Roger Howarth
(Franco, GH)
■ Franco and Liz’s wedding has been postponed again. The “Friz” fans are worried! “If they’re worried that means that they’re interested. What we want to do is keep everybody interested. The fact is, even if they do manage to get married, all relationships are precarious on some level on television. I don’t know whether it happens or if it will happen, when it will happen or any of it — who will be there or what the obstacles will be. But historically, weddings are the beginning of a story.”
But if it goes too well between a couple, if there’s no conflict, it can feel like the end of the story. “Are you asking if I’m scared we’re gonna be boring? Nah. As long as the writers and the directors and the producers and the actors keep them people, it’ll be interesting, because people are fascinating.”
I would think a guy with Franco’s history might potentially have an interesting reaction to having a wedding ring on his finger for the first time. “Yeah, I would hope so. The fact that he’s getting married doesn’t change who he is, or who they are [as a couple].”
Why do you think he doesn’t seem to have the allergy to marriage that he did before his relation- ship with Liz? “He seems to have approached the entire relationship from a different part of himself with a different perspective. So I think it’s in line with his thinking that he does want to commit.”
Liz and Franco fans are very vocal. Is it a nice feeling as an actor to know that you’re creating something that’s being embraced and appreciated that way? “Oh, for sure. I hope that they love and appreciate every scene that every actor does on our show. We do it in hopes that the fans will enjoy it. That’s really the only reason.”
There were some nice Franco/ava scenes recently, which the audience always enjoys. Tell me about working with Maura West (Ava).
“I totally enjoy working with Maura. She’s a gem. She does such a great job and she’s totally committed. I think the Franco/ava relationship is interesting and has value. They’re not romantically involved, but they have a lot of history, and on daytime TV, it’s important to honor all of the histories, the same way you would address the fact that Franco is in the same room with Nina, or Elizabeth is in the same room with Jason. The relationship with an ex is a relationship that’s charged and interesting and relatable. You want to mine that history, you don’t want to ignore it. That’s good soap.”