Soap Opera Digest Online Chat

with Ben Masters and Kim Johnston Ulrich

March 2000

 

SODhost: Hello! Good evening, everyone!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Hello!

Bernard_Michael asks: Ben and Kim, how do you like playing the first couple of Harmony!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Is that what we are? :) I love it! Are you kidding? It's fabulous! I don't want to be anything BUT rich!


i_luv_ben_masters asks: Do you think julian and Ivy will ever love eachother?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Oh, I don't think they've ever stopped.
Ben Masters: LOL. That's new to me! She treats me so badly, though!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Hmmm. Obviously, from your flashback, it's what you like!


browneyedgurl_23 asks: Do either of you have any hidden talents?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Absolutely not. Whatever minimal talents I do have are out there for everyone to see.
Ben Masters: I can blow saliva bubbles off my tongue into mid-air.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: It's disgusting. He can.
Ben Masters: Aren't we a fun killer? :)


spankymac2 asks: Kim, who picks out your clothes? They're great!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Oh good! Our costumer, Julie, does a fabulous job. I love her. She's actually designed a lot of them, too, and sewn them. She puts them all together. She's very talented.


sunset3180 asks: How do you balance work life with family life?
Ben Masters: I have no family! And I really have no life, so that doesn't apply to me! I've got a dog -- a dog and a divorce! Kim, on the other hand, has the wonderful, perfect little family.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Ben adores my son. Most of the time, it isn't a problem. That's why a soap opera is fabulous because most of the time, it's two or three days a week. Recently, I've been fortunate enough to be working every day, which does make it a little more difficult. My husband helps me so much and my son is very understanding, and I have a great nanny. I don't know if I'm balancing it TOO successfully! We will see!


wineandcheese_2000 asks: Do you have fun with the time warp scenes when you wear wigs, groovy dresses and funny toupees??
Ben Masters: Excuse me! First of all, let me clear up something. I do not wear a toupee -- it's my real hair! Sometimes it's a questionable dye job, but I like it to look really weird! Julian is kind of strange. Now, wait, Ivy is going to pull my hair. She's pulling... it's real!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: When they first told me I had to play Ivy 20 years younger I was mortified. Now, I get a big kick out of it. I love the wig -- the wig is great fun, the dresses are frighteningly familiar -- I remember wearing them the first time around! And now it's just fun.


browneyedgurl_23 asks: What's the name of the hairdresser on the show? You all have awesome hair!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Linle White is the head hair person, and there are several others that do wonderful jobs too.


hooami_99 asks: Ben: you are hilarious!!!!, Kim: Do you like where your character's going? do you think that Ivy shooul pursue Sam or do you want to see her reconcile with her husband? Or neither?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I am enjoying the heck out of Ivy. Yes! She's losing her mind and I really like that. Do I want to see her get together with Sam? No, I want to see her go to Europe and find a hunkette -- yet another hunk for Harmony! I'd love a nice Irish lad.


morena_eve asks: I like Bens laugh Is it real or a stage laugh??
Ben Masters: Everything I do is totally fake. Yes, it's a real laugh! I think so much of the stuff is so funny, I'm laughing at myself, while I'm doing it!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: And he has a very good moo.
Ben Masters: I do a good chicken too. My grandparents have a farm -- that's where I learned my moo.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Another talent.
Ben Masters: MOOOOOOOO!


Bernard_Michael asks: Kim, how does working on PASSIONS compared to working on ATWT?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: You know, the experiences are different because of the time span between them. I'm different, so the experiences are different. ATWT was a good place to work, a great set. Passions is a fabulously fun set, I'm having a great time here. Then, I was younger and more easily intimidated. I'm not so intimidated anymore, at all! So for me, this is a looser and freer experience because of where I'm at.


kiwiandtitine asks: To Ben: I just want to tell you both that i love you, you are great. Ben, your caracter seems like a fun person to play, what do you most enjoy about playing Julian Crane?
Ben Masters: That's a hard question. There are so many things about the character that are fun to play. Because he moves around the edge of logic, as it were, and does a lot of really mad things, and so I don't know specifically -- I just find Julian a lot of fun! I get to be nasty to people, I get to kiss young women --
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Oh, you like the scenes with the maid
Ben Masters: The maid is the best, OK? No, he is just a madman and I just have a great time playing him.


devoted_backstreet_fan asks: Are you sure it isn't a toupee? lol
Ben Masters: Like I said, it's just a questionable dye job. My hair is blond.


caroline_k_2000 asks: Kim I like your character Ivy...because she is a powerful independent woman...yet she is also vulrenable...thanks for your portrayal of a positive female character on soaps
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Well, you're welcome!


