difficult, strange patch where Jennifer has been away from Jack, she's been very unhappy, she meets a new guy: she's happy again! So where does that put Bo and Hope? They have to navigate this strange place.
Watch the complete interview on WE LOVE SOAPS TV at http://welovesoa.ps/MAshford
Chandler Massey: When I got the job I went back and watched as many DAYS episodes as I could find online, so I was so sad when Carrie and Austin left, and then John and Marlena left, but not they're all back so it's cool--because I'm almost like a fan of them, you know? WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Will and Gabby have gotten much, much closer--they did the nasty, had sex, made love, whatever...
Chandler Massey: I prefer, "Did the nasty."
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Is there anything you would like to tell our fans about what we're going to be seeing in September, as far as Will's involvement with Sonny, or his non-involvement with Sonny?
Chandler Massey: I think Will does have a really close relationship with Sonny in that Will kind of looks up to him, and respects him. As far as we know, Sonny's the only openly gay character In Salem, and he's already encountered some hate there.
Watch the complete interview on WE LOVE SOAPS TV at http://welovesoa.ps/CMassey
Drake Hogestyn: My teammates, my roommates, they would order up room service, and they would watch soap operas... when they were coming up here to play the Dodgers, they would call me up, "Hey Hogie, can we come on the set?" At that time, I was in a romance: Roman and Diana, remember that? Genie Francis was my costar, and here were these big baseball players, and they came into the studio and they just melted, like little kids, in front of Genie...
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: You've played so many characters... How do you keep all this straight in your mind?
Drake Hogestyn: You know, it's interesting, in my dressing room--the one I was in for a long preriod of time (until I left) I had written on my wall... it was like a diagrammed sentence: all my storylines, where they went, who was involved, so I could keep track...
Drake Hogestyn: John comes back to Salem at the very tail end of the recovery process, only to meet another foe... as soon as he lands, we're off and running on a new storyline. It's topical, it's torn out of the front page news, it's something people can relate to... they're character-driven stories...you can't stop turning the pages of your script.
Watch the complete interview on WE LOVE SOAPS TV at http://welovesoa.ps/DHogestyn
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Are there reasons people will want to watch before the reset? Greg Meng: There are!
What we've got are little "mini-plots." A mini-plot is a little surprise that does have a plot, that we're inserting into the shows. It could be serving as a clue: we'll leave that up to you to figure out.
Greg Meng: We have Bo and Hope actually working, yes! Working together. So that's fun. And you do need to watch now because you have to see where we're going to take this.
Greg Meng: We don't just have a gay character on the show. We're going to do a gay storyline. There's more to Sonny, and there isn't just one gay character in Salem. And that's all I can say right now.
Watch the complete interview on WE LOVE SOAPS TV at http://welovesoa.ps/GregMeng
Kristian Alfonso: I love that Hope is in the thick of it all, and I love, also, the stories that are being written, and I love how everyone gets to work with one another. For the last couple of years, there's been, like, groups of people... now, we're all working together. And I love that. WE LOVE SOAPS TV: We love that [Hope] is always tenacious, and stubborn...
Kristian Alfonso: And she's getting that back! She really lost that. I mean, the last two years have been... it was a difficult two years, because I wasn't recognizing the character that I had played for so many years... We're getting back to basics.
Kristian Alfonso: You can't wait until the end of September to watch, you have to start watching now, because all of the changes are slowly taking place...you are definitely going to see Hope in action, you're going to see Hope discover a lot of things, a lot of mysteries... Okay, I'll tell you different characters that Hope will be working with. You're going to see some Hope and Stefano scenes--there's a huge mystery there. A lot of it also revolves around: Frances [Reid]. Alice Horton.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Can you tell us anything about your jewelry business, and what you've been working on?
Kristian Alfonso: Actually, this is a preview of a new pair of earrings (shows the earrings she's wearing), which are not available quite yet--but will be.
Watch the complete interview on WE LOVE SOAPS TV at http://welovesoa.ps/KAlfonso
Damon L. Jacobs is a Licensed Therapist in New York City who specializes in treating depression, stress management, anger management, ageism, and grief/loss issues. He is also the author of the popular book "Absolutely Should-less: The Secret to Living the Stress-Free Life You Deserve," currently available at Amazon.com. For more information about scheduling a Skype consultation or a speaking engagement, please email him at [email protected].
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