Post by Cece on Dec 9, 2011 11:53:54 GMT
Michael Fairman's interview with Winsor Harmon and Hunter Tylo. Some interesting stuff and SF mentionings.
MICHAEL:
What did you think, Winsor, when B&B started teasing a Taylor/Thorne pairing/relationship?
WINSOR:
I was very happy about it. I love working with Hunter. She is fun and she has a wicked sense of humor.
MICHAEL:
It wasn’t about Hunter’s beauty? Looking into those beautiful blue eyes?
WINSOR:
That goes without saying.
HUNTER:
But he never looks at my eyes, sorry. Tell the truth, Winsor.
WINSOR:
I could not pick her out of a police line-up. (Laughs)
HUNTER:
You know, us fellow Texans have to stick together. It’s an interesting background Winsor and I have in real life, as we grew up 20 miles away from each other. We probably went to the same football games and everything, but we were sitting on opposite bleachers. (Laughs) But I have no doubt when I was out there on the drill team he was probably under the bleachers with the guys who were checking us out while we were changing our clothes!
MICHAEL:
Wow, she knows you Winsor! So, in story, Thorne is the put-upon Forrester child. Ridge is always number one and Thorne is always thrown in the basement of Forrester Creations and trying to get out. Thorne had this big moment recently where he tries to do a company takeover and stake his claim at Forrester. What did you think of those scenes, Winsor?
WINSOR:
I loved them! I thought they were great and I thought everyone was very equal and strong in them. The dynamics of it I love. And, I love fighting with Ridge, and I love the Forrester situation we find ourselves in. But what makes this much stronger is that Thorne now has Taylor on his side and Ridge is really taken aback by that. One of the funniest lines in the whole show this past year was when we got into that scuffle! I got thrown to the floor and then Taylor kissed Thorne. At that moment, Ronn Moss (Ridge) just did this look and said this line that was hilarious. I seriously almost started laughing when I was in the middle of the scene.
MICHAEL:
Can we just set the scene for this, Winsor? What went down? Viewers saw that Taylor, at the last minute, seems to end up siding with Ridge when you are waiting for her to side with you! That is the big shocker.
WINSOR:
Taylor just can’t start a war between her kids and when it comes down to your children, that battle could destroy lives and relationships forever. But then again, I don’t know. In daytime you can do anything. It was par for the course for Thorne.
HUNTER:
I know! He got kicked to the curb again.
MICHAEL:
Hunter, what do you think about what Taylor did in this situation?
HUNTER:
I think Taylor found herself in a bind where she absolutely knows if Brooke gets one word in edge-wise with Ridge, she will end up getting her way and she would cut Taylor’s children out of Forrester in two seconds. Taylor has worked really hard to step up to the plate. Her psychiatrist background would also make her aware that it’s a very unstable situation when children don’t have a connection with her father. So she will try to do everything she can to keep her children mentally healthy, because Steffy had been through so much loss, and yes, so has Thomas. But for Steffy, in losing her twin sister, she is kind of hyper-vigilante. Surprisingly, Ridge had been backing Steffy now with her new love interest, Liam, who of course, used to be Hope’s love interest, and Brooke did not like that. Taylor was like “Wow. Ridge is siding with Steffy, and this may never happen again.” So she had to side with him.
MICHAEL:
But, she had to be torn?
HUNTER:
Absolutely! She probably equally feels that Thorne deserves to have a shot at Forrester in the driver’s seat. Taylor does not like the way Brooke has been running everything through Ridge. So she thinks someone a bit more level-headed should be running things. But unfortunately, there is that sticky point between them…Taylor killed Darla, Thorne’s wife.
MICHAEL:
Oh yeah … remember that?
HUNTER:
Taylor has a little guilt, but she would do anything to make up for that. I mean, Thorne was even there with her when he helped get her to AA. Thorne was really forgiving and loving. So she knows that Thorne has a really good heart, and that he has been pushed to the wayside and neglected. I want to believe that Taylor, as a psychiatrist, would understand how sad of a life that it is…that this young man who always grew up in the shadow of Ridge, is always getting the seconds, and how that must feel for him.
MICHAEL:
Thorne had a great line in the key episode that he is the real Forrester heir and that Ridge is just Massimo’s son.
WINSOR:
That is a big thing to me. We found out that Ridge’s father is Massimo Marone and not Eric Forrester. Thorne is the heir to the throne of Forrester and he then is the first born. Thorne is being treated like he’s not, and he always has been. I think that probably hurts him more than anything, that his father shows more love for Ridge. And, we definitely know how Stephanie feels about it all, and there is no doubt about that. (Laughs) But I am glad that Brad Bell (EP and head writer, B&B) wrote a line in the script like that addressing the fact of whose father is who.
MICHAEL:
But the big question really is; because Taylor ran down and killed his wife, Darla, how does Thorne deal with this several years later and getting close to Taylor?
WINSOR:
That is just Thorne. He forgives; he has been forgiving his whole life.
HUNTER:
That is what has worked with this storyline so well, because Thorne had always compromised. He has been trained up to compromise and bow down to allow Ridge to do whatever he wants. I would imagine he got in trouble for that when he was a little boy if he did not back whatever the parents wanted to do for big brother Ridge. And it’s a very sad thing and it does happen in families… favoritism… and sibling rivalries … are very real. I was so glad this show revisited this rivalry between the brothers. I think it’s a really important dynamic in the Forrester family.
MICHAEL:
Didn’t Thorne have a plan that he brought to light to Taylor to bring down the house of Forrester? How did the two of them end up conspiring?
WINSOR:
We were putting everything into “Hope for the Future” and we were neglecting the other lines and Thorne was very against it. He came out and said, “Look guys. We are making a mistake here. What happens if this line doesn’t work?” And lo and behold, look what happened? He came to Taylor with a plan of: “Look, I have been pushed down by Ridge long enough, and now his own son and daughter are being pushed down.” Thorne figured out that because Stephanie tricked Thomas and gave him the stock so that he would say he slept with Brooke, so then Brooke would leave Ridge, and Ridge would then end up with Taylor! So, Thorne finds this stock option and goes to Taylor and says, “Look. Your kids are being shoved in the basement like me. They are too talented. Thomas had one of the most successful lines Forrester ever had. Look you have got 55% of this company and you can now control this company through these stocks. And it’s time for you to do it. We need a change.” And that is where it started from and he was not trying to use Taylor by any means. He was driven by what he really believes and that is that this company is in jeopardy, and putting all your eggs in one basket, over one fashion line. He was against it.
MICHAEL:
Is it a perk of the whole vendetta that Thorne wanted Taylor to be his as well?
WINSOR:
I don’t think it started out like that, and that is what I liked about the relationship. We grew. I loved the scene where Taylor goes to a psychic and she tells her this guy will show up at your door, and it turns out to be Thorne.
MICHAEL:
Hunter, what did you think about the “psychic scene”?
HUNTER:
Oh, we laughed so much about that. (Laughs) But, when Thorne shows up she is thinking “Did Stephanie send you here?” Because Taylor is thinking she is being set-up because this is just more manipulation. However, when Thorne actually shows her some legal information in the stock options, that was not even in her motivation to use them to get a leg up, Thorne knows that. But one of the things that I think motivated Thorne to go look it up was, “What kind of power does Taylor have in this situation? Because look at her son! He is down here in the basement and this kid is going to be doomed just like me.” So I do think that is what motivated him to look up the legal info, or, maybe go get some advice. Then he realizes since Taylor has the controlling trust while Stephanie is alive, and Thomas does not have the stocks actually, now Taylor is the trustee and now she can vote in the company. She now has 55%. So, whereas before we thought that Taylor lost her shares when she took a mortgage out on her house, (and bought 50 million dollars worth of shares, and gave a lot to Steffy) now as the mother and the trustee, Taylor realizes she has a lot more power than she thought. Thorne knows that Taylor in the past has been just like him. She has always tried to do the right thing and got screwed over.
MICHAEL:
Right! So they are really the screwed-over couple of B&B!
WINSOR:
I believe they have it tough.
MICHAEL:
Do you think this will go anywhere and they will show a more romantic side to their relationship in the future?
WINSOR:
Well, that is up to Brad Bell, but they do spend Christmas together. I do think they could end up having a very passionate relationship.
HUNTER:
I think it’s very cool that there is so much history behind the two characters. First of all, it does not seem like a sexually based relationship. So I think the audience can appreciate it and go, “Wow. I can understand these two emotionally bonding,” and then let it grow into something that doesn’t look forced. I think with the right vehicle for the two characters to be united doing something together, like they have a goal that is a going to be good for everybody, and of course, we don’t really care if it upsets Ridge and Brooke. (Laughs) I do think the two of them could become very passionate in the moment that they succeed.
