We all know that good chemistry is a huge part of what makes a good soap. Not just couples either, but the cast, the friendships and even better the rivalries. Chemistry is what makes or breaks a couple ... for viewers anyway, these days some soaps don't seem to care about chemistry. They just think that casting a pretty face will be enough to appease the viewers and distract them from the bland on screen.

Chemistry isn't just limited to characters who have the majority of their scenes together either. We've all watched shows were we think to ourselves, if those two hung out, it would be great.

Cast Chemistry -
Take Passions for instance. They have great cast chemistry. All the characters make sense together I think part of the reason for that is because the show succeeded in establishing that small town vibe, giving you the understanding that these people and families are all so closely intertwined, even if they've never spoken before. Even characters whose storylines scarcely intersect, still mesh well, because no matter what, you get the feeling that they're all acquainted in one way or another. They give off familiar vibes. Tabitha and Rebecca rarely have scenes together, but during the few times they've had cause to share one, the scene doesn't feel awkward or weird or out of place, but were actually fun and (again with the familiar feeling), because the actors and the characters mesh well together. You instantly got that these two were aware of each other even if they barely knew the other and you could see them thinking 'crazy old lady/town slut' to themselves. With Passions you know that any of these characters could interact at any time, for any reason and it would make sense. That's why no matter what the ridiculous excuse is for a gathering at the Crane Mansion, it's always a set of scenes, because the group works well together.

B&B did really well in this aspect as well, because from the first episode you understood how these people were going to be connected. Three core families and once Brooke and Ridge met, everything fell in place for the rest of the cast. For B&B I think what they got right was the family dynamic. They were all so different. The Logans were the normal ones. The close knit family who loved each other and had fun being together. The Forresters for all their wealth and appearances weren't as close as even they thought they were. They were all already hiding things, be it secrets or resentments from each other from the get go. And the Spectras, well Sally's little put together family at Spectra fashions were clearly set up as the comic relief. Spectra's business dealings with Forrester Fashion, mirrored Brooke's (the Logan's) social dealings with the Forresters. So even if initially the Logans and the Spectras didn't interact, it didn't matter, because their storylines mirrored each other. For a cast where half the characters didn't meet for a long while, they were great.

I also thought that Generations had great cast chemistry. In fact I think they managed to blend the best of that Passions has with the best of what B&B has. I really liked that soap.

Family Chemistry -
Some families on soaps are perfect. You look at them and believe they're family, even if they look nothing like, but their interaction just makes you believe. Even if you hate every one of them, they still give off that 'we're really a family' vibe. Some are not. They may look like the other, but it doesn't work.

The Good -
Passions - All the families have great chemistry. Particularly the Lopez-Fitzgeralds. Even the god awful Russells, have great interactions together. Rebecca and Gwen have fantastic chemistry.
B&B - The Forresters. They're jacked up, but that is part of what makes their family good.
DOOL - The Brady, The Hortons and The DiMeras
GH - The Quartermaines. Dysfunctional to the hilt, they're the most entertaining and most believable family on GH

The Bad -
DOOL - There's something about the Kiriakis family that doesn't gel with me. I see Victor, Philip and Bo in a room together and I get nothing. Merely plot driven mechanisms for other storylines.
AMC - The Laverys

Sibling Chemistry -
Passions - Theresa and Miguel, Fox and Ethan
DOOL - Bo & Roman
AMC - Kendall & Bianca, Adam & Stuart
B&B - The Logans,
GH - Jason and Emily, Bobby and Luke

Couple Chemistry -
There are all sorts of Best/Worst Couple things out there, but sometimes even the best couples suffer in the chemistry department. Fortunately for me though, Theresa and Fox on Passions had the all round best chemistry of any I've ever seen on soaps. As a couple they had fantastic sexual chemistry and as friends they had fantastic buddy chemistry. Which is why I was hella pissed when JERk not only put a stop to any potential coupling for the two, but he stopped them from being friends as well, because even their friendship eclipsed the chemistry they had when coupled up with others.

