Podcast #523: Actor ROBERT KELKER-KELLY!

Robert Kelker-Kelly
Robert Kelker-Kelly

Robert Kelker-Kelly has been captivating daytime audiences since 1987. He was seen in various roles on “Another World,” “Days of our Lives,” and most recently, “General Hospital.” Kelker-Kelly first portrayed the role of Stavros Cassadine in 2001, and the character was presumed dead after falling down a shaft. Fans were treated to a surprise earlier this year when Stavros turned up alive and well at Cassadine Island. Kelker-Kelly spoke about how the secret return went down:

 

Mark Teschner called me up and said, ‘We want to bring Stavros back, but you HAVE to not say anything.’ I said, ‘Dude, I think that is a great idea. I have a boss, and I have to ask permission.’ The boss, who I love, said, ‘Absolutely.’ In all seriousness, Mark then told me, ‘The easiest way to tick off Frank (Valentini) is to let this get out.’ In Frank’s corner, people spend too much time spilling their guts on what’s coming up on the show. That’s pretty much how they did it. They threatened me. *laughs*”

Kelker-Kelly continued about reuniting with Genie Francis and Tony Geary as Laura and Luke Spencer for those few episodes:

“My first day was with Genie and Tony at the table read, and I love Tony and Genie. I have such a fondness and respect for those two. To be able to sit at that table and do those scenes, they make you better actors by just being in that room. Listen, I have been out of the game for about 10, 11 years. I warned them both, ‘I have to be honest with you. This is a sh!tload of material, and I’m gonna have a hard time remembering this stuff.’ Tony looks at me and goes, ‘Dude…what are having you been doing?’ I told him that I am a pilot and fly jets for a living. Tony starts laughing and says, ‘You got to come back! You’re brilliant!’ That was a huge compliment from Tony Geary. I walked in there to make them both completely unhinged. The last thing I want to do is scare anybody I work with. So, I told Genie that I’m going to do things that are completely out there, and let me know if it’s not OK. She tells me to go ahead and play. A couple of reactions from Genie were completely honest. For instance, when I slapped the table, that was not rehearsed. They started taping it, and I went nuts for a moment. It scared the sh!t out of her. She was literally an arm length away from me, and I raised my hand to slap it on that table. It freaked her out. When we finished the taping, I ask Genie, ‘Are you OK?’ She goes, ‘That was brilliant! It caught me off-guard!” Genie was on board with it, and that made me feel really good.”

In 1992, Kelker-Kelly stepped into the role of Bo Brady on NBC Daytime‘s “Days of our Lives.” While his interpretation of Bo, as well as the Bo/Billie Reed coupling, was received well by fans, it did not start off so pleasant when he first came on the show.

“That was gradual. When I first came on, it pissed a bunch of people off. I got a lot of hate mail that was pretty hateful. It took some time. I remember doing a scene with an actor, and that person said, ‘Peter (Reckell) would never have done it that way!’ I just looked at them and said, ‘Yep, well I ain’t Peter.’ That was well into my second year of that role. The writing, however, was very good. They worked really hard in making the clique between myself and Lisa Rinna work. Plus, I spent most of my time with my shirt off. I will say, though, that when I first got there, people were very unhappy. Maybe it was because I wanted to prove myself in that role, that was all I saw. So, I may have perceived that incorrectly as well.”

We spoke more with Robert about his time on soaps, as well as being a pilot, and spending time with his daughter. To download the full podcast with Robert Kelker-Kelly, click the following link: ROBERT KELKER-KELLY INTERVIEW.

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