The Peapack Interviews: Mandy Bruno & Robert Bogue

We Love Soaps traveled to Peapack, New Jersey before GUIDING LIGHT taped their final episode. As fans prepare to say goodbye to the beloved 72-year-old soap on September 18, we are sharing our interviews with the cast including real-life couple Mandy Bruno and Robert Bogue. Bruno and Bogue shared their thoughts about the show's ending, their storylines and the future.


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As we began our conversation, Bogue was jokingly upset at missing out on a caption contest prize from New Yorker Magazine.

Robert Bogue: Oh Man! The New York contest I entered, the one where you submit captions for cartoons, the one that won was mine! You know New Yorker Magazine? And the funny cartoons that they have? Some people want to win a Nobel Peace Price. I want to win a submission for one of those cartoons.
Mandy Bruno: He entered one, and the website wouldn’t take it. And then the one that won was exactly like the one he wrote.
Robert Bogue: I was screwed by a hanging chad. So what are we talking about, huh?

We Love Soaps: How are you two doing with the end of GUIDING LIGHT?
Mandy Bruno: Sad. Really sad. For me this was my first gig out of college. I left college to come out here and do this. It’s become my family, it’s become my home, and the thing I’ve been doing for the past five plus years. There’s a really sad element to it for me. I’m going to miss everything about it. I mean, who gets to do what they love every day? I am so blessed to have had that opportunity. But still hopeful, hopeful that it’s going to get picked up somewhere along the line in some way. I think we’ve got a good thing here.
Robert Bogue: : I agree. Probably emotionally, all over the map. Kind of like, what is it, the five stages of death? Denial, anger, bitterness, some level of acceptance.

We Love Soaps: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression...
Robert Bogue: Bargaining! Been doing a lot of bargaining.

We Love Soaps: What does that look like for you to be bargaining?
Robert Bogue: I think we’re all bargaining to finish it right, to tell the story we want to tell, how do you want to finish it, how can we prolong it, all that kind of stuff.

We Love Soaps: Both of you came on as recasts. That’s a huge challenge. Not only do you have the burden of starting on a new show, but you have the weight of the previous actor. For you [Mandy] fresh out of college, what was it like to come on the show and resume your role from an actor who had been very popular?
Mandy Bruno: I was petrified. I had never done any kind of television work before. I was strictly musical theater, and didn’t know the first thing about booms and the cameras and hitting your mark and standing vis-à-vis, now all common terms, but at the time I was petrified. I’ll never forget Liz Keifer sat me down and [said], “I’ve been there honey. You’ve really just got to take a deep breath and let it go and make it your own. Don’t think of it as replacing somebody, think of it as creating something new.” It was great advice, and I’ve had a lot of fun doing that. Marina has aged, in five years she’s gone from like 18 to 30. So it’s been really fun to tackle a character growing up. It’s been a blast, I’ve had a lot of fun doing it. She’s had a lot of highs, a lot of lows, a lot of in betweens. It’s been a lot of fun, but I was definitely nervous. I won’t lie, there’s days when you sit there and think, “Uhhh, I hope I’m doing this right, am I doing this justice?”

We Love Soaps: Do you still feel that way now, five years later?
Mandy Bruno: Totally!

We Love Soaps: When did it start to click for you that you were actually doing a job and Marina was clicking?
Mandy Bruno: A few years into the show, once I hit my three year mark and they offered me a new contract. You have that moment of, “They like me!” [laughs]. But at the same time, five years later, you still wonder, “Am I doing this right?” You’re always looking to improve your craft, and you check in with your director, and you check in with your producer, and everything’s going alright. And as long as they keep giving me the thumbs up I keep going ahead.

We Love Soaps: What was that like for you Rob to come in as a recast?
Robert Bogue: : Actually I’m not fond of the recast, I prefer the first Mallet [laughs]. You know, you have that interlude where you look at the old tapes.