Other Passions - Luis and Fancy, Chad and Vincent
B&B - Brooke and Nick, Brooke & Connor, Ridge and Margo
GH - Sonny and Brenda, Sonny and Carly (Sarah & Tamara versions), Luke and Tracy, Dillon and Georgie, Gia and Nicolas (Coltin Scott)
AMC - Kendall and Ryan, Kendall and Zach, Kendall and Ethan
DOOL - Sami and Brandon, Sami and EJ, Kate and Roman, Kate and John, Julie & Doug, Maggie & Mickey

I get that Luke and Laura are a 'Best Couple' but honestly I don't get much chemistry from them personally. They're a prime example for me of a super couple with zero chemistry. Luke and Tracy on the other hand. Excellent chemistry between them.

Further examples of chemistry suckage, whether they never had it, or had it in the beginning and lost it are
Passions - Lost It - Eve and Julian, Never Had It - Whitney and Fox, Katherine & Martin, Martin & Pilar
DOOL - Lost It - Marlena and John, Sami & Lucas

Here are a few couples who would have had amazing couple chemistry, but unfortunately they were siblings. Theresa and Adrian Bellani's Miguel on Passions. When he first started out, the vibe between them was most decidedly NOT brotherly/sisterly. The chemistry was on point even if Adrian's acting wasn't up to snuff. I felt the same way about Brooke and her brother Storm back when B&B first started, as well as Nicole and Brandon on DOOL and Kendall and Josh on AMC. But well, we gotta let some go. JERk fortunately doesn't write every show.

Characters with chemistry who should have been made couples -
Passions - Simone and Paloma, Alistair and Ivy, Gwen and Theresa
DOOL - Nicolas and Sami, Nicole and Sami
AMC - Kendall & JR, Kendall & Babe, Babe & Bianca, Babe & Adam

I always think of AMC's Kendall and Trey as siblings who had inappropriate sexual chemistry. It's not even where the actors played it up, it was just there in all their interactions. I was totally confused during their scenes together by the fact they were half siblings cause the sexual chemistry was so scorching.

Spicy, you forgot Passions' Sheridan and Luis has a couple that lost their chemistry.


AMC's Ryan and Greenlee (either actress). The very definition of anti-chemistry much like OLTL's John and Marty.


Best Chemistry Couplings for me: DOOL's Chelsea/Nick and ATWT's Noah/Luke. I also think I was the 4 people who liked Todd & Evangeline together. OLTL's Jared/Natalie, though not officially a couple, spark really well.

General Hospital's Brenda Barrett [Vanessa Marcil] can be described as someone who had chemistry with every inanimate object on GH ever. She smoldered with Sonny, had a romantic playfulness with Jax and with Jason, their bickering was more sexually charged than all of the other real couples coupled at that time. Maybe with the exception of Miguel, she could make you believe she had fierce feelings for the other character and could easily set your tv on fire with all that chemistry.

Also on GH, Ned Ashton [Wally Kurth] had such great chemistry with all of his co-stars as well. With grandfather Edward sparks flew all over the place when they fought, his mother-son relatioship with Tracy was always fun to watch since those actors really clicked, with Lois it was sensual and romantic heat that unsuprisingly lead to Rene and Wally marrying in real life and with Alexis, the chem between Wally and Nancy could melt ice IMO. Plus you gotta hand to Wally for getting some sparks out of android/block of wood Steve Burton and fem bot Tava Smiley.

YAY people posted to a thread I started. I'm a dork.

Part II of my intro. DiamondDoll I so agree with you about Ned. That's what I'm posting about in this second part. Characters who bring the chemistry alone and make up for the lack of others.

And bonobochick I have no idea how I could have forgotten Sheridan. Both as part of a couple that lost their chemistry with Luis and as an individual that just sucks the life out of things. But thanks to your reminder, I managed to fix that last one below.

Friend Chemistry -
I already mentioned Theresa and Fox above, so I'll skip to what a huge fan I was of Sonny and Alexis as a couple on GH, but to be honest, I missed their friendship more once it was all over. They had excellent chemistry as friends. They were funny and interesting and just enjoyable. They were such opposites. But Nancy and Maurice just meshed well together and I still miss that.

More GH - Natasha (Alexis) and Luke. These two are always enjoyable together, Alexis is the kind of neurotic character that goes well with other characters like Luke and Sonny who don't take her crazy seriously and bring out the fun parts of her personality that she usually keeps in check. And Luke and Sonny

Passions - Theresa and Fancy had great chemistry, and it irks that the writers downplayed/forgot completely about their great rapport as friends. Fortunately with Whitney now gone, maybe they'll give Fancy and Theresa another shot at being BFFs. Also Ivy and Pilar.