i_luv_ben_masters asks: I love both your acting! Where did you study?
Ben Masters: I was a theater major at U of Oregon, and then I went to NY when I was 21 and I studied with a fellow named Sandy Meisner, and started being in plays in New York when I was a young fellow.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I also studied in New York . I studied with a gentleman there before I went out to California .
Ben Masters: And you worked with Phyllis Diller, didn't you? :)


snugglemeeks asks: ivey, are you goning to end up with sam,atleast sleep with him.
Ben Masters: LOL! Haven't you already?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Sam has rejected me on every level. I'm starting to get a little bit of a complex -- I'm always playing the woman rejected! But then where would we go if we slept together? Where do you go from there?


sunset3180 asks: Hey guys! Kim-There was a rumor going around some of the Passions discussion boards that you're pregnant. True rumor or false? BTW, you both do an awesome job!
Ben Masters: Thank you.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Like I said, what outfit do you think I look fat in?
Ben Masters: They didn't say you look fat. They said "with child." "Rosy in the face." "All aglow." :)
Kim Johnston Ulrich: No I am NOT pregnant!


browneyedgurl_23 asks: If you two could discribe your characters in 2 words what would they be?
Ben Masters: I would call Julian a "hopeful dreamer."
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Gee, then what's Ivy if YOU'RE a hopeful dreamer? A "starstruck romantic."
Ben Masters: Ivy? Oh my God. Oh...


Bernard_Michael asks: In your opinion, who should replace Kathie Lee Gifford on Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: LOL. I was just reading the paper and the replacement possibilities were ridiculous -- Dolly Parton, just ridiculous, and a couple of other people...
Ben Masters: Who is "Kathie Lee"?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Oh I know! Hillary Clinton!
Ben Masters: I don't know -- who watches daytime television anyway? ;)
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I was on the Regis show, twice. Way back when...
Ben Masters: What, when you were on Nightingales? ;)


wineandcheese_2000 asks: I loved the lodge scenes! The ones with the maid were hilarious!What did you like best about them?
Ben Masters: Well, to get to chase a beautiful young woman around like that who is half-naked is definitely high on my list of fun things... But I think I got to use a lot of stuff that comes from my own experience in life, in hotel rooms across the country, and I liked wearing her skirt. And I like being blindfolded, generally.


ballet_girl_16 asks: Hi Kim and Ben!!!! My name is Ashleigh and I'm 13 and I live in Canada ...thanks so much for taking the time to chat! Kim, I just wanted to tell you how much I admire you--you are such an amazing actress (I love you as Ivy!) Do you have any advice for an aspiring actress like myself? Thanks again, I can't believe I am actually talking to you two!! Lots of love, Ash *
Ben Masters: Ah, Ashley. Sweetie.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Thank you. Yes, do as much theater in your area as possible, Canada actually has a very big film and TV community right now, if you're near Toronto or Vancouver, you should get a list of the casting agents and agents and start having your parents help you submit pictures, because there's a lot of work being done out there.


browneyedgurl_23 asks: What do you two personally think about the show?
Ben Masters: I actually enjoy watching it. I tape it every day and usually watch it stuff to see how bad they are, but I find the younger people's stories so interesting and fun and mad, and I'm laughing my head off at some of the stuff -- like Kay, that evil little tart! I love watching the show.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Yes, it's surprising to me how uniquely entertaining it is. And whenever I have a problem with something, I just remind myself we have a witch, and then pretty much anything goes! :)
Ben Masters: I think today was really special too, with Timmy dressed up in drag. It was so funny. Those are HIS eyelashes, by the way! :) I told Josh today, "That was your best stuff." Josh and I are good buddies. We play chess together sometimes, and I give him advice about women, which I think is important because he just turned 18. I tell him, "Basically, you cannot trust a woman. They will take you for everything you ever got."


wineandcheese_2000 asks: Who were your role models when you were growing up?
Ben Masters: Do you mean people in the sense of, like, my local minister? Or people in books?


morena_eve asks: Will Julian and Ivys romance ever fire up again??
Ben Masters: I think if I can borrow some of the medication that Dr. Russell is giving to Charity, I might get lucky!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Oh, I think that in year 5 or 6, absolutely!
Ben Masters: I'll be in a rest home by then. In a walker with an oxygen tank!