MICHAEL:
I think they need to trap you two on a high-stakes basement caper! Something where you are locked up together and can’t get away from each other and it’s life or death! What do you think?
HUNTER:
I think that sounds cool. How about they get stuck in Rome?
WINSOR:
Rome is fine with me.
HUNTER:
OK … then we need to hurry up and go to Venice, Italy before it sinks. (Laughs)
MICHAEL:
Hunter, what would you tell us about how it is to work with Winsor?
HUNTER:
Winsor is hilarious. He is so laid-back and he tells you just what happened, and it can be scary sometimes what just happened. Such as: if he just came from the bathroom you might not want to hear that part. He is so open. He is like your family member, in that no matter what is going on, he just tells it like it is. So Texas! To me it’s like a brother or family member type of comfortable relationship. I can tell you people in California aren’t really used to that. When Winsor walks into a room and the two of us start talking, our Texas twangs start coming out.
WINSOR:
I have worked so hard to get rid of the accent for this show, because Thorne is not from Texas, obviously. (Laughs)
HUNTER:
Well now, I have explained that away. I told Winsor, I think that when Thorne was a little boy he probably was sent away a lot to boarding schools, because they probably thought he was acting up all the time, because he was acting out to get attention. So maybe he went to a boarding school, or a ranch one summer to get corrected because he had behavioral problems. And he picked up this Texas accent while there.
MICHAEL:
Hunter, you could be a writer on a soap!
HUNTER:
I love to write and actually I am writing right now. (Laughs).
MICHAEL:
Winsor, Hunter is known to really go through her scripts and dialog line by line …
WINSOR:
… That is one thing I love … and that is that Hunter comes in so well-prepared.
HUNTER:
I don’t have the lines all memorized but I have it all outlined, thought-process wise. And yes, I do pick apart every single line and then try to connect emotionally everything that I am saying that means something in my own life, so it means something. Sometimes there is a lot of scribbling all over my script or page!
MICHAEL:
How is working with her while she is going through her process?
WINSOR:
I absolutely love it, because it opens up things to me that I did not actually see. I am so comfortable with Hunter. We have that comfortablity around each other, and when that happens as an artist, you are allowed to open up more and there is more spontaneity.
HUNTER:
I have to say that we do have a great friendship from way back. What I would say is Ronn and Winsor and I do have a good buddy friendship, and we all bond over nice cars! We all sit and talk about engines and the best cars. I am a corvette person and Winsor is a Porsche person, and we all argue which is better the Porsche or the “Vette”! And we all know that the “Vette” is! (Laughs)
WINSOR:
I would agree with you on that one right now, since it’s half the price.
HUNTER:
I also have to say this, and I don’t know if I ever said this to you Winsor. After I lost my son, Winsor was there for me so much. He would come over to my house and stop by and check on me. We would sometimes meet up at a bar and have a drink. Winsor would just let me vent and piss and moan and grouch whatever I had to do, and he was there for me. I really appreciated that so much, Winsor.
WINSOR:
I know you did and you did not have to say it.
HUNTER:
So we do have that type of relationship that Taylor and Thorne have too, and that is: “Whatever the hell is going on, I am here for you, and I have been through that too.”
MICHAEL:
Winsor, you have been on contact with B&B and then taken off contract and put on recurring status. Are you OK with being recurring?
WINSOR:
I love it at B&B and I have always considered it my home. I look at it like this, like a football team. There is a coach and the coach is going to run the team like he sees fit and that is OK. I am a player, and that is how I see it.
HUNTER:
A player! That’s the truth. (Laughs)
WINSOR:
And when I get called in, I come in a hundred miles an hour because I love it!
HUNTER:
And that’s the truth!
MICHAEL:
Taylor and Thorne have quite the past. In fact, Thorne delivered Taylor’s baby at one point!
HUNTER:
I don’t know if this is sub-consciously in Brad Bell’s head, or he made sense of this that literally, but Winsor’s character would have a bit of this bonding thing with Thomas that is very natural because he delivered Thomas when Ridge was in jail! Thorne was there for Taylor and helped her deliver her baby!
WINSOR:
That is Ridge’s first born son and he is in the basement with Thorne!
HUNTER:
Right, and in Taylor’s mind she is like, “Well, Brooke was OK with that happening to Thorne, and of course, she is gong to be happy about leaving Thomas down there too.”
MICHAEL:
Speaking of Thomas, how is working with Adam Gregory (Thomas)?