AMC - Kendall & Greenlee
B&B - Brooke & Connor, Brooke & Caroline

Rival Chemistry -
Passions - Theresa and Gwen, Fox and Ethan, TC and Julian, Theresa and Rebecca, Gwen and Beth, Theresa and Ivy, Ivy and Kay, Theresa and Alistair, Kay and Theresa, Pilar and Rebecca, Theresa and Julian
DOOL - Kate & Sami, Sami & Nicole, Sami & Lucas, Kate & Nicole
B&B - Brooke & Stephanie, Ridge & Nick Stephanie & Sally, Ridge & Thorne
AMC - Kendall & Babe, Kendall & Greenlee
GH - Carly & AJ, AJ & Sonny,

Characters who bring the chemistry -
There are some characters who bring so much chemistry to the table that even if their scene partner sucks, they have enough for both of them. These characters are usually the ones that the show fortunately enough, brings to the center. They bring out the best in their partners, they work well with anyone and they are almost always the best thing about a sometimes sucky scene/show. Good or bad, well liked or hated, these guys are such dynamic characters, who never fail to inject their scenes with personality.

Passions - Theresa, Fancy, Gwen, Rebecca, Ivy, Alistair, Justin Hartley's Fox, Spike and Tabitha.
General Hospital - Luke, Tracy, Dillon, Sonny, Alexis, Helena, Carly, Ned, Edward
The Bold & The Beautiful - Brooke, Stephanie, Amber
All My Children - Kendall, Babe, JR, Adam
Port Charles - Livvie, Caleb, Jack
Days Of Our Lives - Sami, EJ, Kate, Jack, Julie

Chemistry Killers: Cue The Suckage -
On the opposite end of the spectrum are those characters that are so bland, they suck the chemistry out of every scene they're in and make bad scenes worse.

Passions - Whitney, Jessica, Eve, Sheridan
DOOL - Austin, Marlena, John, Maggie, Mickey, Belle
AMC - Bianca
B&B - Taylor
GH - Laura

Cross Over Chemistry -
The characters you think would have chemistry with others if they could cross over into other soaps.

The Meddling Mothers - Ivy(Passions), Kate(DOOL), Helena(GH), Tracy(GH) and Stephanie(B&B) - I think the five of these women would hit it out of the park as friends.
The Vivacious Vixens - Theresa(Passions), Fancy(Passions), Sami(DOOL), Kendall(AMC), Amber(B&B), Babe(GH), Livvie(PC) and Nicole(DOOL) - These chicks would leave a trail of terror in their wake, if they ever got together to plot the downfall of their rivals. To have them all on one show? Battling either together or against each other? The potential would be amazing.
The Crazies - Beth(Passions), Shiela(B&B/Y&R), Jan (DOOL), Janet(AMC) - I don't think one show can contain this much crazy, but it would be damn fun to watch.
The Too Good To Ever Be True Triangles - Theresa, EJ & Sami - This is one triangle, I'm not sure I'd want to end.

SpicyWildflower,I have to respecfully disagree about Bianca sucking chemistry out of her scenes She's had chemistry with people who don't generate chemistry as much as AM(Kendall).And I don't think the chemistry she had with Kendal and Babe was just do AM and AH. Rather than making bad scenes worse I think she had often elevated bad scenes. While I think Alexa Haven's Babe had great chemistry with Bianca and JR and don't think she had chemistry with anyone else. I actually think Bianca had a better track record when it comes to chemistry than Babe.YMMV.

Anyways, I agree that Kendall and Greenlee had great chemistry, at least when RB was playing Greenlee. They were entertaining frenemies.

Totally agree about Ryan and Greenlee, Bonobochick. Those two were just horrible together.

SpicyWildflower yay. I'm so happy you're with me about Ned, because Wally Kurth so rarely gets credit for his work and the way he was able to inject life onto inanimate objects (Tava Smiley as Chloe can be given as plain evidence of that).

Great job with the thread, I agreed with almost all of your opinions, especially about Ned (my Wally love knows no bounds) and about the great sibling chemistry between Peter [Bo] and Josh [Roman] on DOOL.

I like Binks, but I just don't find her interesting or having much of a personality. And part of me wonders if they didn't make her gay in an effort to do that. I just don't find her to have much chemistry with anyone who isn't an already dynamic figure. Same with Laura.

