Think sublime chemistry between a daytime leading man and leading lady means a hunky-dory relationship off camera? Think again. In a video on bravotv.com, Eileen Davidson (Ashley Abbott, “The Young and the Restless”; ex-Kristen DiMera, “Days of our Lives”) and Lisa Rinna (ex-Billie Reed, “DAYS”) reveal they haven’t always liked — and occasionally loathed — their soap pairings.
“Days of our Lives, 1992, I go in to read for my seventh soap opera,” says Rinna. “I had already now, at this point, screen tested for seven soap operas. Seven! And I think that I’m never going to work in that world. So I go in to read for Billie Reed. I tested with Robert Kelker-Kelly (ex-Bo), and I got it.”
Apparently, it was a match made in hell. “I hated Robert Kelker-Kelly. Hated him with a passion,” confesses Rinna. “He hated me with a passion. There’s a secret for you. We were a volatile combination and it looked like love and sexual chemistry on camera. So that was some darned good acting right there.”
Davidson can relate to all of the above. “That happens,” notes the actress. “You’re not going to get along with everybody, but sometimes any kind of emotion translates on TV. So if it’s real, you see it, and the audience reacts to it… There have been actors that I haven’t gotten along well with off camera.”
When asked to name names, however, Davidson shied away. “I don’t think so,” she says demurely. “That would not be a secret any more, would it?”
Watch the full video below: