While They Were Sleeping
To the casual observer, playing comatose seems like the easiest acting gig in show business (no lines to memorize and the daily wardrobe is really really comfy). Here we checked with nine soap stars, whose characters were in an unconcious state, to find out what it was really like to sleep on the job.
In 2005, Ethan was diagnosed as brain-dead after he ate poisoned guacamole that Theresa made for Alistair.
What did you think when you first heard Ethan was going to be in coma?
"I thought I was going to be fired. I immediately assumed his plug was going to be pulled and that was it. Fortunately, our executive producer, Lisa de Cazotte, was kind enough to grab me five minutes after I heard and say, 'You're not going to die.' "
But you must've been thrilled that you didn't have to learn lines for a while.
"Of course. I was like, 'I can sit around like a squash for a while. This won't be bad.' But on the first day I shut my eyes and this big voice from above said over the loud speaker, 'Eric, we're going to need to keep your eyes open. We want to see your vacant stare. No blinking.' So I learned that I wasn't going to be able to sleep for the next four months. They put the set under the gigantic air conditioning unit that shot into my eyes and made them water so bad. It was like the hardest three months that I had to endure."
Did you get an itch or anything you couldn't react to?
"Usually, it was Lindsay [Hartley, Theresa] -- you know her tear ducts are like the size of a quarter, so when she would start crying over Ethan, her tears would drop into my eyes and they would burn. Every time I would blink they'd have to do another take."
And Ethan was shirtless the whole time.
"Yeah, somehow Ethan was shirtless and the blanket always ended up right down by my lower waist."
Did you lose weight?
"I actually gained six pounds of muscle, which is a medical breakthrough. You know Dr. Eve always has some experimental cocktail, so must have put something in Ethan's IV."
Did you get anxious for him to wake up?"
"Well, it was for four months. It's a lot of fun for two weeks, but by the third week, I was itching to get up and say something and have some blocking and direction. It's not a party to be in a coma on a soap. It's extremely boring and not fulfilling. But you do have everyone in the cast stand over you and tell you how wonderful you are in the storyline. That was great for the character."
Typed up by Ally for ETlove.nu so please do not copy & paste to your site.