Bernard_Michael asks: Who did PASSIONS support this year for the EMMY ballot? Do you think anyone stands a chance this year b/c of PASSIONS being so new and stuff?
Ben Masters: I know that I got a ballot and all the people's names in all the soaps and all the categories were there, because you vote for actors and for soaps, and we voted for whoever we wanted to vote for. So I voted for myself, of course, and no one else!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I think that by and large, we all voted for Passions people. And do we deserve to win? You betcha!
Ben Masters: That's right! Then maybe we'll get heat in our dressing rooms!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I think that our theme song and our titles should win, hands down.
Ben Masters: Almost as good as the one to The Rockford Files.


hooami_99 asks: Ben : just a comment.. I wanted to say that the expressions you make (with your face) are priceless and I love the little comments that your character makes to ---well EVERYONE!
Ben Masters: Thank you very much :) It just comes on me some days and I can't control it. I have Turret's Syndrome.


kimjohnstonulrichsfan asks: kim i really like your character ivy. why does she want sam so badly?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Have you WATCHED the show????
Ben Masters: First love!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Have you SEEN Sam?
Ben Masters: Oh excuse me, what does THAT mean?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Well, James Hyde is a very good-looking man! You know how sometimes you have a piece of chocolate or cake and days later, you're still thinking about it? There you go!
Ben Masters: But why go out for hamburgers when you can have steak at home? Yeah, he is pretty good-looking...


Passions_fanatic_chic asks: Did you guys think Passions was going to be such a hit?
Ben Masters: Is it? Oh no, we had no idea. It's a big hit with the teenage girls, I know that!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I don't think in this business you can ever predict a hit. You're always just pleasantly surprised.
Ben Masters: It's quirky.


spankymac2 asks: Kim, do you have any pets?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I do, oh do I!
Ben Masters: Mean little dog.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: My son has a dog, who is quite yappy, and I have a very old cat, who is deaf, I have a foundling cat, a cat that found us, that's not even a year, so I have three right now.
Ben Masters: And a lovely husband, and your lovely son Cooper, who is going to be a tour guide one day.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: That's what he will be one day -- he gave Ben a tour of our house, and our pool house...
Ben Masters: And the refrigerator...
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Pretty much everything we own. :)


wineandcheese_2000 asks: You both are awesome, and Kim, don't ever think you look fat, because you look beautiful! Where do you see yourselves in 10 years?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Ben is picking out a sailboat, I think.
Ben Masters: Yeah, I don't know. Kim will be the mother of an almost high school graduate...
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Oh my God, he'll be 17!
Ben Masters: I just want to be alive in 10 years!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I see myself happily ensconced in my little dressing room, number 408, working here. That's my vision. Happy as a clam.


watermelon_mama asks: Hey Kim & Ben!! my name is Sheila and I am from Newfoundland Canada I watch Passions everyday! My question is : if you could play anyone else on the show who would it be and why?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I would play Tabitha, because she's the only character who has more fun than Ivy, except for maybe Ben. But I would pick Tabitha.
Ben Masters: I would play Miguel! It would be like, my brain and his body, and he would turn REALLLLLY strange, and he would be getting close to Charity and Kay, too. :)


snugglemeeks asks: BEN, are you ever going to stand up to alistar? And will we ever see alistar
Ben Masters: I firmly believe that if Alistair got too far out of line, I have all sorts of plans that I'm not going to let him sabotage. I may have to do him in. Besides, he's not that tall anyway.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I hope we don't ever see him.
Ben Masters: Because who could live up to the voice and everything?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I think it's more fun, this voice you never see. We could have an Alistair imposter.
Ben Masters: What do you guys think about Luis being on the phone saying he was just using Sheridan? Because at the end, there was that montage of Sheridan weeping. And I'm sitting there in my dressing room, realizing that I'd wrecked their love...
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Having remorse...


Bernard_Michael asks: It's an Luis imposter that Julian hired, of course!!!
angelus2069 asks: he was being impersonated by someone alistar hired
lizanw asks: yeah what was up with luis at the end of the show today?....i didn't really catch it
ynrnPassionsrule asks: Is he really going to use Sheridan? What was he really saying?
Ben Masters: Julian and Alistair are doing this for Sheridan's own good -- that's what I want you guys to know. :)


i_luv_ben_masters asks: I know lots of people call Sheridan and Luis the Passions supercouple, but I think Ivy and Julian are!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: And you're right!


wineandcheese_2000 asks: What kind of music do you like listening to?
Ben Masters: I find I generally listen to classical music or I'm on a real thing with Van Morrison right now. I have his CDs all loaded into my car, a bunch of them. I saw a Van Morrison concert about a month ago in L.A. It was incredible.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I don't listen to music that much, when I drive I listen to books on tape, but when I do listen to music, it's generally sort of new age, Celtic rock.
Ben Masters: You like self-help books, don't you?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: No -- I don't need any help, self or otherwise!


