![[IMAGE]](favjoy_2.jpg)
Stephen Nichols:
Soap Opera Magazine's
Star of the Week
June 30, 1998
(The above picture was taken by JoyceA228@aol.com- all rights reserved by her)
Stefan Cassadine has been living through a classic romantic tragedy. Ever
since the time Laura was stranded on the family's island as brother Stavros'
wife, she's been the object of Stefan's enduring love and unspoken obsession.
But the night of the Bacchanalia Ball, an event designed to celebrate his
engagement to Katherine Bell, everything
changed when the truth came crashing down - along with his innocent fiancee.
For his flawless portrayal of a man whose shocking self-revelation allows
him the possibility of a requited love only
seconds before it is lost to him forever, Soap Opera Magazine honors Stephen
Nichols as its Star of the Week.
When asked what scenes have been most enjoyable to perform, the actor replies,
'' I particularly enjoyed doing the scene where Stefan found Katherine in
tears with Laura's portrait and trunk full of memorabilia. When she caught
him in so many lies all at once, it all came down on him.
In those few moments, Stefan was fully cognizant that he had been obsessing
over Laura'', reflects Nichols. '' When they made it out to the parapet,
that realization allowed him to see there was a chance he really did love
Katherine and that if it weren't for this other interference, he could perhaps
have a relationship with her. But of course, in true soap opera fashion,
it was too late at that point.''
Hearing of Katherine's impending death, Nichols sought motivation to be icy,
the direction given to him in order to propel the story during the
trial. '' The hardest thing for Stefan to do was to keep from breaking down,
especially with Nikolas crying on his shoulder,'' Nichols explains. '' The
only way I could play it was to believe in my heart
that Cassadines do not display public emotion.''
Attention to detail is another hallmark of Nichols' performance, such as
the choice he made for his character's appearance after his arrest. ''Stefan
made the concerted effort to keep himself completely buttoned up in his prison
clothes,'' explains the actor. ''Some people were
saying, 'Oh Boy! We're going to get to see Stefan in an open-collar shirt.'
Maybe if I hadn't heard those comments, I wouldn't have thought about it,
but, it wouldn't have been right for the character to let his shirt hang
open.''
''It's like Stefan is Siddharta, ' says Nichols, evoking the founder of Buddhism.
'' He's thinking, 'I can wait, I can meditate, I can fast. And no matter
what comes my way, barring death, you people can't do anything to hurt me.'
The greatest hurt Stefan suffered was the indignity of having Nikolas see
him shackled. I thought it was interesting for the writers to include that
he was too proud to have
Nikolas see him that way. I enjoyed that.''
Nichols relishes his work but rarely watches it. ''When I do it, I know whether
it's working or not, '' he says. '' I just want to get into the scenes, tell
the truth and have some continuity in terms of who I am, where I've been
and where I'm going.''