Which reminds me. I forgot to mention this great aspect. When actors play twin roles and one's more charismatic than the other. Charity on Passions? Bland, bland, bland. Zombie Charity on the other hand? She was deliciously bad and had chemistry with everyone the more evil she acted.

Spicywildflower While Kendall is a dynamic figure I don't think she is the only reason they had chemistry. I think Bianca brought the chemistry to that relationship as much as Kendall. Personally I don't find Babe to be a dynamic figure at all, but I do think Bianca had great chemistry with her. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Bianca brings chemistry as much as Kendall does but I definately wouldn't call her a chemistry killer. I even think at times she has brought chemistry to scenes with less than interesting characters or actors. But like I said before, YMMV.

I'd throw Shawn Douglas Brady and Jett Carver into the anti-chemistry for Days...they also come up as my two worst actors, it's a wonder :)

I love this topic! Particularly that you gave it categories.

Daniel Goddard, Jeanne Cooper and Jess Walton on Y&R have great family chemistry. DG just manages to look every bit the long-lost son who holds his mum in reverence. In return Jess manages to completely dote and adore him. Jeanne has nailed Katharine immediately placing heavy expectations on Cane as a Chancellor heir and remorse for keeping him from Jill. Cane is also always trying to keep the two of them from killing each other.

I think DG in general has chemistry with everything though.

John McBain who seems to be unable to have chemistry with most of his leading ladies actually has it in spades with David Vickers and Blair Manning on OLTL. Their interaction this past year was the first time I'd liked John in years. The McBain Brothers also have great sibling chemistry. While I loathe the character of Blair, Kassie DePaiva has chemistry with EVERYTHING.

I'd throw in Tuc Watkins, the Wally Kurth of OLTL, as an actor who has chemistry with everyone. Kin Shriner as well, whether it be enemy chemistry with Luke (he's the only Luke nemesis still standing) or romantic chemistry was about a half-dozen women from Jane Elliott to Robin Mattson to Genie Francis to Lynn Herring (another chemistry factory, she had chemistry with a duck!) to Julie Pinson to Shell Danielson. He also had a great father-daughter vibe with Carly Shroeder and the various Karens and is building a father-son chemistry with Josh Duhon.

doguncle,I haven't watched OLTL as much as the other ABC soaps but from what I've seen Tuc Watkins does seem to have chemistry with a lot of people. I love him with Robin Strasser.

Family chemistry rarely gets discussed but I think it's the key for me liking a character. If I can't buy them as father/mother/brother/sister/cousin/aunt/uncle then I just can't truly buy the character. In another thread, I said Rick Hearst was the best actor on soaps. And he is. But I do NOT buy his sibling relationship with Maurice Bernard on the show. Yeah, It takes two to tango, but still that's what it is. Austin Peck is considerably less talented, but I always bought his siblinghood with Brian Datillo and currently buy him as the jokester Snyder. I don't know if it's a talent or pure luck thing, but it makes a difference.


Totally. I would be extremely sad if the writers "unrelated" them. The best example on YR.

Other examples of excellent family chemistry:
GH: Robin/Maxie/Georgie/Mac. Too bad the writers have no interest this. HM to Jason/Monica (but that's never shown either.) (Best past examples: The Qs in the old days, Luke/JJ's Lucky/Laura)
AMC: Erica/Bianca/Kendall, Adam/JR, Krystal/AH's Babe
OLTL: Dorian/Blair/GT's Kelly, Vicki/ET's Jessica, Antonio/Cristian
Days: Kate and everyone of her kids (esp. Lucas), Marlena/Sami, Bo/Shawn/Hope
ATWT: All the Snyders, Lucinda/Lily/Luke
GL: Alan/Phillip/Gus, All the Coopers, Reva/Jonathan

These are two same sex couples that never happened but really should have been explored. They ignored the obvious chemisty between Simone and Paloma and gave Simone a dayplayer girlfriend that I remember seeing maybe three or four times. Once when they met, when they broke up, when they got back together, and when she died. With Babe and Bianca, it really should have happened once the babystealing storyline really kicked in to high gear and they wear having Babe and Bianca do shit like fake sleeping together to get back at JR all while Bianca is completely clueless that they are raising her little girl.

