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Getting To Know OLTL's Greg

Terrell Tilford (Greg) is ONE LIFE TO LIVE’s newest cast member. We caught up with the former GL actor (ex-David), who arrived in Llanview on June 24, as he waited for a flight back to L.A., where he resides with wife Victoria Platt Tilford (ex-Vicky, GL).Soap Opera Digest: How is the bicoastal thing working for you?

Terrell Tilford: We actually just got rid of our New York apartment in January. Things were going great in L.A. and that’s where we were the majority of the time. Certainly if I had known about this, I would have held onto it! But now I have a great new apartment, so things come together the way they’re supposed to. And change is good. We’ll be bicoastal for however long is needed.


Digest: So when did you start taping at OLTL?

Tilford It’s been about five-and-a-half weeks.


Digest: Did you get any feedback after you first aired?

Tilford I got a few e-mails here and there. People seem to be very pleased with it. To be honest, I haven’t had a chance to see it yet because I don’t have a television, so I’ll see it tonight when I get home [laughs]. A lot of people are intrigued; they’re already projecting what they think they know, so it’s great that there’s a little bit of buzz in that regard.


Digest: So they’re trying to guess what Greg’s story is, why he’s really in town?

Tilford Partially that. I’m never one to validate anyone’s insight into a storyline. I like to allow it to unfold for them as it happens on TV.


Digest: What were you told about the character when you auditioned?
Tilford Not a whole lot. For me, it was all in the script: Greg is a top neurosurgeon; he’s been brought back to essentially try and heal Matthew and get him up and walking again; and there’s a possibility for friction between Rachel and Shaun and himself. Digest: Having played a doctor before (as DAYS’s Dr. Carrington), were you attracted to the role?

Tilford Oh, absolutely. In fact, I’ve been doing a play [Stick Fly] for the past four-and-a-half months in L.A. where I was playing a plastic surgeon and my dad in the play [John Wesley] was a neurosurgeon, so when I went back to do the play a couple weeks ago, [Wesley] was very surprised to know that I had gotten a promotion [laughs]. Really, I’ve been playing a doctor for the past two years now and with each one of them, the role’s gotten a lot more layered and this is like the peak for me. I think the way that Greg Evans is already being fashioned and written is pretty multidimensional and sophisticated. I’m so excited and elated and really grateful to ONE LIFE for putting in the investment that they have already.


Digest: Is this the first time you’ve come into a role where the character has family established?

Tilford Yes, when I came to GUIDING LIGHT as Detective David Grant [in 1998], I had a mom and dad on the show, no siblings at the time. That was great. My first day, they were bringing David back to town because his father, Charles, was the chief of staff at the hospital and had had a heart attack. So they rushed him in because they weren’t sure if Dad was going to make it or not. It was a highly emotional first day on GL, but it was great. It was nice to see how that unfolded.


Digest: Were you disappointed to hear about the cancellation?

Tilford Absolutely. I know so many people from that show, and when you think about the number of people who work on it, not just the actors, it’s a lot of people losing their jobs. And this isn’t some reality show that’s been on for two to three years; this is full, rich television history. It’s part of Americana, if you will. It’s very bittersweet.


Digest: It must be especially bittersweet since that’s where you met your wife.

Tilford She came to the screen-test and I fell in love with her right then! So that was obviously a highlight [laughs]. But looking back, we just wish the best for everyone.

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