10 Actors Who Played Two Completely Unrelated Roles on The Same Soap Opera
News that Roger Howarth (ex-Todd), Michael Easton (ex-John)and Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr)are set to return to General Hospital as all-new characters is being met with mixed responses. As suds fans debate the latest chapter in the battle between GH and Prospect Park's One Life to Live, we decided to look back at a few actors who've played two unrelated roles on the same soap. Check 'em out below!
No. 10: Josh Taylor, Days of Our Lives
From 1977 to 1987, Josh Taylor played bartender-turned-lawyer Chris Kositchek on Days of Our Lives. Chris was a pal of 80's supercouple Roman Brady (Wayne Northrop) and Dr. Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall). In fact, he was so chummy with the Bradys, he was one of Roman's groomsmen when the cop married his Doc!
A decade after exiting the NBC soap for primetime, Taylor returned to DAYS, only this time he wasn't playing Chris. He was appearing as Chris' bud, Roman Brady!
No. 9: Carrie Nye, Guiding Light
Acclaimed stage actress Carrie Nye played regal real estate maven Susan Piper on Guiding Light in the 80's. Her character infamously sunk to her death in a bed of quicksand!
In 2003, Nye brought a new character to the fictional Springfield, U.S.A., Carolyn Carruthers, who shared a shameful, retconned history with the town's patriarchs. The storyline was panned and the late Nye's second GL character was quickly written out.
No. 8: Leigh McCloskey, Santa Barbara
In 1988, Dallas alum Leigh McCloskey terrified women scheduled for appointments with their OB-GYN, by playing Dr. Zach Kelton — Eden Capwell Castillo's (Marcy Walker) physician /rapist on NBC's Santa Barbara! Shortly after psycho Zach fell to his death—not before lying to Cruz (A Martinez) that Eden's daughter Adriana was the product of the rape—McCloskey returned to Santa Barbara as District Attorney Ethan Asher, who was no relation to Zach.
No. 7: Kin Shriner, The Young and the Restless
Kay Chancellor's (Jeanne Cooper) blissful, 2004 reunion with childhood sweetheart Arthur Hendricks (David Hedison) was short-lived on The Young and the Restless. Arthur's stepson Harrison Bartlett (Kin Shriner) showed up in Genoa City to inform Kay and Jill (Jess Walton) of his beliefs that Arthur had killed his mother for her money!
While ol' Artie was never charged with murder, he beat a hasty retreat just the same. This caused even more drama for Kay and Jill, who still erroneously believed they were mother and daughter at the time. Years later, Shriner returned to Y&R to temporarily fill in as Jeffrey Baldwin, while Ted Shackelford was sidelined.
Recommended Articles
No. 6: John Aniston, Days of Our Lives
It's hard to imagine John Aniston portraying anyone else in Salem other than ruthless, Greek mobster-turned-publisher Victor Kiriakis. However, from 1969-70, Jennifer Aniston's daddy played Eric Richards on Days of Our Lives.
No 5: Renee Jones, Days of Our Lives
Abe Carver (James Reynolds) must definitely have a type on Days of Our Lives. Beauty Renee Jones played his girlfriend Nikki Wade on the soap during the early 80's. In 1993, Jones returned to the sudser, no, not as Nikki, but as a new character named Lexie.
Lusty Lexie turned out to be the long-lost daughter of maniacal baddie Stefano DiMera (Joe Mascolo), and went on to become one of the most beloved characters in the soap's history.
No. 4: Judi Evans, Days of Our Lives
Tragic heroine Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis was one of Days of Our Lives' most popular characters during the late 80's/early 90's. How could Adrienne not be, played by soap superstar Judi Evans, fresh from her game-changing turn as Beth on Guiding Light?
In 2003, Evans headed back to DAYS to play a character very different from cry-me-a-river Adrienne. The second time around, Evans was comedic gold digger Bonnie Lockhart, who managed to sink her hooks into a "widowed" Mickey Horton (the late John Ingle). Since 2007, Evans has been back on DAYS on and off as Adrienne.
No. 3: Sarah Brown, General Hospital
Sarah Brown won three, count 'em three, Daytime Emmy awards as bitch goddess Carly Corinthos on General Hospital during her 1996-2001 stint. When Brown was welcomed back to the soap in 2008, former Guiding Light star Laura Wright was busy making her mark on the role of Carly.
TPTB decided to create a whole new role for Brown to play — damaged mafia princess Claudia Zacchara. Much like Brown's original GH character, Claudia fell into a dysfunctional relationship with goodfella Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard). Too bad Sonny and Carly's son Michael (then Drew Garrett) bludgeoned his stepmonster to death!
Photo credit: ABC
No. 2: Wayne Northrop, Days of Our Lives
No offense to Josh Taylor, but for true Days of Our Lives fans, Wayne Northrop will always be Roman Brady! For this reason, Salem lovers were miffed when Northrop finally returned to the sudser in 2005, not as Roman, but as the villainous Dr. Alex North.
Pouring salt into fans' wounds, DAYS used actual Roman and Marlena (Deidre Hall) scenes from the 80's, as flashbacks to set up this awful tale of Marlena and her nefarious "first love".
No. 1: Bethany Joy Lenz, Guiding Light
During what was meant to be a nine-episode stint as the teenage clone of Reva Shayne (Don't ask.) on Guiding Light, Bethany Joy Lenz so impressed the brass they decided to ditch Rebecca Budig as Michelle Bauer, and recast the role with Lenz! The move proved to be on the money.
Lenz soared to supercouple status opposite Paul Anthony Stewart as mob prince Danny Santos. In fact, anyone who watched the incredible Lenz on Light wasn't surprised in the least when she took primetime by storm, via a long-running gig on One Tree Hill.
