So, I've been thinking - There have been many good actors/actresses who excelled in one role, but then completely flopped in another (writing, production, acting downgrade, mis-cast). Usually, what happens afterward is that these actors become scrutinized by fans (I know I've been guilty of it), even though they have priorly done good work, but just not suited for the role. Or even reverse, a "bad" actor that gets better in a role. Anyways, enough of my rambling, LoL.
I would say:
Sarah Brown as Claudia Zacharia on General Hospital Amelia Heinle as Victoria Newman on The Young & the Restless Christina Chambers as Marty Saybrooke on One Life to Live Heather Tom as Katie Logan on The Bold & the Beautiful Jamie Luner as Liza Colby on All My Children Noelle Beck as Lily Snyder on As the World Turns
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I agree about Brown and Heinle, but I don't think Christina Chambers has proven to be good in any role. She was equally terrible as ATWT's Molly. She was okay on "Spyder Games" and "Sunset Beach," from what little I remember, but there's never been a performance that made me think, wow, she's got chops!
An ultimate example of this is Crystal Hunt as OLTL's Stacy. Hunt is a good actress, and I still prefer her Lizzie to Marcy Rylan's, but no actress could make Stacy Morasco work.
Roger Howarth is another example. He's a terrific actor, but in his last few years as ATWT's Paul Ryan, I can't stand to watch him.
Pretty much half the cast of AMC these days. Hard to believe they snagged Ricky Paull Goldin and Beth Ehlers and couldn't find anything good for them to do.
Michael Graziadei, Greg Rikaart, and Emily O'Brien are good actors, but Y&R has been clueless about how to use them. Nothing works these days with their characters.
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
Noelle Beck should have been a Meg recast, shes in no way shape or form Lily. She would've been a fantastic replacement for the dreadful Marie Wilson.
JBs Carly was not good but she is a decent actress, her "crazy Carly" was quite good.
Of course Heinle tops the list, I never saw her elsewhere but I dont buy her as Victoria ever.
Nicole Forester was terribly miscast as Cassie on GL. I'm sure she is an okay actress but she didnt work in the role at all.
Natalia Livingston as Emily was bad and shes even worse as Rebecca.
Jamie Lunar as Liza
I'll add Christina Chambers for her Molly on ATWT as well as Marty on OLTL. Not sure if shes any good because those are the only 2 roles I've seen her in.
Okay fine guys I'll admit that I never saw Christina Chambers in anything else, but I just assumed she HAD to be better, LoL. The writing for Marty was terrible during her tenure though.
I would also put Elizabeth Hendrickson, Billy Miller, and Stacy Haiduk from AMC. They were all good on there, but I think they've really hit their stride on Y&R - though it was obvious that Miller would as he was equally excellent on AMC.
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I adored Christina Chambers on Sunset Beach, and I thought she was the best thing about SPYDER GAMES. I'm one of the few who thought she was quite good on OLTL, and she managed to create a viable chemistry with Easton--something Haskell has not done despite the show pushing it. I did not see her on ATWT.
Amelia Heinle was great on Loving/The City, and she's had her moments on YR, but the writers give her nothing to do.
Jamie Luner is the best example of the subject heading. She's a good actress in a role that is ill-suited to her, and not only that,but they are destroying the character of Liza in the process.
I think Noelle Beck has done a fine job on ATWT. She excels in her scenes with Van Hansis.
Sarah Brown is just overrated. I didn't like her on ATWT, and she's an absolute mess on GH. Yes, some of it is the writing, but Brandon Barash debuted under similar circumstances, and he's made the character inconsistencies work so well that he's been a part of three viable relationships with Lulu, Maxie, and Olivia. Brown is just so one note that most viewers want her dead rather than in a relationship with anyone.
Hunt and Lizzie meshed well but Stacy is playing to her worse attributes.
I liked Bransford as Carly, but let's face it. It wasn't her acting that annoyed people. She just did not have soap opera looks. She came across and looked too mannish.
I thought Sarah Brown was terrific on ATWT, and I've never liked anything about Brandon Barash's performance as Johnny. I hesitate to blame the actor, though, since I've never seen him in anything else. It might be like Zach Conroy on GL, where I am so disgusted by the character that I can't bear to look at the actor. Maybe Barash is a master of his craft, but Johnny Zacchara is such a tool -- Sonny Lite, a romanticized thug and nothing more -- that the actor is completely lost. Somehow I doubt it, but I will be happy to be proven wrong if that is the case.
