The Wit and Wisdom: PRESS ARCHIVES

TUC ON HIS CO-STARS
(Quotes in bold are new.)

On Robin Strasser (Dorian)

(on auditioning for the role David Vickers) "At the end of the scene with Robin [Strasser, Dorian], I was supposed to lay this big kiss on her. She resisted, like, 'Don't you touch me.' I laughed at her instead and left the room." (SOD 11/7/95)

"The people I have learned most from are Erika Slezak [Viki], Robin Strasser [Dorian] and Bob Woods [Bo]. They are so at ease with what they do. ... Those three actors can say anything and make it believable." (SOD 11/7/95)

(on whether or not the executive producer told him he'd be working with Robin again) "He never said that, I just assumed it. I don't think you bring David back without putting him with Dorian. Playing David without Dorian is like playing with matches without kerosene. It's fun to play with matches, but once you add the kerosene it becomes a lot more fun." (SOW 9/28/04)

(on working with Robin) "What's nice about what we do is, we trade off the lead. There is a give-and-take that becomes a rhythm. You don't have that with everyone that you work with. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn...there are teams throughout history that do that, and I think I would be complimenting us to put us in that category. But I have that sense when I work with Robin that we get into a sort of tango." (SOW 9/28/04)

(on ad-libbing) "I look at the script and think, 'Can the same line be said with a different intention that takes it in a different way?' Often it's just punching a different word than is intended. A lot of times in rehearsal when you're reading it together for the first time, you notice where the problems are. When we run into a problem, Robin and I say, 'Let us work on it and we'll present you with what we think would be a good solution.' When I read our scripts the first thing I usually do is try and find where it's funny. That's not always the best choice, but it's what I naturally do. Robin tends to ground me. If I want to go too far with something, she makes it very clear that I may want to reconsider. She's right. That's part of working with someone that you trust." (SOW 9/28/04)

(on what people might be surprised to know about Robin) "She is extremely thoughtful to the actors that she works with, whether it's me or someone who's just there for a couple of lines. She's the first one to make sure that everybody around her looks and sounds good. She's very good at looking at the big picture as opposed to just her part in that picture. She's also funnier than I think most people would guess." (SOW 9/28/04)

(on his audition for OLTL opposite Robin Strasser) "I was a relatively inexperienced actor who was screentesting for a soap opera with one of the great divas of all time. I was real nervous and glad that I was wearing a sports coat; otherwise you probably would have seen me sweating." (SID 2/13/05)

(his favorite thing about Robin and Dorian) "My favorite thing about Robin is her willingness to go into the unknown. And my favorite thing about Dorian is that she thinks I'm hot." (SID 2/13/05)

"Robin thinks I tend to go for the funny in times when maybe the priority isn't to make a joke. What I mean to add is that she's right. She's right. My first instinct is to find where it's funny, and I'll hone in on that like a dog with a bone. And sometimes I need to be reminded, as much as you'd like it to be, this is not a sitcom you're on. But if I don't like her critique, I'll try to distract her by telling her her hair's out of place." (SID 2/13/05)

(on his favorite memory working with Robin) "For me, I really enjoyed exchanging Christmas gifts, and we immediately accused each other of re-gifting. But in a bigger picture, the things that I really like are when Dorian and David are cohorts. When we work together to destroy someone else, I think it's some of the most magical moments on daytime." (SID 2/13/05)

"You can't really explain chemistry, as cliched as that is. But I do think that there's chemistry between Dorian and David and Tuc and Robin." (SID 2/13/05)

"I predict that Dorian and David will both find out how much they truly do or truly don't love one another. Love comes in degrees, and when obstacles come up, you find out what you're made of and what your relationship is made of. I think that will be tested." (SID 2/13/05)

(on his pairing with Robin Strasser) "There are so many different variables that go into casting and making choices and pairing people together. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. I think that this happens to be a time when it did work out and it worked out in the long run." (SOD.com October 2005)

(on using creativity in daytime) "I think that is what has created our relationship, the David and Dorian relationship. I'm usually trying to find where I can surprise Robin and I think she's doing the same thing." (SOD.com October 2005)

(on his return to OLTL in 2003) "I returned because I wanted to live in New York City again and I saw that Robin was back on the show. I thought the timing was right." (SOD.com October 2005)

(on whether he knew he'd be paired with Robin upon his return) "I just assumed that I'd be paired up with Dorian. I've always said playing David without Dorian is like playing with gasoline without matches: It's fun but it lacks showmanship." (SOD 3/28/06)

On Kassie DePaiva (Blair)

"It's difficult for an actor to put across to an audience, via television, genuine feelings, thoughts and emotions, yet Kassie seems to do that very naturally," he explains. "That is rarely seen among any kind of actor, be it TV, film or stage. Kassie has that intangible quality that I think audiences crave, and she gives it to them." (SID 1/4/05)

(on seeing Kassie's hair in 2000) "She cut all of hers off. It looked pretty hot." (SOD 3/28/06)

(on whether or not he kept up with OLTL co-stars during his absence from OLTL) "Out of the blue, Kassie DePaiva sent me a quilt once. That was really nice." (SOD 3/28/06)

On Others

"The people I have learned most from are Erika Slezak [Viki], Robin Strasser [Dorian] and Bob Woods [Bo]. They are so at ease with what they do. ... Those three actors can say anything and make it believable." (SOD 11/7/95)

(on whether or not he kept up with the show while away from OLTL) "I would see the show on a monitor at the gym sometimes. I never heard the dialogue, but I noticed that everyone was growing their hair out. Except Bob Woods [Bo]." (SOD 3/28/06)

(on whether or not he kept up with OLTL co-stars after leaving in 1996) "I've stayed pretty close with Nathan Fillion [ex-Joey] and Roger Howarth [ex-Todd]. Other than that, I'd bump into someone on a plane." (SOD 3/28/06)

"The first time I was on the show, I shared my dressing room with Chris Douglas [ex-Dylan]. He was very outdoorsy; he put up posters of wolves, bears and some trees. Now, I share a room with Josh Casaubon [Hugh]. When the kitchen in the Chinese restaurant next door backs up, our dressing room floods. So does Hillary [B.] Smith's [Nora]. She was smart and put down linoleum. We still have carpeting. Carpeting has proven to be a mistake." (SOD 4/25/06)

(on the David/Tina relationship in 2008) "Actually, Andrea [Evans, Tina] and I have not shared one scene together! It's a crime! When David and I leave the canvas, one of the last things I do is walk by Andrea and we sense each other, but never see each other. .... [B]ut Andrea and I had lots of fun down in the makeup room." (TVGuide Canada Suds Report 7/11/08)

(on the creation of David Vickers the dog) "If Ron [Carlivati, OLTL headwriter] named the dog Tuc, I'd get confused. And here's why: Bree Williamson [Tessica] has a daughter on the show named Bree and it's very confusing." (TVGuide Canada Suds Report 7/11/08)