Soap-Hopper Shares His One Big Post-Port Charles Regret: ‘I Wasn’t Trying to Take It Out on ABC, But… ’
Brian Gaskill is a huge part of soap opera history that spans shows like The Young and the Restless, As the World Turns, Guiding Light, and The Bold and the Beautiful. However, daytime fans probably remember him best as either Bobby Warner on All My Children, or of course, Rafe Kovich on Port Charles. Those characters helped to define his career, but it’s one particular moment that still stands out as a regret when he was faced with two daytime opportunities.
On June 27, 2003, Gaskill found himself in a place he never wanted to be: Port Charles was officially canceled by ABC. “It’s a heartbreaking show for me to talk about because we all kind of knew it was on its way out,” he shares with Soaps.com “We shot a year in six months, and then we were on hold for six months, and on the fifth month of being on hold, they called us and told us, ‘Sorry, we’re not coming back.’ ” That was devastating news for every cast member, but Gaskill found himself in a sweet spot with two job offers — he could return to his role as Bobby on All My Children or join the cast of CBS Daytime’s The Bold and the Beautiful as Oscar Marone. This is where the regret comes into play.
To the surprise of some daytime viewers, he bounced over to CBS Daytime instead of remaining at ABC — Gaskill’s decision was a personal one. “At the time I wasn’t ready to move across the country [to New York City], so I just signed on for a year at Bold and the Beautiful,” he explains. “I was really heartbroken at the time and I wasn’t trying to take it out on ABC or anything.” Gaskill still feels the weight of that decision to this day. “I regret it because I think Bobby in his second incarnation would have been the answer to your first question… I probably would have been more connected to that role than any of them, for sure,” he adds.
At the time, signing with The Bold and the Beautiful felt like the right place to land, but in hindsight, Gaskill still looks back at that crucial moment in time. “I really thought Port Charles was going to last for one more year and at the time, back then, I was still thinking I wanted to do other things,” he says wistfully. After his year-long stint on The Bold and the Beautiful, he moved over to As the World Turns in 2005 and Guiding Light from 2007-2008, and of course, his celebrated daytime return earlier his year on The Young and the Restless as Seth Morgan.
Still, Gaskill hasn’t let go of making that one specific decision in his career. “Why didn’t I just stay on one of these shows for 20 years and live a normal life instead of trying to find myself all over the place,” he questions. “But yeah, I had my reasons.”
Of course, that was then and this is now. While his time on Young & Restless was cut short thanks to Jordan pushing his alter ego in front of a car, he’s more than ready to dive back into the world of soaps. So why isn’t he on one right this moment? “Fans write me all the time, as if I have the ability to just call [the networks] and say, ‘Hey, I’m ready to do your show now!’” he laughs. “But I don’t.”
