As the World Turns alum Scott...
One Life to Live's Scott Bryce and Michael Easton team up
As the World Turns alum
Scott Bryce — who romanced
Meg Ryan's Betsy back in the '80s as the original Craig Montgomery — is coming back to daytime. But instead of returning to Oakdale, he's headed for
One Life to Live's Llanview as police shrink Ed Crosby. He'll begin counseling broody cop John McBain (
Michael Easton) on Jan. 4. Can't wait 'til 2006 for the details? Just read on....
TVGuide.com: Welcome back to soaps! We sure missed you.
Scott Bryce: Thanks! Well, it's a recurring role, so we'll see how long I'm around. They've scheduled eight episodes for me so far, so I'll be airing into February on
OLTL.
TVGuide.com: Before we get to that, Hunt Block is a fine actor, but for many ATWT fans, you're the one and only Craig. His Craig was very different from your more lovable version.
Bryce: Aww... he was playing a different part with the same name. They needed to give him connections to people in town. My dad, [soap veteran]
Ed Bryce, used to say that when you play a villain, play everything
good about him. Craig was just a needy guy who, through his own stupidity, did horrible things.
TVGuide.com: I'd be flattered if you pretended you were confined to a wheelchair just to hold on to my sympathies.
Bryce: [
Laughs] When I was with Betsy, I was paralyzed from the waist down — except for one critical spot! In those days on
As the World Turns, we had a remarkable cast: Meg Ryan,
Kim Johnston Ulrich (Ivy,
Passions),
Julianne Moore,
Marisa Tomei....
TVGuide.com: More recently, you played Brooke's dad, Mike McQueen, on WB's late great Popular.
Bryce: I was very proud to be on
Popular. We put important messages inside bright, candy comedy. [Creator]
Ryan Murphy did amazing things, and still does on his new show
Nip/Tuck. And 28-year-old
Leslie Bibb played my 16-year-old daughter. That was
interesting.
TVGuide.com: So let's talk about OLTL. Is the wildly popular Michael Easton really the brooder he plays on TV?
Bryce: Michael's a great guy and we've had a tremendous first few days. He came in to work this morning with a big smile on his face, so he's very friendly and warm, not brooding at all.
TVGuide.com: Will you stick around if OLTL offers you a contract?
Bryce: I might. I'm not sure about a long-term contract. I'm now a television producer and director with Palace Digital Studios in Connecticut. We're developing a lot of television shows and feature films. So I'm not sure if I could really fully commit to
OLTL, but I would certainly love to hang around and play for a while. I love the cast and the medium is challenging. I forgot how fast you have to work on a soap!
TVGuide.com: Let's hear the scoop about your role.
Bryce: My character, Dr. Crosby, is pretty hard-nosed, very bright and really cares about cops. I'm not sure what their plans are for me. All I know is that the executive producer,
Frank Valenti, came down to the set on my first day and told me to take off my wedding ring. I said, "Yes, sir." So perhaps there are plans afoot for Dr. Crosby to have a romance. They want him to look like a single doctor!
