Now and Then: Six ’80s Soaps Hunks (PHOTOS)
Six Times the Fun
When you rope six popular '80s daytime stars together, there's bound to be some wild fun and uproarious laughter. Take a look at some of the biggest soaps stars then and now, and read some of their candid comments about aging, career struggles, "hunk" statuses and more.
Now: Kin Shriner
Now on TV: Scotty Baldwin, General Hospital
On Aging: “So far I’ve spanned five decades with my character and hope to hit six or seven. It’s like I signed a deal with Lucifer himself. [Laughs] “
Then: Kin Shriner
Then on TV: Scotty Baldwin, General HospitalOn the ’80s: “I don’t think there’s an actor who was in soaps in those days who doesn’t look back fondly. We had it great. But, hopefully, the wardrobe’s not coming back. Or the hairdos. If I was still sporting that shag haircut, that wouldn’t be good.”
Now: Michael E. Knight
Now on TV: Dr. Simon Neville, The Young and the Restless
On the Downside of Fame: “I definitely couldn’t do the stuff to my body that I did then. You were going out all night, rolling into work around 6 am, taking a shower and hoping nobody noticed that you’re wearing sunglasses in rehearsal.”
Then: Michael E. Knight
Then on TV: Tad “the Cad” Martin, All My Children
On Being Considered a Hunk: “I was a wallflower in college and then, all of a sudden, I was a mac daddy on TV. I’ve always suffered from terrible body dysmorphia, so the heartthrob stuff was hard to handle.”
Now: Doug Davidson
Now on TV: Paul Williams, The Young and the Restless
On Aging: “In my mind, I’m still in my thirties. But the truth is I’ve been at Y&R for 38 years and I’m now the longest-running guy in the building.”
Then: Doug Davidson (upper right)
Then on TV: Paul Williams, The Young and the Restless
On the ’80s: “My old mullet still haunts me!”
Now: Don Diamant
Now on TV: Dollar Bill Spencer, The Bold and the Beautiful
On His Career: “A few years after Bill died, I was fired at Y&R…but it turned out to be the best thing for my career. Two months later I got a call from his son, Brad Bell, at B&B, and there is no character I would rather play than Bill Spencer.”
Then: Don Diamant
Then on TV: Brad Carlton, The Young and the Restless
On Being Considered a Hunk: “I had no issue with the hunk label. It goes with the territory. I embraced it, even when I was playing the pool boy on Y&R and they had me wearing nothing but Daisy Dukes.”
Now: Stephen Nichols
Now on TV: “Patch” Johnson, Days of Our Lives
On His Career: “So many times I’d try to get an audition in primetime and was told, ‘We will not see soap people.’ There’s always been that pecking order, but at some point you finally go, “I really don’t care. I’m working!”
Then: Stephen Nichols
Then on TV: “Patch” Johnson, Days of Our Lives
On Crazy Soaps Plots: “It wasn’t the ’80s unless you were trapped—in an elevator, a cave-in, an imploding building.”
Now: A Martinez
Now on TV: Eduardo Hernandez, Days of Our LivesOn Aging: "My packaging has weathered and my future isn’t as big as it once was, but I’m a much better actor now. [Laughs] You find comfort in that."
Then: A Martinez
Then on TV: Cruz Castillo, Santa BarbaraOn His Career: "There’s always hope in soaps. I remember getting very dark and depressed at one point and my father saying, 'You’re in a game where the phone could ring at any time and it will change your world.'"
