For Masters, his character's change in direction has not been without its acting challenges. "I find I now have to temper Julian's behavior when he gets into a wacky situation, with the main task being that I have to honor this more naturalistic approach that Jim Reilly has come up with. But to be honest with you, it would be easier to keep playing Julian this way. It's still tricky, but it's easier than trying to make all the whacked out madness that I was doing the first four years of the show even remotely believable. You know what they say about comedy being much harder. Before, I was always worried about where I would put the beauty mark when I was in half-drag with Rebecca. But now I just throw on a trench coat and talk very low about the woman that I love."

While a change of costume might help to illustrate a character's change of heart, some of the things in Julian's past -- namely his attempt to kill his own sister, Sheridan -- can't be covered up quite as easily. How does Masters reconcile the homicidal Julian with the paternal Julian? "I've made a number of references on the air to the time Julian spent with Timmy and how it was magic -- and maybe it is magic, because there's a magical element to this show. We have to accept that. I'll be perfectly honest with you: If this were a show that did not have that element in it, it would be a lot harder for me to reconcile. What I do find frustrating as the actor and as the character is that I can't -- how can I say it -- I have all of this security at my mansion, and I'm this rich powerful man, so why can't I just get rid of Rebecca? Then, of course, there would be no 'drama,' but it's very frustrating for some of the fans, too. They're always asking, 'Why can't Julian just kick TC out of his house? Why can't he just get rid of Rebecca?' Julian seems to be such an impotent heir to a great fortune. I mean, the dreaded locals come wandering through his house at all hours of the day and night, stealing things, beating him up. There's a lesson in there somewhere, but I'm not sure where it is."

While magic and mysticism may explain away part of Julian's darkest colors, "the other explanation is that the Julian we now see is so sorry that he was ever talked into [trying to kill Sheridan] by Alistair. It was almost like he was under a spell of Alistair's that he'd never do it again. I think we're in the midst of watching Julian's redemption, and I think Mr. Reilly is going to be bringing that redemption out more [by addressing] his attempt at killing his sister. You may be surprised at what you see soon," he teases.

While Masters has enjoyed his turn at displaying a dialed-down Julian, don't think for a second that he doesn't also miss the "good ole days," as well. "It's great to get to play Julian like this, but I don't want him to get too boring. So every time he gets around the liquor bottle I still guzzle and every once in a while I'll still throw a little spark of weirdness in there. One day Julian will be sitting there closing his eyes, and then he opens them and goes, 'I am back.' I would love to sneak up on TC Russell with a 4x4 and let him have it -- even though I have enjoyed playing Julian as a more caring person -- really!"

This article originally appeared in the February 3, 2004 issue of Soap Opera Weekly