We Love Soaps: You watched his tapes first?
Robert Bogue: : Yeah and then one or two minutes in you go, “I can’t be someone else playing someone else.” That was his take on it. I like the way he played it, but I’m a different species. I have to start with myself. You have to let that go real quickly, otherwise you’re always trying to do a recreation of something.

We Love Soaps: Do you feel like the fans were accepting of you, or were you given a hard time with it?
Robert Bogue: Oh I was got a really hard time. Because he was very popular character. Even though it had been ten years, he was still fresh in their minds.
Mandy Bruno: I think it was difficult because this is really the only genre where you see a role recast. It’s like theater in that way. You don’t turn on CSI and there’s suddenly a new lead playing the exact same character. So that’s hard. And I think people get really dedicated to the characters and to the people that started that character. I think it takes people a little while to get used to somebody new. But at the end of the day, fans are supportive. And I think the people who truly love the show have always been wonderfully supportive.

We Love Soaps: What advice would you have given yourself five years ago knowing what you know now?
Mandy Bruno: Enjoy every moment. I think we all get a little ahead of ourselves, I know I do, with storyline and “When is she going to reach this point?” I was always looking ahead. I’d go in and the day the scripts were released for the following week I would go in and read them all. Now that we’re nearing the end, I just take one at a time, read it slowly, and really enjoy it.
Robert Bogue: I have to agree with Mandy. What would I tell myself five years ago? Probably what Liz told Mandy. Breathe, let go, jump in, have fun. The only person who can really limit us as actors is ourselves. We can find all kind of creative and interesting ways to limit ourselves. So probably learning to leave yourself alone, continue to commit and play and have fun, and let your instincts do it.

We Love Soaps: Where were you on April 1st when the news came down [about GUIDING LIGHT's cancellation]?
Robert Bogue: The studio.
Mandy Bruno: We were taping.
Robert Bogue: We just finished a block of scenes and it wasn’t quite break time. Or was it official break time?
Mandy Bruno: Yes, it was official break time, and we were heading out to Peapack, we were gathering our stuff and they called us all in.
Robert Bogue: : We were summoned in to the rehearsal hall, which was strange, that the cast and crew would all have to meet there. We figured it must not be good.

We Love Soaps: Were you surprised?
Robert Bogue: Yeah. I was. After our trip to Universal and everything. It seemed like CBS and P&G had infused us with some commitment and some money. So it did seem like an odd time to pull the plug.
Mandy Bruno: I think a couple months prior we were all getting nervous. And then all of a sudden we saw this huge influx of support, and GUIDING LIGHT ads on the back of People Magazine. And my brother calling me from Oregon saying, “There was just a commercial on the radio on the morning talk show about you guys!” I think we were thinking, “This is good, we’re going to take off from here.” So when we got hit April 1st, when we all got called to the meeting, we were getting nervous, but there was a piece of me that was feeling, “Maybe just maybe this has worked out.”
Robert Bogue: And we just got on our feet with new format. So we were in a groove, it was steady, it felt like we got through that rough learning process. It was an unfortunate time, we felt like we were just on our feet. I didn’t see that coming. And it made it all the funnier it was on April 1st. It’s not a joke anymore.
Mandy Bruno: I actually called my dad right after the meeting and he got really angry with me. He’s like, “This is the meanest thing you’ve ever done to me, I can’t believe you would do that.” I was like, “Dad, I’m serious, I’m serious,” and he kept getting angry. He’s like, “You can let it go now. I got it. Ha ha ha, April Fools.” I finally convinced him. He’s a great guy, he was so sad for us.

