The stellar cast of One Life to Live

June 27, 6:49 AMOne Life to Live ExaminerJennifer Snelling

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While being swept away in the daytime dramas of our favorite characters and their intertwining plots on One Life to Live, it is sometimes easy to forget about the actors who bring those characters to life. That fact in itself is a huge compliment to the excellence of the actors on One Life to Live.

While it would be practically impossible to list all of the accomplishments of this high-caliber cast, past and present, it is important to remember that while so many daytime actors are not immediate household names, they are no less praiseworthy than some of the most celebrated actors in our culture.

Several One Life to Live actors have appeared on Broadway, including:

• Kristen Alderson, who played Molly in Annie both on Broadway and on tour. She started acting at age four and has been playing Starr on One Life to Live since she was six years old.
• Kathy Brier, One Life to Live’s Marcie, who played Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray on Broadway in 2004.
• Renee Elise Goldsberry, who played Mimi Marquez in Rent, originated the role of Nettie in The Color Purple and starred as Nala in The Lion King on Broadway. Her character on One Life to Live, Evangeline, is currently in a coma.
• Catherine Hickland, who will be returning to the show as Lindsey soon, played Fantine in Les Miserables.
• Brian Kerwin (Viki’s fiancé Charlie), whose theatre credits include the Broadway production of The Little Foxes at Lincoln Center, August: Osage County, After the Night and the Music, and an award-winning performance in Strange Snow.
• Ilene Kristen, who was in the original Broadway production of Grease and plays Roxy on One Life to Live.
• Hillary B. Smith, also known as Nora, who was in A Real American Hero and Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles.
• Robin Strasser, who attended Yale School of Drama with a scholarship. She played Jenny in Neil Simon’s Chapter Two and was in the Pulitzer Prize winning play The Shadow Box.  You know her as Dorian.
• Jason Tam, who plays Markko, teenage heartthrob and Langston’s lover, has been in Broadway productions of Les Miserables and a revival of A Chorus Line.

Photo Courtesy of ABC

It would also be futile to try to list all of the awards and accolades of such a distinguished cast, but here are some notable awards and nominations that many of the easily recognizable stars of One Life to Live have gathered:

• Melissa Archer, the feisty Natalie, won Soap Opera Digest’s Award for Outstanding Newcomer in 2003.
• Kathy Brier (who’s character Marcie just moved west with her husband, Michael) was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress.
• Scott Clifton was nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Younger Actor in 2004, 2005, and 2006 for his role as Dillon Quartermaine on General Hospital.  He is playing Schuyler on One Life to Live, the biology teacher who used to be Stacy’s boyfriend.
• Kamar de los Reyes won the 2008 ALMA (American Latino Media Arts) Award for Outstanding Performance in a Daytime Drama and the HOLA (Hispanic Organization for Latino Actors) Jose Ferrer Tespis Award. His character, Antonio, recently left Llanview to pursue Carlo Hesser but returned to say goodbye to Talia when she was shot to death.
• Michael Easton, the accomplished writer who plays John McBain, was honored with a Gemini Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for portraying David Hume in Showtime’s Total Recall 2070 in 1999.  In 2002, he was awarded a Special Fan Award at the Daytime Emmy Awards as “America’s Favorite Villain” for his role as Caleb Morley on Port Charles.   In 2003 he won Soap Opera Digest’s Award for Outstanding Younger Lead Actor for the same role.
• Renee Elise Goldsberry (Evangeline) was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 2006 and 2007 for her role as Evangeline on One Life to Live. In 2004 she was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for her role. She won a Best of 2005 Award from New York Magazine for her portrayal of Sylvia in New York Public Theater/Shakespeare in the Park’s Two Gentleman of Verona.
• Susan Haskell won an Emmy for her role on One Life to Live in 1994 and was nominated again this year for her portrayal of Marty.
• Crystal Hunt was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress for her role as Lizzie Spaulding on CBS’s Guiding Light in 2005. She is playing Gigi’s conniving sister, Stacy, on One Life to Live.
• Brian Kerwin was nominated for an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in less than six months of playing Charlie Banks on One Life to Live.
• Ilene Kristen has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Roxy two times – in 2004 and 2005.
• January LaVoy won the Denver Post Ovation Award for Best Actress for her role as Portia in The Merchant of Venice in 2004. She also starred in Two Trains Running, which won the 2007 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Revival. You’re more likely to see her baking pies as Noelle on the show.
• Nathaniel Marston was nominated for Soap Opera Digest’s Award for Outstanding Male Newcomer for his portrayal of Eddie Silva on As the World Turns in 1998. He played Michael McBain from 2004 to 2007.
• Erika Slezak has won six Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series while playing Viki. In 2002 she was honored with the NATAS Silver Circle Award for achievements in television of 25 years or more.
• Hillary B. Smith won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress for playing Nora in 1994. She was nominated again in 2000. She has won or been nominated for several Soap Opera Digest Awards for her roles on One Life to Live and As the World Turns.
• Robin Strasser was nominated for Emmy Awards in 1981, 1983 and 1985. She won for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series in 1982 for her role as Dorian Lord. In 1996 she won two awards for Outstanding Lead Actress – from Soap Opera Digest and Soap Opera Update. Soap Opera Digest also awarded her Outstanding Scene Stealer in 2001 for her role as Hecuba on Passions.
• Tika Sumpter, who plays Layla, was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Series” in 2008.
• Jerry ver Dorn, who took over the role of Clint Buchanan in 2005, has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor several times. He won in 1995 and 1996.
• Bree Williamson has been nominated for a 2009 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her role as Jessica on One Life to Live.

You might also recognize your favorite actors’ faces in many television shows and movies. Eddie Alderson, One Life to Live’s Matthew, has acted in films starring Joaquin Phoenix, Mira Sorvino, Mark Ruffalo and Angelina Jolie (Reservation Road and Changeling, directed by Clint Eastwood). Nathaniel Marston co-starred with Angelina Jolie in Love is All There Is in 1996. Brian Kerwin has played in several movies starring the likes of Sally Fields, James Garner, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sissy Spacek, Francis Ford Coppola, Robin Williams, and Cloris Leachman. These are only a few of the roles that the diverse and talented cast members of One Life to Live have tackled.

Awards and cast credits are commendable, but the best way to understand the immense talent such a group of people has to offer is to experience it yourself. Tune in to ABC on weekdays at 2 pm Eastern/1 pm Central and Pacific, or SoapNet at 9 pm Eastern and Pacific.