Zaslow & Garrett Talk About Roger & Holly

Question: "Does Holly still love Roger?"

Maureen Garrett: "When I came on, that was my given. He was the one man who got to her. Of course, she's into heavy denial about it." --- Maureen Garrett, Soap Opera Digest, May 1, 1990.

"Playing opposite Michael Zaslow (Roger) again has been fiendish fun. Holly is the one person in Springfield who truly has Roger's number. 'She has seen him be a very bad boy, so when you see people do something that they are very ashamed of, that knowledge gives you power,' Maureen explains. 'I think Holly is a player. She used to be a victim but she survived and now she's a player because she learned from a master, Roger. She knows the dynamics of the game.' Her regular skewering of his Machiavellian personality and phony mysticism ('You're more yen than Zen') provides much amusement and she says that she and Zaslow 'take delight' in doing battle." --- Maureen Garrett, Soap Opera Digest, June 26, 1990.

Question: "Are you glad that Roger and Holly will be facing their feelings for each other?"

Michael Zaslow: "I think it's high time," Michael stresses, "because I don't think that Mindy is going to be the love of his life, but I think that Mindy and Roger are going to find that they need each other. Mindy and Roger kind of scrape each other off the floor. I think they have become friends --- not that it isn't tremendously sexual. I think Holly could have a future with Roger. There is a lot to overcome. Now that she is a changed woman and more self-assured and powerful, it will not be an easy time for Roger. But I do think Holly and Roger have a tremendous love for each other." --- Michael Zaslow, Soap Opera Update, July 30, 1990.

"What I really miss is more stuff with Roger, because that was always what I understood was the reason for Holly and Roger coming back on the show: to deal with that relationship. So I'm always asking for more of that. Every time I ask, I hear, 'Oh yes, that's gold. We're saving that.' So when? When we're grandparents, then we'll finally get down to talking?" --- Maureen Garrett, Soap Opera Update, August 25, 1992.

Question: "What does your fan mail say?"

Michael Zaslow: "They'd love to see me more with Holly, as would Maureen and I." --- Michael Zaslow, Soap Opera Digest Special Edition, February 1993.

"By Zaslow's own admission, their [Roger & Holly's] relationship has been a complicated one which defies definition and operates more on an instinctual level. 'I think he loves her very much,' the actor says thoughtfully. 'It's like your first true love. The soldier and the queen. You can't analyze it. It's deeper than that. She's the princess. I don't really know how else to describe it. She reflects that part of himself that he cherishes, that he wants to live." --- Michael Zaslow, Soap Opera NOW!, May 23, 1994.

"'Joyce Carol Oates said there's no love stronger than love-hate. I think that has bonded Holly to Roger from way back. It was just such a passion. A passion which has matured in other ways. I think he's the only guy who really knows her, challenges her. She clicks in with him the way she never has with anyone else. He makes her feel more alive and from that she learns more about loyalty and about betrayal. It hits her so deeply that I think she learns about all the major lessons in life from this relationship with him and I think that's part of the clue as to why it works as an ongoing story.' The other part is the sheer brilliance of Garrett and co-star Michael Zaslow, ensemble. Together, they make daytime viewing a riveting and unforgettable experience. 'I adore playing with him,' exudes the auburn-haired beauty. 'We're such old friends and it's so remarkable as an actress to have such a relationship with an actor where all we have to do is look into each other's eyes. We have such a mutual respect and long-term good feelings for each other. "There's just nothing like it. I can just look into those baby browns and I'm right there. Whatever the scene is, Michael will just pull something out of me. It's very sweet.'" --- Maureen Garrett, Soap Opera NOW!, September 5, 1994.

"Well, I'm fond of a lot of people on 'Guiding Light', I truly am. The person I've gone furthest back with obviously is Maureen Garrett, who plays Holly. And I think that we have such a close and trusting relationship and we've gone through so much together over, really, when you think about it --- we were looking at each other today --- we had a bed scene and we feel so relaxed together and at the same time we're not bored with each other, including, you know, the physical attraction thing --- which is amazing. We really love each other, and respect each other, and, you know, would do anything for each other." --- Michael Zaslow, Soap Connection, December 1994.

If Michael Zaslow could rewrite his character, what would he see in Roger's future?: "I would like to explore a whole lot more in terms of my relationship with Holly. And one of the things that comes to mind when I mention that is the question of children. We, you know, neither of us are kids anymore, but Holly is still capable of bearing a child, and then there's the quesiton of adoption, or Holly could find herself pregnant --- Whoops! --- you know? That to me would be very, very interesting, to see what our reactions would be to that at this stage of our lives when we're supposed to be, like getting ready to kinda like start cashing pension checks maybe ... maybe not quite yet, uh, but doing some traveling, and stuff like that, and she's suddenly pregnant ... and what an awesome and exciting experience that would be." --- Michael Zaslow, Soap Connection, December 1994.

"Maureen Garrett points out that the character of Roger Thorpe 'has not been whitewashed. He's gone through atonement and has paid for what he's done to Holly. It would have been hard to take if Roger and Holly got back together shortly after he raped her. But the fact that it happened years ago, and that she spent so many years hating him, is what's key here. They've both changed." --- Maureen Garrett, Soap Opera Weekly, March 14, 1995.

"Although Holly and Roger are once again leading separate lives, past history suggests the couple will one day be reunited. Their turbulent love-hate relationship has endured make-ups and breakups for more than two decades. 'There's such deep emotion at this point that I can feel the love myself,' shares Maureen. 'I've looked into those eyes of Michael's for so long ... they're brown, right?' she teases. The actress relishes the long and rich history their characters share. 'It provides a kind of wealth that you cannot create,' says Maureen. 'I hope they never do away with the relationship of these two characters.'" --- Maureen Garrett, Soap Opera Magazine, March 28, 1995.

"Write On, Michael!" --- Michael Zaslow laments that his character no longer shares any scenes with Holly. Quite honestly, I miss them," he sighs. Michael lays the blame squarely on Springfield's scribes. "What they (the writers) tend to do is cut all ties to the past," he contends. "It seems to me they're not terribly interested in the characters' history, and certainly I have a long history. My relationship with Holly is paramount in that. I think they're making a tremendous mistake in not keeping that alive." --- Michael Zaslow, Soap Opera Magazine, August 27, 1996.

Does it surprise you that fans still root for Roger and Holly?

"No. We root for deep, undying, eternal, true love. That's what we were all brought up to want and believe in. And given that Roger and Holly clearly had something between them that was true and deep, I could see why a lot of people wanted them to work out their problems. I can identify with that." -- Michael Zaslow, Soap Opera Digest Special, Fall 1996.

"There's so much danger and passion and fire in the relationship. Her defining story is Roger --- that's where her molten core lies. It's all there, the love, the hate, the pain, the passion. She's his heart, and he's her mate ... her soulmate." -- Maureen Garrett, 1997.

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