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
I think one of the classic cases of this was Marcy Walker's stint as Tangie Miller on "GL"...she was a great actress, but the producers and writers didn't know what to do with her. They hired a daytime superstar, and they needed a love interest for Josh, so they combined the 2 and got a bad combination. Then they made the poor woman wander around Springfield, testing her out with every man on the show to see where they could put her, and nothing worked. Perhaps they could have tried her with some of the women- and been way ahead of their time!
Posts: 832 | Location: Phoenix, AZ | Registered: February 03, 2003
Originally posted by 742: I thought Sarah Brown was terrific on ATWT, and I've never liked anything about Brandon Barash's performance as Johnny. I hesitate to blame the actor, though, since I've never seen him in anything else. It might be like Zach Conroy on GL, where I am so disgusted by the character that I can't bear to look at the actor. Maybe Barash is a master of his craft, but Johnny Zacchara is such a tool -- Sonny Lite, a romanticized thug and nothing more -- that the actor is completely lost. Somehow I doubt it, but I will be happy to be proven wrong if that is the case.
i also thought sjb was good with what she was given, but look at vincent irrizarry on y&r, when you play a character that is intentionally written to be unlikeable and as a distraction, you arent going to make yourself or character likeable unless the writers make changes. sjb for her entire time was written for just that, as a distraction for carly and jack and lily and holden. i dont know any character like that that was likeable. noone liked molly when she was coming between lily and holden but they knew she was played by a good actress and the writers redeemed her. however she could have been gone sooner if felicia minei behr wasnt the ep then. calling sjb overrated is something i wont stand for, anyone who has won three emmys isnt overrated! had atwt written julia as someone who wasnt a distraction or maybe played a lawyer and say, paired her with craig, then the show could have scored big time and hogan probably never would have been at dool and y&r.
Originally posted by 742: I thought Sarah Brown was terrific on ATWT, and I've never liked anything about Brandon Barash's performance as Johnny. I hesitate to blame the actor, though, since I've never seen him in anything else. It might be like Zach Conroy on GL, where I am so disgusted by the character that I can't bear to look at the actor. Maybe Barash is a master of his craft, but Johnny Zacchara is such a tool -- Sonny Lite, a romanticized thug and nothing more -- that the actor is completely lost. Somehow I doubt it, but I will be happy to be proven wrong if that is the case.
It's testament to Barash's abilities that Johnny has gone through so many incarnations (last time I watched, Johnny was now the moral center in the whole Claudia garbage) and he's still a viable character most people want to see in a romance with one of the three women above. It's not Barash's fault that Johnny has been written so haphazardly or that he's written as Sonny-lite. You seem to be responding more to the character rather than the actor. Compare him to Nathan Parsons who has not been able to rise above similar writing or Jason Cook who has been on over a year and has yet to justify his hiring. Or compare Barash to Sarah Brown and Natalia Livingston--both of whom made bad writing even worse with their pathetic attempts at being "tough."
Originally posted by 742: I thought Sarah Brown was terrific on ATWT, and I've never liked anything about Brandon Barash's performance as Johnny. I hesitate to blame the actor, though, since I've never seen him in anything else. It might be like Zach Conroy on GL, where I am so disgusted by the character that I can't bear to look at the actor. Maybe Barash is a master of his craft, but Johnny Zacchara is such a tool -- Sonny Lite, a romanticized thug and nothing more -- that the actor is completely lost. Somehow I doubt it, but I will be happy to be proven wrong if that is the case.
i also thought sjb was good with what she was given, but look at vincent irrizarry on y&r, when you play a character that is intentionally written to be unlikeable and as a distraction, you arent going to make yourself or character likeable unless the writers make changes. sjb for her entire time was written for just that, as a distraction for carly and jack and lily and holden. i dont know any character like that that was likeable. noone liked molly when she was coming between lily and holden but they knew she was played by a good actress and the writers redeemed her. however she could have been gone sooner if felicia minei behr wasnt the ep then. calling sjb overrated is something i wont stand for, anyone who has won three emmys isnt overrated! had atwt written julia as someone who wasnt a distraction or maybe played a lawyer and say, paired her with craig, then the show could have scored big time and hogan probably never would have been at dool and y&r.
let me also add that claudia and julia are the same characters basically. distractions.
Originally posted by daytimeemmyfan: calling sjb overrated is something i wont stand for, anyone who has won three emmys isnt overrated!
Then perhaps you better sit down as I'm going to write again that Sarah Brown is overrated, and the number of Emmys she has won means nothing to me. I know a majority of people like Sarah Brown as an actor, but I have found most of her work mediocre.
I haven't found Christina Chambers particularly impressive or memorable in anything I've seen (Spyder Games and Sunset Beach), I really disliked her intensely as Marty on OLTL. I'd say it was a case of a so-so actress in the wrong role.
