With a heavy heart, the fans bid farewell to Chandler Massey, who brought life to Will Horton for nearly four years and single-handedly transitioned the viewers into DAY's gay storyline.
Many fans are sad to see him go, but still support the show and are excited to see Guy Wilson take on the role. Others are swearing to never watch the show again because apparently "there is no WilSon (and no show) without Chandler."
Um...no!
Yes. He was a big asset. But the show must go on. The storyline must go on. And after all, this isn't the first character to switch actors in the middle of a storyline. And this won't be the last.
Characters like Cameron Davis and Taylor Walker lost their actors without notice and had to be replaced immediately. Characters like Gabi Hernandez and Will Horton were switched to accommodate a different storyline and to take the character in a new direction. This is where Chandler Massey got his break.
Some actor switches are the result of a character coming back and the show is unable to get the original actor. Abby Deveraux was on in 2006 and came back as someone else in 2011. Philip Kiriakis left in 2002 and returned as a different face in 2003. (And then the reverse happened in 2006 and 2007). Brady Black was one actor in 2004 and then another in 2008.
To see a chart of these recasts view my Tumblr posts Here
And Here
The famous couple, Shelle, was played by four different combinations of actors. Originally, at Salem High it was Kirsten Storms and Jason Cook. Then, Storms left and Charity Ramher stepped in for two seconds. Then, they cast Martha Madison as Belle alongside Cook. These two were the ones who were involved in the infamous year-long paternity secret regarding their daughter Claire. Jason Cook played the man in love with his best friend's wife and secretly wishing Claire was his. Until..the secret came out. He was!
Unfortunately, that's all Cook got to play. He found out he was the father, had a fight with the step-father, Philip (the replacement, Kyle Brandt), and then was recast!
Brandon Beemer was thrown into the middle of a love triangle and a custody battle. And then started the last version of Shelle, Madison and Beemer.
Interestingly, the custody battle included another recast. When Philip reappeared for the hearing in 2007, Jay Kenneth Johnson, the original Philip, returned to the role.
So, the award for most recasts in a storyline goes to...this one!
If Brandon Beemer can transition into a 7-year supercouple role in the middle of a paternity reveal and still carry the story with the support of the fans... then, I think Guy will be fine.
The key to a recast is keeping the character true. If the new actor doesn't have the same motivation in the scenes, or the same demeanor, or the same chemistry with their scene partners, then the recast fails
The transition must be seamless, so much so that it doesn't seem like a different person.
If the fans don't like it, then it tanks. In the world of soaps, this kind of thing happens all the time, and the fans deal with it. We pretend it has been the same person all along. Like nothing has changed.
Within the two actors, the characters themselves stay the same. Although they may have two different faces, they have one soul.
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