Best Thing About The DiMera Living
Room Set? “I think it’s Joe’s portrait. It
represents that he may not be here on the
earth, but he’s watching over you. In a way,
he plays your conscience. I like the room.
I always have. I like the space, and there’s
good lighting in there. Actors are dying
for light.”Favorite DiMera Sibling? “Even
though Billy [Flynn, Chad] and I are not
similar in any way — we come from
different elements of life — there is
something about the way [the Chad and
Andre relationship
developed]. It was
after I said something
to [Billy] that didn’t
go over well. I felt a
certain ... you know,
with youth they’re
more rebellious in a
way, because I’ve
been there. My old
saying is, ‘If you don’t
know how to treat me, let me show you.’
And so I did. What came out of it was that
his heart opened up and part of it was
because he trusted me. I think because
that was so gradual, it meant something.”Best On-Screen Coupling? “Tony and
Anna. It’s different; it was a true love story.
It had all the ingredients: Sophistication,
clothing, and I think the romance more than
anything was always at the edge. It never quite
went far enough, and yet you wanted more.
Everything came and mixed together between
two actors, and it was a gem to me and the fla-
vor was fabulous. I looked forward to coming
to work. I think part of that was Leann would
take care of me and I would do the same. I
treated her well. Some actors say, ‘Don’t get
my makeup messed up.’ I mean, Leann never
once would say that. I remember a scene when
the two of us were eating chocolates. We
looked like a bloody mess, but it was all fun.”Best Thing About Working With
Lauren Koslow (Kate)? “I like the
way she dresses. She can put things
together that I look at and I’m thinking,
‘How the hell did you come up with
that?’ And she wears it well ... the atti-
tude. That’s part of her mystique. Some
actresses are an open book, but Lauren
Koslow comes with a certain attitude.
It’s a ‘Don’t screw with me’ attitude. But
we’re free enough to talk to each other,
like the time when Andre was going
to get married to Kate. I looked at her
and was supposed to kiss her. I said [to
Lauren], ‘Put your hand up as I’m about
to kiss you, as if you’re moving my face
away from you.’ So when the judge said,
‘Now you may kiss the bride,’ her hand
came up, she moved me away and kept
talking. It became funny. Things like that
she’s very open to.”Best On-Screen
Friendship?
“Tony and
Marlena, because
it also bleeds
through in the
personal. Over
the years, when
Deidre [Hall] has
gone somewhere,
she always asked
if I would go
with her, socially.
Every time we
worked together,
never once was
there any friction.
Never. She
always said,
‘Oh, my God.
You keep me
on my toes.’
And I like that. There’s a professionalism
between the two of us and a wonderful
respect between our two characters.”JILL JOHNSON/JPI
JON KOPALOFF/GETTY IMAGESOpen Your Heart:
Penghlis has
developed a broth-
erly bond with Billy
Flynn (Chad).Friends, Indeed:
Tony is pals with
Marlena, and off
camera, Penghlis
and Deidre Hall are
close, too.