WINSOR:
He is pretty to look at, isn’t he? I catch myself at times going, “Man. That is a good looking kid.” Adam is the nicest, nicest guy. He kind of reminds me of Ronn. He has a super big heart, and when I was going through my divorce he said, “Look, if you need to go out to be with some friends, and you need someone to watch your son, please, my wife and I love kids, and we would love to watch him.” I thought that was awesome. It kind of caught me off guard, but that is just who he is, though. Adam is always offering to help. He is an all-around grounded guy and he has good spiritual belief going on. I think he is a great asset to the show and I enjoy being around him.
HUNTER:
I like his energy. It is a lot like Ronn Moss’s personality … kind of laid-back and quiet. But, if you get him going, he has a great sense of humor and he is mostly kind of reserved. Then, in contrast, Winsor comes in a hundred miles an hour and that is Winsor’s energy. He has way high energy. I was so amazed that Adam is so well grounded for the age he is at.
MICHAEL:
Then Hunter, how then would you define your energy on set?
HUNTER:
I come in pretty easy going. I am kind of quiet, and it depends on what is going on in the storyline. If it’s a heavy duty storyline I am very quiet, but when all the stress is gone and it’s a light day for me, I am usually acting pretty goofy and pretty silly.
MICHAEL:
Is she silly, Winsor?
WINSOR:
Oh yeah! Hunter is fun and I like to say things to get her to be silly.
HUNTER:
That is true, and then Susan Flannery (Stephanie) starts yelling, “Winsor! Shut up!” We just love getting Susan wound up, don’t we Winsor? And that is what is funny. It’s hysterical!
WINSOR:
I have times in my life where I needed some family advice or something, and I called Susan. And on my cell phone it says “Mom-California” and the other one says “Mom- Dallas.” Susan and I do have a very good close relationship. (Laughs)
MICHAEL:
I have had the opportunity to watch Susan Flannery direct actors on the set of Crystal Chappell’s web-series, Venice. I also know she directs several episodes of B&B. How is working with Susan in that capacity?
HUNTER:
I love it when Susan directs. Usually actors don’t like when they are given a line read for a certain scene, but I love it when Susan says, “You know what would be good here Hunter?” Susan really gets into it.
WINSOR:
If we could shoot in between our scenes, you could put a laugh track to it … one could be a daytime show and one a comedy/reality show. And even with the crew, I will cut up with the camera guys and the sound guys!
MICHAEL:
I hope some day someone actually does a reality show of what goes on the set of a soap when you are not rolling tape! We think it would be a hit series and help boost the dwindling genre. Especially, if it were to air in the daytime block and maybe repeat at night on a cable outlet.
HUNTER:
Yes, like a 30 Rock of the show. It would be hilarious! The things that I think people would enjoy seeing are a lot of the comedy moments. We have to learn so many lines. You cannot believe how much stuff we have to do. We are shooting 78 or more pages in one episode. So if we shoot three episodes in one day, which we often do, people cannot fathom how we do it. And, then the funny things that happen on the set to get through it, or the coping mechanisms we have to get through it… those are funny, and those are great moments to capture.
MICHAEL:
Hunter and Winsor… you should host that show!
HUNTER:
I just think Brad should get a reality crew down here on set! I am telling you since we are now in print that we did this, we are officially the writers of the show. We claim it right now. It’s legal. 55% percent of this show, we own. (Laughs)
MICHAEL:
As we come to the end of our fascinating and fun conversation, ultimately how would the two of you like to see your characters relationship head in the future?
HUNTER:
I would like to see Taylor finally have had it with Brooke and Hope and that whole thing, and step up and put Thorne in the CEO seat and take over and let him come up with his own line. Then, let everyone discover that he is more talented than everybody! And that he really has Eric’s gift! That would be awesome. As far as their relationship, I like them having a deep meaningful relationship and not being sexual. I think that is unique, because our show is usually high romance and people that are so over the top that they are not thinking clearly. I think this could be cool to show a couple that is thinking clearly and that they have a goal together, and that they are overcoming their own demons. I think we should see Thorne and Taylor get strong and stand up to these people who mowed them down. Now Taylor has been standing up to Stephanie, and now we have Thorne standing up to his brother, so I think they are in that place.
WINSOR:
I love exactly what she said. But one thing I would like to see between the two of them is to have that mutual respect for each other, and it’s not just based on lying around in lingerie or having sex all the time. It’s more of a deep rooted relationship that they have developed, and they come to realize this that, “Wait, we just might have the perfect relationship.”