Kendall and Greenlee also have some really inappropriate chemistry for characters who are only supposed to be best friends. And the writers are not helping by giving them lines, that they say while hysterically crying, like "We were supposed to raise that baby together" and "I've found a way to make Kendall love me again". Sometimes I feel like the writers and to a lesser extent the actresses are playing some of the same games that the people on Xena used to do by having them be a couple without actually coming out and saying it.

The two that I most wanted to form a couple was Spike and Chris of Passions. I couldn't stand either Chris or Spike until Passions started putting them in scenes together. They could've pulled off the abusive-yet-passionate relationship, like Passions tried to do with Chad and Vincent, but failed.

I see a little chemistry here, but nothing that jumps off the screen. When I do occasionally see it, it's when JE & TG are doing their Laural & Hardy routines, nothing jumps off the screen in dramatic, quieter moments. Although, TG has the ability to garner some level of chemistry with whomever he's pair with.

TG and Tristan Rogers had probably the best friend chemistry I've seen.

I agree with the Wally Kurth comments. This guy is one of the most under-rated actors on soaps. I have yet to see him not sparkle with any of his leading ladies (OMG, Tava Smiley...I'd blocked her out of my GH memory bank).

Natalia Livingston...Chemistry Killer.

Love you bpeck. As a long time fan of Wally, it's great to see that his acting contributions finally get acknowledged.

It wasn't until recently when I started re watching some of my old GH tapes from the mixed marrieds storyline and found a clip in which Ned proposed to Chloe and Wally's talent truly came clear to me. The scene was funny and there was actually chemistry between Wally and Tava which blew my mind. I didn't think it was possible, but Chloe was not an inanimate object you wanted to punch in the face in that scene. And GH let Wally go????? Why would you let go an actor who can have chemistry with untalented wood?????

I have to say, that the greatest couple chemistry I'm seeing right now on the soaps I watch is Natalie and Jared on OLTL. They just sizzle in their scenes, whether it's lust, snarking, fighting, whatever. It takes me back to when almost all great couples where this way instead of the race to get into bed we get nowadays. I love the tease and the chemistry between the two is a major reason.

Friendship Chemistry: Alexis and Jax on GH. Amid the whole fake marriage crap....I loved them. They're just warm and friendly and funny. It's like a real friendship not the garbage we have to swallow daily from others.

Great choice! And it's lasted for years. I love their scenes together, they just ring true for me. It's amazing TIIC at GH haven't messed this one up yet.

I think she and Tyler Christopher had a ton of chemistry when she first came on the show. Of course later it was diluted from the weight of their ridiculous stories and her not-so-great acting, but they were pretty good together at first.



I think that's part of TG's appeal, even in his hammiest moment. Get him in a room with someone, have him smile at them (or trade quips with them), and there manages to be a spark most of the time.

I think the fundamental secret of great chemistry is when actors are genuinely affected by each other. Tony Geary lets other performers in - he really listens, he really responds. No matter how good or bad the other actor is, no matter how weak the material, no matter how hammy his choices in any given moment, he's always right there for his scene partners. I think it's the secret of Vanessa Marcil, who is nowhere near as strong of an actor - somehow she really lets every other performer in, she's an extraordinarily unguarded performer and as a result she really connects with absolutely everyone.

I agree, Hatpin. I think that chemistry has a lot to do with the actors' ability to let people in. It's not just the recitation of lines and reactions to surroundings/situations/words. It's letting people (the audience as well as the other actors) see inside you.

That's not an easy thing to do.

I can't imagine someone like the girl who plays LuLu on GH or the girl who plays Lilly on Y&R being able to do that.

Loved Alexis/Jax together. I was really hoping they'd push that relationship but I read somewhere Ingo wanted a younger leading lady.

Character Hostility Chemistry (if that's not too odd a term): Kin Shriner and Todd Geary, GH. There's got to be a reason that Scott Baldwin is the only Luke Spencer enemy in Port Charles still alive. Well, the fact that Kin Shriner has chemistry with almost everyone goes far, too.

It wasn't Ingo. It was Wendy Riche, who had a misplaced passion for the utterly bland Jax/Chloe romance. NLG and IR both went in and requested a love story for their characters during the Mixed Marrieds (it would have written itself - it practically did anyway) but Riche nixed it.

At least that is what I've heard from more than one source. I can't pretend to know for sure.

Are you serious???

ARrrgggh, Jax/Chloe was DOA like a mofo! Alexis and Jax were hotter than hell even when they were just playing!