bLuEjiRLiE asks: do you consider the roles you play to be personal"outlets" if you will?
Ben Masters: Oh for me, definitely! Oh yeah! I get to vent all sorts of strange stuff that's been rolling around my head.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I guess Ivy must be, but I'm so different from the character that it feels like I'm channeling some other entity, so I guess it is a way to vent... I just walk in and channel, that's my acting technique!


watermelon_mama asks: Ben: is that really brandy that you drink on the set?
Ben Masters: No, it's watered-down Diet Coke!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: But we're such method actors, we get drunk even on the Diet Coke!


wineandcheese_2000 asks: Since Ivy and Julian are drinking their foofy little brandy a the time, here's a question--what's YOUR favorite drink?
Ben Masters: I might have an occasional aperitif... no scotch whiskey, honey! As Steely Dan said.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I'm not much of a drinker, but when we go out now, I'm enjoying these green apple martinis. I had a vanilla one the other night; it was quite lovely.


sevy84 asks: Is Ben Masters anything like his caracter, Julian Crane?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: There are touches! There are just a few touches -- there are a few edges where they overlap. But Ben is much nicer than Julian. :)
Ben Masters: Every part you play, there are things you fantasize about or experience through other people, and you just kind of apply them to your character. Yes, I'm totally like him, actually -- except for the money!


Bernard_Michael asks: Kim and Ben, have you received any strange fan mail yet? If so, what was the strangest piece of mail you've received.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: One of the early ones, a man, talked about how much he liked my feet and how beautiful they were, except I had never shown anything that showed my feet or legs yet on the show! I thought that was unusual.
Ben Masters: There is some person, I think other people in the cast have gotten them, that sends religious numerology and quotes Scriptures, and has mad etchings and scratchings on it, and that's pretty bad, but I have to say to the nice people out there, but it's the old SASE -- a lot of people will write and ask for 4 pictures, autographed, and I don't respond to that unless I get an envelope that's stamped and addressed. So the three fan letters I've gotten in the last nine months, I've answered one of them! ;)


mommys_3 asks: Kim, Sam mentioned that you have other children besides Ethan. Where and who are they?
Ben Masters: Well, I think one may be Chad!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: We don't know, exactly. We know we have girls in boarding school, they're all younger than Ethan, the sexes of at least two are girls, and she doesn't really care about them, I guess, because she only loves Ethan!


spankymac2 asks: Ben, looking at what Julian is doing to Sheridan, do you agree with him or disagree with him? Why?
Ben Masters: What's he doing to her? Of COURSE I totally disagree because I think Luis and Sheridan make just the nicest couple and it makes me sad that my evil character is doing that to these lovebirds. So everybody should feel sorry for me and find me more sympathetic. :)


a_shoplifted_sock asks: i love the show, whats in Tabitha's basement?
Ben Masters: A really bad septic system! The evil powers!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: The dark side! The dark, red side apparently!


Bernard_Michael asks: Who do you think your characters would vote for in the Presidential election if Harmony had an election episode? LOL!!!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Well, we have to be Republican. I'm the daughter of a governor...
Ben Masters: We have to qualify it with, 'How many times would we get to vote?' In all honesty, I think Julian would vote for Gore, because he believes in a woman's right to choose. Yes! Are you kidding? Julian needs that -- that's what I'm saying!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I don't have a comeback for that. :)


enbeen asks: What's the actor who plays Alistar like?
Ben Masters: His name is Alan Oppenheimer, he's a short little Oriental fellow... Alan is a really nice guy, I've known him a long time, he works in the theater a lot and on television, and he's a very I spend a lot of time acting with a cheap speaker phone! :)


spankymac2 asks: Kim, when taping, do you ever just burst out laughing because Ben is so funny?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: So many times, I am embarrassed by my lack of professionalism. There was New Year's Eve, all of us were in the Seascape, and Ben did a take, and I literally didn't think I was going to be able to hold it together, and trying so hard not to show it, and when they said, "Cut!", Dalton James (Hank) had seen it too, and both of us burst out laughing. He had done a take that was so out there and wonderful, I couldn't stop laughing! Of course, it was midnight... But yes, often, to answer your question. All the time!
Ben Masters: I laugh at her too.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I got him today, good.
Ben Masters: She stroked my club today -- my golf club.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: He was trying to upstage me. :)


hooami_99 asks: Ben and Kim: what television shows do you guys watch?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I am addicted to Buffy, I love Buffy and have always loved Buffy. I like The X-Files, I used to be completely addicted and now I just watch it. I love Xena: Warrior Princess. I do. They're good shows. Funny and well-written. And Sela Ward's show, Once & Again. And ER.
Ben Masters: Jesus, do you have a TV Guide there?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I'm a big science fiction fan so I also like Farscape, on the Sci-Fi Channel.
Ben Masters: Honestly, this is not a joke, and here I'm on a soap, right? There are so many commercials on television, it's hard for me to watch. It sounds go to bed by nine, and what's on there? The Discovery Channel. And anything that's supportive of women in their search for identity.
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I also liked Ally McBeal before they all got too skinny.