MICHAEL:
What did you think, Winsor, when B&B started teasing a Taylor/Thorne pairing/relationship?
WINSOR:
I was very happy about it. I love working with Hunter. She is fun and she has a wicked sense of humor.
MICHAEL:
It wasn’t about Hunter’s beauty? Looking into those beautiful blue eyes?
WINSOR:
That goes without saying.
HUNTER:
But he never looks at my eyes, sorry. Tell the truth, Winsor.
WINSOR:
I could not pick her out of a police line-up. (Laughs)
HUNTER:
You know, us fellow Texans have to stick together. It’s an interesting background Winsor and I have in real life, as we grew up 20 miles away from each other. We probably went to the same football games and everything, but we were sitting on opposite bleachers. (Laughs) But I have no doubt when I was out there on the drill team he was probably under the bleachers with the guys who were checking us out while we were changing our clothes!
MICHAEL:
Wow, she knows you Winsor! So, in story, Thorne is the put-upon Forrester child. Ridge is always number one and Thorne is always thrown in the basement of Forrester Creations and trying to get out. Thorne had this big moment recently where he tries to do a company takeover and stake his claim at Forrester. What did you think of those scenes, Winsor?
WINSOR:
I loved them! I thought they were great and I thought everyone was very equal and strong in them. The dynamics of it I love. And, I love fighting with Ridge, and I love the Forrester situation we find ourselves in. But what makes this much stronger is that Thorne now has Taylor on his side and Ridge is really taken aback by that. One of the funniest lines in the whole show this past year was when we got into that scuffle! I got thrown to the floor and then Taylor kissed Thorne. At that moment, Ronn Moss (Ridge) just did this look and said this line that was hilarious. I seriously almost started laughing when I was in the middle of the scene.
MICHAEL:
Can we just set the scene for this, Winsor? What went down? Viewers saw that Taylor, at the last minute, seems to end up siding with Ridge when you are waiting for her to side with you! That is the big shocker.
WINSOR:
Taylor just can’t start a war between her kids and when it comes down to your children, that battle could destroy lives and relationships forever. But then again, I don’t know. In daytime you can do anything. It was par for the course for Thorne.
HUNTER:
I know! He got kicked to the curb again.
MICHAEL:
Hunter, what do you think about what Taylor did in this situation?
HUNTER:
I think Taylor found herself in a bind where she absolutely knows if Brooke gets one word in edge-wise with Ridge, she will end up getting her way and she would cut Taylor’s children out of Forrester in two seconds. Taylor has worked really hard to step up to the plate. Her psychiatrist background would also make her aware that it’s a very unstable situation when children don’t have a connection with her father. So she will try to do everything she can to keep her children mentally healthy, because Steffy had been through so much loss, and yes, so has Thomas. But for Steffy, in losing her twin sister, she is kind of hyper-vigilante. Surprisingly, Ridge had been backing Steffy now with her new love interest, Liam, who of course, used to be Hope’s love interest, and Brooke did not like that. Taylor was like “Wow. Ridge is siding with Steffy, and this may never happen again.” So she had to side with him.
MICHAEL:
But, she had to be torn?
HUNTER:
Absolutely! She probably equally feels that Thorne deserves to have a shot at Forrester in the driver’s seat. Taylor does not like the way Brooke has been running everything through Ridge. So she thinks someone a bit more level-headed should be running things. But unfortunately, there is that sticky point between them…Taylor killed Darla, Thorne’s wife.
MICHAEL:
Oh yeah … remember that?
HUNTER:
Taylor has a little guilt, but she would do anything to make up for that. I mean, Thorne was even there with her when he helped get her to AA. Thorne was really forgiving and loving. So she knows that Thorne has a really good heart, and that he has been pushed to the wayside and neglected. I want to believe that Taylor, as a psychiatrist, would understand how sad of a life that it is…that this young man who always grew up in the shadow of Ridge, is always getting the seconds, and how that must feel for him.
MICHAEL:
Thorne had a great line in the key episode that he is the real Forrester heir and that Ridge is just Massimo’s son.
WINSOR:
That is a big thing to me. We found out that Ridge’s father is Massimo Marone and not Eric Forrester. Thorne is the heir to the throne of Forrester and he then is the first born. Thorne is being treated like he’s not, and he always has been. I think that probably hurts him more than anything, that his father shows more love for Ridge. And, we definitely know how Stephanie feels about it all, and there is no doubt about that. (Laughs) But I am glad that Brad Bell (EP and head writer, B&B) wrote a line in the script like that addressing the fact of whose father is who.
