It was almost 13 years ago that Sarah Brown created the popular character of Carly Corinthos on General Hospital. She left after five years, and the character went through a few more actresses before Laura Wright settled into the role.
Sarah came back in December 2007, but not in the capacity that fans expected to see her. A new role was created for her: that of mob boss Claudia Zacchara. Sarah explains her return: “We had discussed years before about my coming back to play Carly, but that wasn’t of interest to me to play the same character. But I DID find it interesting to play another character.”
But things weren’t smooth sailing for Sarah’s return to Port Charles. “When I first came on, it was really tough for people to identify with her and grab onto the character. She was so unlikable; there were no redeeming qualities at the time. I mean, they started off right away with, let’s throw her in bed, make her a slut, have her shoot a little boy that I had actually given birth to (as Carly years before). It was a hard sell for me.”
Sarah worked on turning the character around, for herself and for her fans. “I just started having more and more fun with the character, and brought in things that I thought would help ease some of the other stuff that had developed between Claudia and the audience.”
What is strange for some fans is watching her former character, Carly, interact with her current character of Claudia. But not for Sarah: “It’s not as weird for me as people might think. It just doesn’t occur to me. I mean, the name is the same, but Laura and I could not be more polar opposites. We are completely different in every way on every level as people. It’s not to say that we don’t like each other, because opposites attract. We’re just not the same.”
She adds with a laugh: “Once in a while I smile to myself and think it’s so strange when I hear Laura saying monologues to other characters about stuff that I actually filmed.”
Sarah gets to test Claudia’s mettle with the current disaster that is happening at the hospital: A deadly toxin has been released, people are being quarantined, there is a fire, and Kate is about to expose Claudia’s involvement in Michael’s shooting.
“It’s a very stressful time for Claudia, that’s for sure. She didn’t know Kate had a copy of Jerry’s DVD exposing Claudia. It’s panic time trying to get the DVD back in the midst of all that is going on at the hospital. It is a bit of a disaster over there, to say the least. It’s like, how much can one person take?
“But she is one tough cookie, and you get to see that throughout this whole disaster. You get to see how resourceful she is and see how tough her mind is.”
Once things settle down a bit — and as we no doubt gear up for the next catastrophe to hit Port Charles — what would Sarah like for Claudia and her future?
“I would love to see her fall in love. I think it is an interesting story to see someone who is tough on the outside, and people have preconceived notions about her, and to see that person fall in love and to be vulnerable and to see her completely open up in that way. It would be so completely confusing for her. She’s going to do all the wrong things, say all the wrong things. It would be fun to see what happens.”
Friday, February 13, 2009
Interview GH: Sarah Brown Creates a More-Appealing Claudia
Brian Austin Green Talks David Silver
(For the full interview with Brian Austin Green - pictured with fiancee, Megan Fox - head over to:
http://television.aol.com/insidetv/2009/02/12/terminator-qanda-with-brian-austin-green/)
You've said you probably won't go back to 'Beverly Hills 90210,' but now that your '90210' wife Tori Spelling is on the show, is there any chance you might make an appearance?
I don't know … it's hard, it's a hard thing for me. It was a great 10 years, but I kind of feel like unless there's a really cool reason for it, or if they've written something really clever in an interesting way of bringing the character back ... I really don't want to just walk out and just be David Silver in the Peach Pit.
What do you think David Silver would be like now, as a guy in his mid-30s?
I would assume broke. I think he's probably completely broke cause he's been trying to do music forever, and everybody knows you don't really make money in music -- only the top, like, 2%. So, I'm sure he's broke, [but] I guess he could be DJing on some goofy morning show or something ... but nah, I don't think he's the most successful person.
Do you watch the new '90210'?
I haven't seen it yet ... I didn't watch '90210' when I was on it. So for me to watch it now just seems sort of ... you know, I would question myself.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Phil Carey, 83, Has Passed Away
One Life to Live has lost another member of its family: Phil Carey, who played Asa Buchanan from 1980-2007, has passed away at age 83. Phil succumbed to lung cancer this past Friday, Feb. 6.
Phil was a U.S. Marine corporal in World War II and the Korean War.
His film credits included Operation Pacific, Mister Roberts, The Long Gray Line and Pushover. His TV credits included Laredo, Bengal Lancers, Philip Marlowe and The Untamed World. He made guest appearances on All in the Family, Gunsmoke, The Bionic Woman, Police Woman and Little House on the Prairie.
