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 Soap
Opera Digest
Better
Than Ever
When Melissa Reeves
and Matthew Ashford were paired in 1989, it seemed like an unconventional
union. She was the Salem sweetheart; he was a former rapist with
a silly side. Nevertheless, their romance was a hit with the viewers.
Ashford left DAYS in 1993 and Reeves followed in 1995, but the duo
was reunited on-screen in February, 2001. Suddenly, everything old
is new again in Salem.
By
Stephanie Sloane
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Digest:
What was it like to work together again?
Matthew Ashford: It felt the
same.
Melissa Reeves: As though
no time had passed. It was kind of weird!
Digest: Do you think Jack
and Jennifer are still meant to be together?
Ashford: Yes. But in what
way?
Digest: It's interesting because
you are together, but not romantically.
Ashford: But then you could
also redefine what is romance at the certain point. Half the time
they're at each other's throats.
Reeves: I think that's Jack
and Jen's romance. They have turmoil.
 Ashford:
I think when we were working on the paper together, we were romantically
involved, but we never physically touched or anything like that.
There was a romance to the moment. It's in the way something is
written -- there's something going on. There's an excitement in
the air. It isn't just candlelight and flowers. There's romance
in adventure and romance in mystery.
Reeves: I love that, it's
like in the old movies. But it takes more of your skill in acting
to make that work. It's such a challenge.
Ashford:
There has to be a connection and something going on all
the time. There are a lot of opportunities for that. I think there
were times in the past when people thought that I was I wasn't
connected to Missy or Jennifer, but I knew where we were coming
from.
Digest: Fans call you the
"real" Jack and Jennifer. It didn't seem the same when
other actors played your roles.
Reeves: That is so sweet!
Ashford: We heard that a lot
at the fan club weekend [last year]. It's nice that they think
that.
Digest: Has Jack changed?
Ashford: He believes that
he is already different. If not, he's going to be different. Jennifer
has said to him, "If there were some terrible thing, I know
you'd be there." Jack even says, "I'd risk anything
for you." These are the kind of lines that I wouldn't have
been able to say not too long ago. Now I'm saying them because
I want her to remember them.
Reeves: So, one day he won't
have to say them again.
Ashford: If Jack had to have
anybody guarding his right, I think he'd want Jennifer because
he can't always put it into words, but he trusts her and has that
kind of connection. "Love me or hate me, we have that understanding."
It's better to show that to the audience than having to
explain it. Just let them see it.
Digest: Jack and Jen reached
a turning point when J.T. nearly died last year. Did you feel
the same way?
Ashford:
Yes, Jennifer saw a side of Jack that was disconcerting
because they're in a different place in their lives, and I think
Jack saw the same thing. He saw her level of courage in what she
was trying to do. You see things, and it's exciting and scary,
and it raises those stakes.
Reeves:
I stressed Scott [Reeves, ex-Ryan, Y&R, her husband]
out so bad during those scenes. I was flipping. I had to do something
that I've never experienced in my life and make it work. He said,
"Oh, honey, that's why they give you those things because
they know you'll make it work." I said "That's what
you're supposed to say!" He got points for that one. But
there is the pressure to perform and to make people say, "Okay,
this is why we pay them," or get out.
Ashford: You've got to sell
the stuff.
Reeves: You've got to earn
your keep.
Ashford: It's exciting because
everything pinpoints on that.
Reeves: It's fun for us, too.
I love doing all the crazy stuff.... Remember the train wreck,
where we were all wrapped in those wool blankets? I love that
adventure stuff. I could do that every week.
Ashford: Just pull that train
out of retirement.
 Reeves:
I love all that crazy adventure stuff and disguises and accents
-- it's so fun. We've been lucky to have such great stories.
Digest: How do Jack and Jennifer
live such a nice life with no paychecks coming?
Ashford: I think that there's
a little bit of trust fund money that Jennifer's been living on
because we've got this house....
Reeves: We always have enough
means to get by.
Digest: Missy, should Jen
get a job?
Reeves: I told Kristian [Alfonso,
Hope] that I want to do CHARLIE'S ANGELS with her.
Ashford: They've got the shoes
and the boots.
Reeves: We're always in our
heels and our sleek pants, and we would be girl detectives. Bo
and Jack wouldn't know where we are at night, and we're out getting
in trouble and totally blowing the case. Kristian and I have it
all thought out in our heads.
Digest: What's the best thing
being here?
Ashford: Working with her,
Reeves: Yeah, working with
him, and wardrobe and makeup and hair are the best.
Ashford: It sets a pretty
high bar, though, because then you leave and think....
Reeves: What am I gonna do
at home? My clothes are ugly. My makeup is ugly. I really do....
I feel so at home here. I love it.
Ashford: So many people have
been here for many years and they're comfortable enough to say
something that they appreciate in a scene.
Reeves: The goal is to make
the crew react because they see us every day. If anyone is sick
of listening to us, it's them. So, when they laugh or go, "Good
scene," you're like, "Yeah!" You must've been good
because they actually watched.
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