MICHAEL:
But the big question really is; because Taylor ran down and killed his wife, Darla, how does Thorne deal with this several years later and getting close to Taylor?
WINSOR:
That is just Thorne. He forgives; he has been forgiving his whole life.
HUNTER:
That is what has worked with this storyline so well, because Thorne had always compromised. He has been trained up to compromise and bow down to allow Ridge to do whatever he wants. I would imagine he got in trouble for that when he was a little boy if he did not back whatever the parents wanted to do for big brother Ridge. And it’s a very sad thing and it does happen in families… favoritism… and sibling rivalries … are very real. I was so glad this show revisited this rivalry between the brothers. I think it’s a really important dynamic in the Forrester family.
MICHAEL:
Didn’t Thorne have a plan that he brought to light to Taylor to bring down the house of Forrester? How did the two of them end up conspiring?
WINSOR:
We were putting everything into “Hope for the Future” and we were neglecting the other lines and Thorne was very against it. He came out and said, “Look guys. We are making a mistake here. What happens if this line doesn’t work?” And lo and behold, look what happened? He came to Taylor with a plan of: “Look, I have been pushed down by Ridge long enough, and now his own son and daughter are being pushed down.” Thorne figured out that because Stephanie tricked Thomas and gave him the stock so that he would say he slept with Brooke, so then Brooke would leave Ridge, and Ridge would then end up with Taylor! So, Thorne finds this stock option and goes to Taylor and says, “Look. Your kids are being shoved in the basement like me. They are too talented. Thomas had one of the most successful lines Forrester ever had. Look you have got 55% of this company and you can now control this company through these stocks. And it’s time for you to do it. We need a change.” And that is where it started from and he was not trying to use Taylor by any means. He was driven by what he really believes and that is that this company is in jeopardy, and putting all your eggs in one basket, over one fashion line. He was against it.
MICHAEL:
Is it a perk of the whole vendetta that Thorne wanted Taylor to be his as well?
WINSOR:
I don’t think it started out like that, and that is what I liked about the relationship. We grew. I loved the scene where Taylor goes to a psychic and she tells her this guy will show up at your door, and it turns out to be Thorne.
MICHAEL:
Hunter, what did you think about the “psychic scene”?
HUNTER:
Oh, we laughed so much about that. (Laughs) But, when Thorne shows up she is thinking “Did Stephanie send you here?” Because Taylor is thinking she is being set-up because this is just more manipulation. However, when Thorne actually shows her some legal information in the stock options, that was not even in her motivation to use them to get a leg up, Thorne knows that. But one of the things that I think motivated Thorne to go look it up was, “What kind of power does Taylor have in this situation? Because look at her son! He is down here in the basement and this kid is going to be doomed just like me.” So I do think that is what motivated him to look up the legal info, or, maybe go get some advice. Then he realizes since Taylor has the controlling trust while Stephanie is alive, and Thomas does not have the stocks actually, now Taylor is the trustee and now she can vote in the company. She now has 55%. So, whereas before we thought that Taylor lost her shares when she took a mortgage out on her house, (and bought 50 million dollars worth of shares, and gave a lot to Steffy) now as the mother and the trustee, Taylor realizes she has a lot more power than she thought. Thorne knows that Taylor in the past has been just like him. She has always tried to do the right thing and got screwed over.
MICHAEL:
Right! So they are really the screwed-over couple of B&B!
WINSOR:
I believe they have it tough.
MICHAEL:
Do you think this will go anywhere and they will show a more romantic side to their relationship in the future?
WINSOR:
Well, that is up to Brad Bell, but they do spend Christmas together. I do think they could end up having a very passionate relationship.
HUNTER:
I think it’s very cool that there is so much history behind the two characters. First of all, it does not seem like a sexually based relationship. So I think the audience can appreciate it and go, “Wow. I can understand these two emotionally bonding,” and then let it grow into something that doesn’t look forced. I think with the right vehicle for the two characters to be united doing something together, like they have a goal that is a going to be good for everybody, and of course, we don’t really care if it upsets Ridge and Brooke. (Laughs) I do think the two of them could become very passionate in the moment that they succeed.
MICHAEL:
I think they need to trap you two on a high-stakes basement caper! Something where you are locked up together and can’t get away from each other and it’s life or death! What do you think?