We Love Soaps: Given another few years, what would you have liked to have seen happen to Marina and Mallet? Would you have liked to have seen them as a happy couple supporting others? Would you have liked ot have seen problems in their marriage?
Mandy Bruno: I would have liked a couple more years to play into that. As someone personally who enjoys a big sappy movie, I would have loved to have seen them live happily ever after. We all strive for that. I would have loved for them to have had their own miracle baby and live happily ever after. But in the world of soaps that’s death. So as an actor I know it would have had to have ended eventually in order for our jobs to continue. I got a bonus, I got to act with someone wonderful. We’re going to get married, I’ve got him in real life, so I’m cool with it.
Robert Bogue: So we do get happily ever after?
Mandy Bruno: We do.
Robert Bogue: I would have like to have stuck around a few more years. I would have liked more romantic comedy stuff, more meat and potatoes, darker drama would have been nice too. In one or two or three years you have time to play a lot of stuff. I would have been open to anything.
Mandy Bruno: I think we got hit with a crash ending with the show getting pulled so quickly and only having so many months. The writers knew where they wanted us to be a year and a half from now and it got jumbled into three months. I think the only frustration any of us feel, if we feel frustration, is that if we just had that year to finish everything, and not feel that it had to be so rushed.

We Love Soaps: What would you like to see next in your career?
Mandy Bruno: I’m open to anything. Five years ago my goal in life was to be a chorus girl dancer. I never dreamed of anything more or anything less. That was my goal. And now five years later I’ve created a character on television. So big lesson learned here. I’m open to anything. Whatever comes my way next, I know it will be exciting.
Robert Bogue: I want to be Paula Abdul. I’ve done theater, prime-time, independent film, I’ll continue that. It will just be about hitting the pavement and trying to stay employed as an actor. I’m open to anything. If Ryan Seacrest wants to quit I’m open to that.

We Love Soaps: Would either one of you actively pursue working on another soap?
Robert Bogue: I’d be open to that.
Mandy Bruno: Absolutely. I can’t say no. This has been such an amazing experience. I think the only thing that would make me nervous is that this has been so wonderful, such an amazing group of people to work with, from make-up to hair to lighting to actors to directors. Everyone down the line has been so wonderful...I’m sure they’re wonderful every where else too!

We Love Soaps: Good save
Mandy Bruno: [Laughs] I’m sure they are. But you know, you get close to your family.

We Love Soaps: Aside from each other, who are you going to miss working with the most?
Robert Bogue: : This is a really strong ensemble cast. Nice level of self-deprecation, lots of humility, not a lot of egos in the way. Everyone has a sense of humor, I laugh no matter who is on the set. I’m going to miss the group. I’ve been in productions where every one is an individual and you just clock in and clock out and you go home. This has been one of the most fun.
Mandy Bruno: It’s really hard to name somebody.
Robert Bogue: Name me, go ahead!
We Love Soaps: Aside from you!
Robert Bogue: Aside from me? Nobody!
Mandy Bruno: It’s hard because I’ve enjoyed working with everybody I’ve gotten the opportunity to work with. If I had to name somebody, I already miss her. I miss Beth Ehlers. She was wonderful to work with. She kind of took me under her wing because she started out when she was about my age, and she taught me a lot. Every time I had the opportunity to work with her I learned so much and she has my utmost respect as an actress. I think she’s really phenomenal. I tune into her now, I try to get a few pointers. She was great, we had a wonderful story line toward the end. I looked forward to work every day because I knew something big and explosive would happen.

We Love Soaps: Anything you would like to say to our listeners that our mourning the loss of GUIDING LIGHT?
Mandy Bruno: I can’t say thank you enough. I’ve been asked that question before. I always have the same answer. Thank you. It sounds like cheap words to use but they’re very heartfelt. The people who watch are why we do it. We give our all every single day and we try to make magic happen on the screen. There would be no reason if people weren’t tuning in. So thank you for doing that, and thank you for providing me with an amazing journey and chapter in my life. It’s been a blast, I’ll never forget it.
Robert Bogue: I would have to say to the fans obviously thank you for your support. 72 years of support, multigenerational support. Individual support for welcoming me into this family, into this show. To let them know the group of actors here are very conscientious and very respectful of the legacy of GUIDING LIGHT. We’re in as much pain and heartbreak and mourning as they are. Goodbyes are always difficult. This is a tough one for us as I’m sure it is for them.