Erika Slezak said in a statement: "I was incredibly fond of Phil Carey. I loved that man very much. He was larger than life, like his character of Asa. He was a central figure on the show and to everyone at One Life to Live. When Phil was in the building, you knew it."
Days: Such a Tease!
NEXT WEEK:
Chelsea tells Stephanie about Max kissing her.
Chloe confides in a priest about her love for Lucas and Daniel.
Hope has her hearing and is forced to give up her badge and gun.
Philip (Jay Kenneth Johnson, pictured) realizes Nicole and Brady are keeping a secret from EJ.
Kate admits to Victor that she’d like to rekindle things with Daniel.
Thursday – Maggie tells Lucas about Chloe and Daniel’s affair.
Friday – Stephanie slaps Melanie after witnessing her and Philip kiss.
Monday, February 09, 2009
ATWT: Such a Tease!
•Carly tries to pull one over on Craig.
•Katie keeps Brad in the dark.
•Meg (Marie Wilson, pictured) rails at Paul when Eliza goes missing.
•Alison is shocked at the sight of Casey and Jade.
GL: Such a Tease!
•Phillip makes a heroic return to Springfield.
•Alan (Ron Raines, pictures) and Beth's wedding is brought to a screeching halt.
•A car crash leaves Coop in critical condition.
•Shayne ignores Dinah's warnings about Edmund.
B&B: Such a Tease!
•A confession of love puts many lives in danger.
•Nick’s honesty invokes a jealous side of Katie (Heather Tom, pictured).
•Madame X is confronted about her true intentions.
•Brooke must choose where her loyalties lay.
•Bridget answers Steffy’s burning question.
Y&R: Such a Tease!
•When Colleen is pushed to her breaking point and confronts Victor after Brad's funeral, Ashley (Eileen Davidson, pictured) tells him to leave.
•When Jill appoints Billy to CEO of Jabot, everyone, including Ashley, is floored. Will Victor's plan be exposed?
•Roger asks Esther to elope, but will Jill interfere with his plans?
•A court agrees to give Kay a DNA test but will the results end up in her favor?
•As tension among Nick, Phyllis and Sharon escalates, Sharon has an emotional breakdown.
GH: Such a Tease!
Sonny sets his sights on Trevor.
Maxie and Johnny get alarming news about Emma.
Many lives are in jeopardy at the hospital.
Kate sees there’s more going on between Sonny and Claudia than she realized.
Jax (Ingo Rademacher, pictured) takes matters into his own hands.
Sam witnesses a passionate kiss between Elizabeth and Lucky.
Jason discovers that Anthony is nowhere to be found.
Sonny and Carly are in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Kate tells Claudia she knows her secret.
Nikolas risks his life to try and save Rebecca.
Maxie sneaks into the hospital to look for Spinelli.
Sam and Trevor square off in a life or death situation.
Sonny and Carly manage to safely escape the wreckage.
Claudia isn’t cowed by Kate’s threats.
OLTL: Such a Tease!
Someone is keeping a close eye on Rex and Gigi.
John grows suspicious of Wes.
Tea is forced to come clean with Lola (Camila Banus, pictured).
Viki fears there’s trouble brewing on the horizon.
Matthew has no choice but to rat out Cole.
The mystery woman keeps Rex and Gigi in her sights.
Jessica admits to Brody she doesn’t feel a connection to Chloe.
The mystery woman takes a great interest in Rex and Gigi’s lives.
Viki implores Natalie to make peace with Jessica.
The Go Red Ball promises an evening full of surprises.
Marty convinces Wes to crash the ball with her.
Gigi can’t believe her eyes.
Mismatched dance partners spell trouble at the Go Red Ball.
David wants the truth from Dorian.
Wes accuses Marty of playing games with John.
AMC: Such a Tease!
Zach (Thorsten Kaye, pictured) accuses Kendall of punishing him for fathering Gabrielle.
Reese and Bianca aren’t in a good place.
Sinclair pushes Annie to her breaking point.
Krystal promises Tad she won’t tell David what he did.
Taylor wants Brot’s undivided attention.
Annie’s devastated when she thinks Aidan has betrayed her.
Greenlee’s miffed that Ryan and Aidan have been keeping her in the dark.
Kendall agrees to attend Bianca and Reese’s wedding on one condition.
Erica makes mincemeat out of Reese at the wedding rehearsal.
Reese can’t deny her feelings for Zach.
A menacing Annie spies on Greenlee.
Annie is out of control.
Ryan is tempted to tell Bianca about Reese and Zach’s kiss.
Amanda is desperate to get David off her back.