HUNTER:
I think that sounds cool. How about they get stuck in Rome?
WINSOR:
Rome is fine with me.
HUNTER:
OK … then we need to hurry up and go to Venice, Italy before it sinks. (Laughs)
MICHAEL:
Hunter, what would you tell us about how it is to work with Winsor?
HUNTER:
Winsor is hilarious. He is so laid-back and he tells you just what happened, and it can be scary sometimes what just happened. Such as: if he just came from the bathroom you might not want to hear that part. He is so open. He is like your family member, in that no matter what is going on, he just tells it like it is. So Texas! To me it’s like a brother or family member type of comfortable relationship. I can tell you people in California aren’t really used to that. When Winsor walks into a room and the two of us start talking, our Texas twangs start coming out.
WINSOR:
I have worked so hard to get rid of the accent for this show, because Thorne is not from Texas, obviously. (Laughs)
HUNTER:
Well now, I have explained that away. I told Winsor, I think that when Thorne was a little boy he probably was sent away a lot to boarding schools, because they probably thought he was acting up all the time, because he was acting out to get attention. So maybe he went to a boarding school, or a ranch one summer to get corrected because he had behavioral problems. And he picked up this Texas accent while there.
MICHAEL:
Hunter, you could be a writer on a soap!
HUNTER:
I love to write and actually I am writing right now. (Laughs).
MICHAEL:
Winsor, Hunter is known to really go through her scripts and dialog line by line …
WINSOR:
… That is one thing I love … and that is that Hunter comes in so well-prepared.
HUNTER:
I don’t have the lines all memorized but I have it all outlined, thought-process wise. And yes, I do pick apart every single line and then try to connect emotionally everything that I am saying that means something in my own life, so it means something. Sometimes there is a lot of scribbling all over my script or page!
MICHAEL:
How is working with her while she is going through her process?
WINSOR:
I absolutely love it, because it opens up things to me that I did not actually see. I am so comfortable with Hunter. We have that comfortablity around each other, and when that happens as an artist, you are allowed to open up more and there is more spontaneity.
HUNTER:
I have to say that we do have a great friendship from way back. What I would say is Ronn and Winsor and I do have a good buddy friendship, and we all bond over nice cars! We all sit and talk about engines and the best cars. I am a corvette person and Winsor is a Porsche person, and we all argue which is better the Porsche or the “Vette”! And we all know that the “Vette” is! (Laughs)
WINSOR:
I would agree with you on that one right now, since it’s half the price.
HUNTER:
I also have to say this, and I don’t know if I ever said this to you Winsor. After I lost my son, Winsor was there for me so much. He would come over to my house and stop by and check on me. We would sometimes meet up at a bar and have a drink. Winsor would just let me vent and piss and moan and grouch whatever I had to do, and he was there for me. I really appreciated that so much, Winsor.
WINSOR:
I know you did and you did not have to say it.
HUNTER:
So we do have that type of relationship that Taylor and Thorne have too, and that is: “Whatever the hell is going on, I am here for you, and I have been through that too.”
MICHAEL:
Winsor, you have been on contact with B&B and then taken off contract and put on recurring status. Are you OK with being recurring?
WINSOR:
I love it at B&B and I have always considered it my home. I look at it like this, like a football team. There is a coach and the coach is going to run the team like he sees fit and that is OK. I am a player, and that is how I see it.
HUNTER:
A player! That’s the truth. (Laughs)
WINSOR:
And when I get called in, I come in a hundred miles an hour because I love it!
HUNTER:
And that’s the truth!
MICHAEL:
Taylor and Thorne have quite the past. In fact, Thorne delivered Taylor’s baby at one point!
HUNTER:
I don’t know if this is sub-consciously in Brad Bell’s head, or he made sense of this that literally, but Winsor’s character would have a bit of this bonding thing with Thomas that is very natural because he delivered Thomas when Ridge was in jail! Thorne was there for Taylor and helped her deliver her baby!
WINSOR:
That is Ridge’s first born son and he is in the basement with Thorne!
HUNTER:
Right, and in Taylor’s mind she is like, “Well, Brooke was OK with that happening to Thorne, and of course, she is gong to be happy about leaving Thomas down there too.”
MICHAEL:
Speaking of Thomas, how is working with Adam Gregory (Thomas)?
