They started on soaps
March 20, 2025 6:41 AM Subscribe
What do Kathy Bates, Chris Cooper, Leonardo DiCaprio, Morgan Freeman, Allison Janney, Julianne Moore, Brad Pitt, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, J.K. Simmons, Mira Sorvino, Elizabeth Taylor, Billy Bob Thornton, and Marisa Tomei have in common? (Besides being Academy Award winners.)
These used to be their stories.
Dann Florek
Stephen Hill
Jesse L. Martin
S. Epatha Merkerson
Chris Noth
Jerry Orbach
Elisabeth Rohm
These used to be their stories.
Dann Florek
Stephen Hill
Jesse L. Martin
S. Epatha Merkerson
Chris Noth
Jerry Orbach
Elisabeth Rohm
Watching these clips is basically me reliving being home from school with a fever, flipping through channels, and wondering what the fuck are these shows about? Time and perspective have not provided anything approaching a satisfying answer.
posted by phooky at 7:04 AM on March 20 [3 favorites]
posted by phooky at 7:04 AM on March 20 [3 favorites]
Similar thing with British actors - every time I look someone up, they had some role on EastEnders or Coronation Street.
posted by LionIndex at 7:14 AM on March 20 [1 favorite]
posted by LionIndex at 7:14 AM on March 20 [1 favorite]
You could do one of these for the Law and Order franchise as well
One of the rerun stations put together a promo along those lines. But it didn’t include Allison Janney or Edie Falco, so it was unacceptable.
posted by Lemkin at 7:15 AM on March 20
One of the rerun stations put together a promo along those lines. But it didn’t include Allison Janney or Edie Falco, so it was unacceptable.
posted by Lemkin at 7:15 AM on March 20
Elizabeth Taylor got her start as a child star, not in the soaps. She appeared in one episode of General Hospital in the 1980s.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:17 AM on March 20 [6 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:17 AM on March 20 [6 favorites]
One of the rerun stations put together a promo along those lines.
Hell, I think there was even a joke about that at the SAG awards this year.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:17 AM on March 20 [1 favorite]
Hell, I think there was even a joke about that at the SAG awards this year.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:17 AM on March 20 [1 favorite]
wondering what the fuck are these shows about
Sometimes there are weather machines.
posted by Lemkin at 7:38 AM on March 20 [1 favorite]
Sometimes there are weather machines.
posted by Lemkin at 7:38 AM on March 20 [1 favorite]
I spent a few decades watching All My Children, and that place was a factory for actors who would later go on to larger stages.
Soaps could be great training for actors -- steady, long term work, daily script memorizations, and an audience that is highly aware of characterization changes and missteps. A regular, high-demand work environment not unlike how vaudeville used to be. If you survive it, you're a top-level pro.
posted by Capt. Renault at 8:13 AM on March 20 [7 favorites]
Soaps could be great training for actors -- steady, long term work, daily script memorizations, and an audience that is highly aware of characterization changes and missteps. A regular, high-demand work environment not unlike how vaudeville used to be. If you survive it, you're a top-level pro.
posted by Capt. Renault at 8:13 AM on March 20 [7 favorites]
Similar thing with British actors
Likewise in Australia: A look back at all the Aussie actors who started off on Neighbors following its first cancellation (subsequently picked up and then cancelled again by Amazon).
posted by EvaDestruction at 8:32 AM on March 20 [2 favorites]
Likewise in Australia: A look back at all the Aussie actors who started off on Neighbors following its first cancellation (subsequently picked up and then cancelled again by Amazon).
posted by EvaDestruction at 8:32 AM on March 20 [2 favorites]
In the UK I think this used to be The Bill, basically anyone who was anyone had been in in an episode before they got big. I worked in an Arts Centre for a while and every jobbing actor who came through, and plenty who got bigger, had it listed.
EvaDestruction beat me to it re Australians, but in NZ, Boba Fett was in 469 episodes of Shortland Street before he broke through to a wider audience.
posted by biffa at 8:36 AM on March 20 [1 favorite]
EvaDestruction beat me to it re Australians, but in NZ, Boba Fett was in 469 episodes of Shortland Street before he broke through to a wider audience.
posted by biffa at 8:36 AM on March 20 [1 favorite]
A regular, high-demand work environment not unlike how vaudeville used to be. If you survive it, you're a top-level pro
Splendidly put.
I think of it like high-volume buffet kitchens. The cooks are not in contention for any James Beard Awards. But there is a large amount of mechanical skill involved that deserves more respect than it gets.
posted by Lemkin at 8:57 AM on March 20 [5 favorites]
Splendidly put.
I think of it like high-volume buffet kitchens. The cooks are not in contention for any James Beard Awards. But there is a large amount of mechanical skill involved that deserves more respect than it gets.
posted by Lemkin at 8:57 AM on March 20 [5 favorites]
LOVING
holy what I’m pretty sure that at some point in maybe 2000 they had a plot line about a living doll - and all brought to you by Proctor and Gamble!
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 2:49 PM on March 20
holy what I’m pretty sure that at some point in maybe 2000 they had a plot line about a living doll - and all brought to you by Proctor and Gamble!
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 2:49 PM on March 20
EmpressCallipygos, I’ve dreamed of digging into Law & Order data for YEARS - the original series was amazing. So much incredible talent, and reliably juicy roles and stellar performances, even with just a few minutes of screen time!
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 2:54 PM on March 20 [1 favorite]
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 2:54 PM on March 20 [1 favorite]
I’ve dreamed of digging into Law & Order data for YEARS - the original series was amazing. So much incredible talent, and reliably juicy roles and stellar performances, even with just a few minutes of screen time!
I swear I read once that for a while L&O had a policy where they tried to stay in-world consistent even with the extras - so that, for instance, if you had a bit part where you were a bodega cashier in one episode, you couldn't ever turn up as anything else, like a beat cop, in a different episode. So there was always a huge call for extras every year, as different tiny parts cycled through. I used to play a game with myself in the early aughts whenever I went to a play - I'd count up how many people in the cast had LAW AND ORDER or THE SOPRANOS in their bios. Usually it was at LEAST 80% of the cast.
I found the video L&O made to screen at the SAG awards this year.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:20 PM on March 20 [2 favorites]
I swear I read once that for a while L&O had a policy where they tried to stay in-world consistent even with the extras - so that, for instance, if you had a bit part where you were a bodega cashier in one episode, you couldn't ever turn up as anything else, like a beat cop, in a different episode. So there was always a huge call for extras every year, as different tiny parts cycled through. I used to play a game with myself in the early aughts whenever I went to a play - I'd count up how many people in the cast had LAW AND ORDER or THE SOPRANOS in their bios. Usually it was at LEAST 80% of the cast.
I found the video L&O made to screen at the SAG awards this year.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:20 PM on March 20 [2 favorites]
Demi Moore as Jackie Templeton on General Hospital in 82 through 84.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 1:33 PM on March 23
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 1:33 PM on March 23
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posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:50 AM on March 20 [5 favorites]