User:Nk3play2/Victor Lord, Jr.

Victor Dalby Lord, Jr. is a fictional character from the original ABC Daytime soap opera, One Life to Live. Originally introduced by then head writers, Michael Malone and Josh Griffith as a recast of Todd Manning originally portrayed by Roger Howarth. St. John's portrayal of Todd was retconned by head writer Ron Carlivati into entirely separate character, that of Victor Lord, Jr, Todd's twin brother.

Victor is categorized as one of the soap genre's breakout characters.

Creation
St. John initially took the role of Walker Laurence, while exhibiting uncanny similarities to Todd. Eventually, the audience started to notice, which created suspicion throughout the soap opera community regarding Walker's identity. Magazine TV Guide soon realized the matter, and set up an interview with St. John. Wanting to immediately address the question, Delaina Dixon of the magazine bluntly asked St. John if his character was Todd. St. John replied, "I don't look anything like Todd." Further pressed and asked if maybe he was Todd but with plastic surgery, St. John still did not answer directly. "He had a different voice and height," he said. The interviewer noted anything is possible in the soap opera world. St. John agreed, but informed her that the audience would definitively know on August 26, 2003, and that they should keep watching.

As suspected, Walker was eventually revealed to be "Todd." St. John's version of the character was said to have received plastic surgery after being severely beaten to the point of disfigurement during a murder attempt on his life ordered by Mitch Laurence. While recovering in the hospital, St. John's Todd conducts research and learns Mitch has a brother named Walker (also portrayed by St. John), who goes by the name Flynn Laurence. "Todd" pays Flynn for information on Mitch, and has extensive plastic surgery in order to physically resemble Flynn and get revenge on (as well as protect his family from) Mitch.

Casting
In May 2003, months following Howarth's departure from the series, the character was recast. Actor Trevor St. John stepped into the role; however, it was not yet determined the character he was portraying was Todd until August of that year. In May 2011, with Howarth's return as the character, St. John's version was rewritten as Todd's identical twin brother, Victor Lord, Jr., instead. The series documented Victor being conditioned to believe he was Todd and to assume Todd's identity.

Malone stated, "During my second stint at One Life, I had to decide whether or not I should recast Todd." Malone said the series could not let Todd leave the canvas. "There was a committee involved in this recast," he said, "but during [St. John’s] audition, which was extraordinary, we all agreed he was Todd. And that unanimous decision is very rare in this business, as you know. It was a risky choice, but he really made it work." Malone said he felt St. John made the character his own.

St. John did not know Malone and executives were considering him as Todd, but said there was no strategy in his performance as the character once he won the role. "I feel the moment is by far the most interesting thing, and the only thing worth exploring. I think what you’re seeing is a non-interpretive performance," he said. "Todd is already written on the page, so it’s my job to bring him to life in that moment. The answer is in the question. I don’t think in terms of evilness, goodness or vulnerability. This is the line, and this is how I feel, so I act it without analyzing it to death." St. John said he prefers the audience to interpret the character. He said teachers do not teach actors that in acting class. "Teachers tell you to interpret the character," he said. "I disagree. A character exists irrespective of how an actor plays the role. I know it’s an unusual way to approach acting."

When asked if he watched Howarth's work as Todd before portraying the character, St. John said, "They wanted me to watch about 15 episodes because the producers expected me to play Todd like [Howarth]. This was before I started shooting. I watched two episodes but I never tried to mimic [Howarth's] style." St. John said, "As an actor, that’s ridiculous. I needed to get a sense of who Todd was first, and that has to happen organically. I don’t care if Marlon Brando played the role before me. An actor shoots himself in the foot when you try to play a part like another actor. It’s awful — and very limiting and very uncreative."

Analyzing Todd, St. John felt it was nice to step into the role and have instant concrete relationships: "There was so much history with Todd. I became a core character. It was grounding. I could look at old scripts and ask people, 'What was your relationship with Todd like?' Whereas with Walker, no one knew." He said this is what acting is all about — "your relationship to people when you figure out how to play a scene".

Regarding Todd's style, St. John focused more on the character's hair. He told magazine Soap Opera Weekly that he wanted a haircut. He hoped the show's writers and producers would let him trim off a little of it. "It's just not me to be this shaggy. Right now it's OK, because I've made the creative choice that I'm letting myself go because [Todd's] not really right in the old noggin," he said. "They asked me to leave it alone until further notice. I even gained a little weight so it looks like I'm not thinking about appearance. But personally, I'd like to be a little cleaner."

Due to the praise Howarth received for his portrayal of the character, as well as the length of his portrayal, it became inevitable viewers and the soap opera media would start to compare St. John's performance as the villain to Howarth's. They wondered how Howarth might have acted out certain scenes and recited certain lines. St. John replied: "It's like saying that if you play Hamlet, every actor who plays it has to play each line with the same inflection, the same intention. I don't care what the other guy did. That's his time. Those are the characteristics Todd had simply because he was the only one who played it. As far as I'm concerned, it's just a name and words on a page. What I do after that is up to me. I'm playing it now. I know that sounds very arrogant and overconfident, but it would be no fun to try to mimic somebody."

St. John acknowledged the love/hate relationship viewers have with Todd, but commented on how this factor keeps the character from becoming boring. "It’s fun," he stated, "bad guys are always the most popular, I think." St. John felt that likeability is unnecessary. "I think empathy is what people respond to. If you understand a person, the person can do whatever unlikable act, and you’ll still be rooting for him," he said. He added, "And Todd’s kind of both good and bad. He’s got his good side with his kids, and yet he is conniving and vicious and all those negative things. That’s the kind of character people like to watch. No one likes to watch a monolith of niceness. The worst thing a writer could do is make a character nice, period. Or likeable."

St. John said Todd is capable of anything, in his opinion. "When people ask: 'Would Todd ever kill anyone or hit Starr or Blair,' I always answer, 'sure.' If I say no, then I’m limiting the character," he stated. "Todd is a marvelous character to play because he could commit genocide, or find a cure for AIDS. He’s full of possibilities — good and bad." St. John said, "Who knows what someone is truly capable of? Who’s to say that Todd isn’t attracted to one of Starr’s friends, or Starr herself, even? What if Todd wants to kill Viki in one moment? See, as an actor that always gives you conflict to play — and that subtext enriches a performance."