WINSOR:
He is pretty to look at, isn’t he? I catch myself at times going, “Man. That is a good looking kid.” Adam is the nicest, nicest guy. He kind of reminds me of Ronn. He has a super big heart, and when I was going through my divorce he said, “Look, if you need to go out to be with some friends, and you need someone to watch your son, please, my wife and I love kids, and we would love to watch him.” I thought that was awesome. It kind of caught me off guard, but that is just who he is, though. Adam is always offering to help. He is an all-around grounded guy and he has good spiritual belief going on. I think he is a great asset to the show and I enjoy being around him.
HUNTER:
I like his energy. It is a lot like Ronn Moss’s personality … kind of laid-back and quiet. But, if you get him going, he has a great sense of humor and he is mostly kind of reserved. Then, in contrast, Winsor comes in a hundred miles an hour and that is Winsor’s energy. He has way high energy. I was so amazed that Adam is so well grounded for the age he is at.
MICHAEL:
Then Hunter, how then would you define your energy on set?
HUNTER:
I come in pretty easy going. I am kind of quiet, and it depends on what is going on in the storyline. If it’s a heavy duty storyline I am very quiet, but when all the stress is gone and it’s a light day for me, I am usually acting pretty goofy and pretty silly.
MICHAEL:
Is she silly, Winsor?
WINSOR:
Oh yeah! Hunter is fun and I like to say things to get her to be silly.
HUNTER:
That is true, and then Susan Flannery (Stephanie) starts yelling, “Winsor! Shut up!” We just love getting Susan wound up, don’t we Winsor? And that is what is funny. It’s hysterical!
WINSOR:
I have times in my life where I needed some family advice or something, and I called Susan. And on my cell phone it says “Mom-California” and the other one says “Mom- Dallas.” Susan and I do have a very good close relationship. (Laughs)
MICHAEL:
I have had the opportunity to watch Susan Flannery direct actors on the set of Crystal Chappell’s web-series, Venice. I also know she directs several episodes of B&B. How is working with Susan in that capacity?
HUNTER:
I love it when Susan directs. Usually actors don’t like when they are given a line read for a certain scene, but I love it when Susan says, “You know what would be good here Hunter?” Susan really gets into it.
WINSOR:
If we could shoot in between our scenes, you could put a laugh track to it … one could be a daytime show and one a comedy/reality show. And even with the crew, I will cut up with the camera guys and the sound guys!
MICHAEL:
I hope some day someone actually does a reality show of what goes on the set of a soap when you are not rolling tape! We think it would be a hit series and help boost the dwindling genre. Especially, if it were to air in the daytime block and maybe repeat at night on a cable outlet.
HUNTER:
Yes, like a 30 Rock of the show. It would be hilarious! The things that I think people would enjoy seeing are a lot of the comedy moments. We have to learn so many lines. You cannot believe how much stuff we have to do. We are shooting 78 or more pages in one episode. So if we shoot three episodes in one day, which we often do, people cannot fathom how we do it. And, then the funny things that happen on the set to get through it, or the coping mechanisms we have to get through it… those are funny, and those are great moments to capture.
MICHAEL:
Hunter and Winsor… you should host that show!
HUNTER:
I just think Brad should get a reality crew down here on set! I am telling you since we are now in print that we did this, we are officially the writers of the show. We claim it right now. It’s legal. 55% percent of this show, we own. (Laughs)
MICHAEL:
As we come to the end of our fascinating and fun conversation, ultimately how would the two of you like to see your characters relationship head in the future?
HUNTER:
I would like to see Taylor finally have had it with Brooke and Hope and that whole thing, and step up and put Thorne in the CEO seat and take over and let him come up with his own line. Then, let everyone discover that he is more talented than everybody! And that he really has Eric’s gift! That would be awesome. As far as their relationship, I like them having a deep meaningful relationship and not being sexual. I think that is unique, because our show is usually high romance and people that are so over the top that they are not thinking clearly. I think this could be cool to show a couple that is thinking clearly and that they have a goal together, and that they are overcoming their own demons. I think we should see Thorne and Taylor get strong and stand up to these people who mowed them down. Now Taylor has been standing up to Stephanie, and now we have Thorne standing up to his brother, so I think they are in that place.
WINSOR:
I love exactly what she said. But one thing I would like to see between the two of them is to have that mutual respect for each other, and it’s not just based on lying around in lingerie or having sex all the time. It’s more of a deep rooted relationship that they have developed, and they come to realize this that, “Wait, we just might have the perfect relationship.”