I think there are only a handful of actors that could have chemistry with a rock. For me they're:

Tony Geary
Nancy Lee Grahn
Rick Hearst
Wally Kurth
Ericka Slezak
Genie Francis
the late Michael Zaslow
Stephen Nichols

I don't know how he is on DAYS, but I think I can't include Stephen Nichols on my own list because of the whole Katherine/Stefan fiasco. One of the best thing Guza did was tearing them brutally apart.

I'd also include the following:
Paul Anthony Stewart
Torsten Kaye

To me Stefan/Katherine were hot but I couldn't get behind them and they didn't work because they did not make any sense, as TFGH wouldn't write them a storyline that made sense for them to be together without Kayla-ing Katherine who's characterisation was already poor. Therefore SN would have to be on my list, MBE doesn't quite make it as she didn't have chemistry as Kayla with Shane but then nobody wanted those two to be together including MBE, so she may have been subconciously projecting that.
I second Nancy Lee Grahn, she has chemistry with everyone and everything and she helps make even crap-tastic actors she's with look better, her and SN together were hawt! but very, very wrong.

That was a fiasco, but I put that more on MBE not ever really getting into Katherine. She always seemed to be struggling in that role. She's great on Days, and she was great on ATWT.

I'd add Vanessa Marcil to the list of chemistry magnets. I think the only person she couldn't strike sparks off of was Ricky Martin as Miguel, and even then she made me believe there was mutual attraction there. Which is saying a lot, really. She also has great "friends" chemistry with other women.

One I left off my list.....Tristan Rogers. He worked with Sharon Wyatt, Emma Samms, Finola Hughes, Genie F. and Tony G.

Hatpin, I know this could get me banned from every GH website, but I was never a big fan of VM, so I thought she was rather chem limited. I thought she worked with MB and KMc, but that was about it.

I thought VM's friend chem with just about everyone was fantastic -- Rena Sofer, Wally Kurth, KMc, Lynn Herring, Ingo (particularly post-breakdown). And she even made Jason interesting to me, which is pretty nigh impossible.

I don't think VM is a great actress by any stretch, but I do think she has a phenomenal ability to connect with her scene partners.

Much as I love Tristan Rogers, and I really, really love him - should we disqualify him as a chemistry magnet because of Katherine Delafield, or simply acknowledge that there are some obstacles to great for any performer to overcome?

I vote we cut him some slack for that vortex of suck, since everything else he ever did was golden. Especially since even Tony Geary couldn't overcome the horror that was the Summer storyline.

I have come to the conclusion that Katherine Delafield was really just an abherration and she never really did exist. Oh, Gawd, Summer...need to break out the brain bleach.

Summer. Ugh. A bigger disaster than even poor Jennifer Bransford recast as Carly #3. Then they had that scene where she prances across the scene in a wet bikini, boobs a-flyin', and Luke and Lucky (played by JJ) simply stare at her, goggle-eyed. The ick factor was off the charts on that one.

I don't think JJ was around for Summer, I think GV was stuck with that unfortunate, ill-advised mess.

I have yet to see Rebecca Herbst OR Alicia Minshew not generate some chemistry with a scene partner. They aren't great actresses, either of them, but they both generate sparks really well. Not sure what it is - they're both gorgeous, but that's not it. They both listen really well - maybe that's it? It can't be that simple, right?

I think that has a lot to do with it, actually. Plus a certain indefinable charm.

If I'm reading my IMDB correctly, it was JY, aka Shouty McYellerson. Even he didn't deserve that familial squickyness.

Best chemistry between any soap couple ever is without question Mary Beth Evans and Stephen Nichols. For me, it's not just that they lust each other, but that all of their interactions are so fluid and natural.

MBE has great chemistry with everyone she has ever worked with (she scored better chemistry on ATWT than GH, IMHO), but her sib-chem with Peter Reckell's Bo is especially fun and believable. I love to watch them ham it up.

If we're going with sheer romantic/sexual chemistry, I think Vanessa Marcil and Maurice Bernard (as Sonny/Brenda) had the most I've ever seen in soaps. I'd put Nancy Lee Grahn and Lane Davies (as Mason and Julia) high up there as well.

If we're going by actors who seem to have great chemistry on different levels with everyone they work with, I would agree with Wallly Kurth. I think he's limited as an actor, but he just sparks with people. I think his charm is definitely one of the reasons for it.