Also, having only seen her as AMC's Mia and then Y&R's Victoria, I've never thought Amelia Heinle was better than just an okay actress. I think her Victoria is better than her Mia was.
Oddly enough, I'm also thinking of Lisa Rinna, who was great as Billie 1.0 on DAYS but then floundered (obviously the writing played a strong part) in the same role years later.
And I like Heather Tom just fine as Katie. My hating the character really has nothing to do with her.
Looking at this thread, it's interesting to note the patterns at which some shows hire other shows' actors. AMC likes GL castoffs. Y&R picks up AMC's extras. B&B loves borrowing/stealing from Y&R. ATWT has a penchant for actors you've never heard of, and for good reason. GH prefers to rehire their own actors in ill-fitting parts . . .
Yes, Heinle got her start on Loving where she played Steffi Brewster right? Do I have that long of a memory?
Nevertheless, I think Marcy Walker's Tangie Hill on Guiding Light was a great mention above. That part came to mind immediately when I saw this post. A second was Lynn Herring as Lisanne Gardner on Days of Our Lives. Such a great actress, but she was given the wrong part. She should have been given something more substantial.
The Bold and the Beautiful is full of them. Sidney Penny, Linda Gray, Rick Hearst, Perry Stephens, Sarah Buxton, Joseph Mascolo, Michael Dietz, Brian Gaskill and Antonio Saboto, Jr., come to mind in their respective parts.
Sarah Brown as Claudia seems to be a popular response, but isn't it odd that GH keeps shoving her down our throats. She lost me with the brown hair. Sarah is a highly capable actress. Just look at what she did with Juila on As the World Turns. She went head to head with the show's top leading actresses (Maura West and Martha Byrne, respectively) and gave them a run for their money. But Claudia...how on Earth are they going to forget the kid shooting?
Paul Howarth had some great moments as Paul on ATWT, but the last three to four years have been frantic. Mad Paul is all I ever see.
Noelle Beck was not the right choice for Lily. Lily has a bit more ummffffff than Beck has. Beck would have been perfect for the role of Meg, but if Meg is ever going to be a viable character with a lot of fan support, then she should be played by an actress with a larger range like Gina Tognoni, et al.
GIVE MERYL #3!!!!
Posts: 3668 | Location: Atlanta, GA | Registered: December 15, 2002
Originally posted by 742: I thought Sarah Brown was terrific on ATWT, and I've never liked anything about Brandon Barash's performance as Johnny. I hesitate to blame the actor, though, since I've never seen him in anything else. It might be like Zach Conroy on GL, where I am so disgusted by the character that I can't bear to look at the actor. Maybe Barash is a master of his craft, but Johnny Zacchara is such a tool -- Sonny Lite, a romanticized thug and nothing more -- that the actor is completely lost. Somehow I doubt it, but I will be happy to be proven wrong if that is the case.
It's testament to Barash's abilities that Johnny has gone through so many incarnations (last time I watched, Johnny was now the moral center in the whole Claudia garbage) and he's still a viable character most people want to see in a romance with one of the three women above. It's not Barash's fault that Johnny has been written so haphazardly or that he's written as Sonny-lite. You seem to be responding more to the character rather than the actor. Compare him to Nathan Parsons who has not been able to rise above similar writing or Jason Cook who has been on over a year and has yet to justify his hiring. Or compare Barash to Sarah Brown and Natalia Livingston--both of whom made bad writing even worse with their pathetic attempts at being "tough."
I can't comment on Nathan Parsons or Jason Cook, because I haven't been watching enough to make a judgment about either actor or character, though given what I've heard about Parsons at least, I don't look forward to seeing more.
But I don't think Barash has risen over anything. And to hear that the character has become any kind of "moral center" makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit considering that he started out as a kidnapper/mobster-wannabe who turned on Lulu with how sexy he was when he shot a gun at Sonny. The only thing I want to see him paired with is an iron spike -- through his head. Barash may or may not be a good actor in a different role, but nothing about his performances makes me want to suffer through Johnny for even a second more.
Sarah Brown, on the other hand, has done enough stellar work for me to give her the benefit of the doubt: as GH's Carly, ATWT's Julia, and in a stellar guest turn on "The Closer." Claudia is an unplayable character and a waste of her talent. Heck, even Bruce Weitz, an Emmy winner for "Hill Street Blues," has done nothing to improve the awful character of Anthony Zacchara -- is that character still alive? Can we please kill that entire miserable clan? Let's tie them all together, strap them to a concrete block, and let them sink to the bottom of the ocean.
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