Bernard_Michael asks: Will Ivy's father, the governor, ever be introducted? If so, who would you like to play him?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Well, I don't know if he's alive, but I was rather hoping we could get Harve Presnell for Alistair, and if we couldn't do that, we could maybe get him for the governor.


caroline_k_2000 asks: Hi Ben and Kim...you guys are great on the show....if you weren't pursuing your acting careers...what profession would you go into?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: I have no other talent, so I'd be hopelessly lost! The only other thing I ever considered was interior design.
Ben Masters: I don't know. If I had it to do over again, I don't know if I would do this. I probably would have learned more in college and maybe been an architect, maybe something to do with the ocean like running a bar in the Caribbean, something where I could wear shorts all day.


nickolecarter213 asks: Will do you be on the Soap Digest award?
Kim Johnston Ulrich & Ben Masters: We'll both be there and we're very excited!


smokey_03246 asks: Hi. I just wanted to congradulate you both on an excellent show and performances!! Do you have a fan mail address where I could write to you both? Thanks!!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Absolutely -- Passions, CBS Radford Studios, 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, CA 91604


lizanw asks: were you embarassed at all shooting those naked scenes with sam?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: Mortified! My poor husband had to hear me complain about it for weeks! "Why do I have to be naked?"
Ben Masters: She's a fine-looking woman.


ynrnPassionsrule asks: How far ahead are yoiu then the airing on television now?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: We're not very far.
Ben Masters: 2 and 1/2 to 3 weeks. I think we ought to just do it live.


sweetie_0555 asks: Do you know about what will be happening inf future episodes or do the writers keep everything a secret from you?
Kim Johnston Ulrich: They are SECRETIVE! At least to me -- they never tell me anything!
Ben Masters: I've never even met any of the writers. I don't know where they are -- they're hiding somewhere!
Kim Johnston Ulrich: The producer sat down and gave us a go-ahead for a couple weeks. I actually enjoy not knowing, because it makes it more fun when I watch the script.


Bernard_Michael asks: Go to Lisa, your boss, and have her do a campaign to bring PASSIONS in Houston, Texas. We don't even get it here. :-(
Kim Johnston Ulrich: You should write to Susan Lee at NBC requesting that they get an affiliate there to run it! Write en masse, get your friends, get everybody to call and write in! And then we'll come and visit Houston -- I love Texas!

SODhost: Thank you Kim & Ben for joining us tonight!


jessicahernandez_2002 asks: Kim and Ben, I just have to say you guys are doing a wonderful job and to keep it up. (That was mainly for support) lol

Ben Masters & Kim Johnston Ulrich: Thank you everyone for logging on with us! Keep watching! :)
Bernard_Michael asks: Thank you Kim & Ben...It was a fun chat!!!
i_luv_ben_masters asks: I love both of you! Keep it up!
spankymac2 asks: Bye guys! I love you both! Keep up the good work!
ballet_girl_16 asks: We love you Kim and Ben, keep up the GREAT work, and thanks for taking the time for this! :)
kiwiandtitine asks: you guys are great, the whole cast is amazing, that's what makes Passions such a gre
Silliwareh asks: THANK YOU BYE!!!1
chicabiach69420_2000 asks: Thank you Kim and Ben.... You Guys are GREAT and I wish you the best in the future....
ram_18_98 asks: I love you KIM you are the bomb
spankymac2 asks: I had fun too!
watermelon_mama asks: You guys ROCK , Lots of love from Newfoundland
zgirl2000 asks: you are awesome guys!
ynrnPassionsrule asks: You guys rule!
rainbowcandy420 asks: I love Passions more then Days mainly because of the people on the show! You guys are the best!
zgirl2000 asks: you are awesome guys!keep at it
kiwiandtitine asks: you guys are great and so is the whole cast that's what makes Passions such a great show
melanief84 asks: I WILL KEEP WATCHING
laineka asks: YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST


SODhost: Thanks for your great questions and a fun time! Ciao!