I think Kimberly McCullough has chemistry with all her scene partners. She's not the best actress in the world (though I think she's fairly good), but she really connects with her scene partners in a natural way. Even little Michael was improved by her presence. I think it has to do with growing up on GH and being comfortable there and having had so many different relationships on the show.

Hatpin and Lurknomore raise a chemistry issue that interests me. Who are actors who have mad, crazy chemistry even though they are not really the best actors? For example, Tony Geary is a good actor with good chemistry (although I really hate it when he chews the scenery too blatantly which is why I'm not labeling him "great"). But there are other actors who really don't have as much talent as Geary yet manage to light the screen on fire and be believable. And who are the actors who have great chemistry and are good/great actors? My short list (in no particular order):

Vanessa Marcil (Brenda on GH, Sam on Las Vegas) - Started soaps as a pretty bad actress but had CRAZY chemistry with everyone. To her credit, she's also worked her ass off and I think she's a much better actress now. She did some scenes on Las Vegas that had me laughing and crying at the same time. It's not only chemistry with her but she's becoming a good actress.

Becky Herbst (Liz, GH) has some limitations (although I think she's a better actress than Lurknomore does) but again, the chemistry is there for me in all her pairings. She can have a random conversation with day-player Dr. Leo and I'll immediately think "Wow, that might be a good pairing."

Austin Peck (DOOL and AW). I thought he was horrible on Days but then, I didn't watch him or the show regularly. He checked in on AW and I thought he'd be similarly bad but he really is charming and believable. He's done a good job with the character and made me root for him (even though I quit watching the show). I still don't think he'll ever be a great actor -- and good is being kind -- but he IS good on AW. Go figure. I think a lot of that has to be chemistry and a kind of goofy charm that shines through.

Ted King (Alcazar, GH) - Great chemistry (especially with Tamara Braun -- they just sizzled) AND a great actor. GH really lost a talent when they gutted his character. He had ONE scene with bland Emily in the gazebo where she ripped into him and even that small scene had sparks and made me wonder "What about these two? That could be fantastic!" (This from someone who really doesn't think NL as Emily was worth the screen time.)

Bruce Weitz (Papa Z on GH) - This guy has really good chemistry -- not sexual (ewwww) but damn if he doesn't liven up any scene with ANYONE. After years of watching Sonny attempt to pull of "threatening" (and trying not to notice how inneffectual he is against ... well ... anyone), it was a pleasure to see BW in a scene because wheelchair or not ... this guy will cut you. He oozes sinister intent and crazy ... a neat combo for an actor to play!

That's all off the top of my head (although I have to disagree with Alicia Minshew being termed mediocre -- she can play anything and carry a front-burner storyline for years and still remain compelling. That's a pretty good actress in my book).

Not a single mention of Peter Bergman or Roscoe Born? I'm surprised...

I'd add James Scott on DOOL has chemistry with everyone on that show. He oozes the stuff as EJ but I heard mixed reviews of him on AMC so I went on a youtube adventure. It paid off seeing Sethan sizzle.

I'll grant you Peter Bergman, BillC. Any guy who can play not one, but TWO iconic characters in daytime definitely goes into the charisma pool. And he's not only charismatic -- he's an AWESOME actor. I love, love, love that AMC thought he was beyond his prime and sent him out to pasture ... then Y&R not only hired him, but gave him the opportunity to virtually re-created Jack Abbott and became a star twice-over. I'm not sure whether PG was better than Terry Lester because I was pretty young when Lester was on. (I remember adoring him and being sad that he left ... but I don't remember whether that was an adolescent crush or whether Lester was really that compelling.) But at the very least he is as good in the role as Lester was (albeit a bit different).

Not so sure about Roscoe Born. I think he's a really good actor but as he's aged he tends to chew the scenery ala Tony Geary a bit more. However, in that he certainly takes control of any scene he appears in, I guess that's charisma too. ;o)

Family chemistry: The original Shaynes of GL. (Reva, Rusty, Roxie, Hawk & Sarah) They even LOOKED like they were related!

Couple chemistry: I know I said this in the Soap Dish thread, but holy fricking hell, Grant Aleksander & Crystal Chappell.

Nancy Lee Grahn and Beth Ehlers always seem to have chemistry with any scene partners - romantic, family, friend or enemy it doesn't matter.

Best non-couple with chemistry that should be a couple - Jax and Alexis. What a missed opportunity!