Kiberd is back to thrill fans after a 10-year hiatus from acting.
Back with a Vengeance
Have you missed seeing daytime icon James Kiberd in a role as much as we at Soap Cities have?
Well, get ready for his explosive turn in a new Off-Broadway drama, The Crusade of Connor Stephens. It’s in previews now and opens June 26th. Kiberd gave an in depth interview to Soap Central, detailing this dramatic new role, his thoughts on Trevor and if he’d do a soap again. Read on!
Related: ABC in talks to bring AMC and OLTL back to our screens!
All My Children and Loving fans likely remember him well. Kiberd is a soap vet who played AMC’s unforgettable lawman Trevor Dillon, (also noted for his array of creative ties!) and Loving’s Mike Donovan. He also had stints as Dustin on Another World and Hal As the World Turns.
A Plum Stage Role
“It’s like a prizefight for the soul of America, is what it feels like,” Kiberd said.
The actor plays a Southern Baptist preacher, Big Jim, who is the family’s patriarch, is sure to shock. The character embodies the stereotype of the oft-portrayed narrow minded, homophobic cleric bordering on brutish. However, it explores many points of view, and Kiberd has embraced this part and explained why to our friends at Soap Central.
Also: AMC star Cady McClain on her mother, women directors, and lots more!
“I’ve never had a role–and I’ve played lots of Shakepeare’s great kings and killers and clowns, and I’ve played some great roles on television and movies–but I’ve never had a role where I read this play every day and go, ‘Oh, here’s another angle.’ ”
The Crusade of Connor Stephens centers on the fallout of a school shooting and how it affects a family in Texas. The actor plays a Southern Baptist preacher, Big Jim, who is the family’s patriarch, is sure to shock. The character embodies the stereotype of the oft-portrayed narrow minded, homophobic cleric bordering on brutish. However, it explores many points of view, and Kiberd has embraced this part and explained why.
An Unexpected Gift and Stage Acclaim
Kiberd explained how the play came to him, and it was during a time that he was incapacitated.
Must-Read: Another AMC star–Mark Consuelos–cast in CW’s Riverdale.
“I got injured 10 years ago and haven’t been able to work in 10 years,” he said. “I had another hip replacement on May 9th, and I come back to my bedroom in the hospital and there’s this script there and I’m like, ‘What am I going to do with this? I can’t even walk!’ ” Thanks to persuasion from Kiberd’s wife, actress Susan Keith (ex-Shana Burnell, Loving; ex-Cecile dePoulignac, Another World) he read it, got in touch with the play’s director and author, Deway Moss, whom he blew away at the audition and the role was his. Kiberd has since won acclaim for the part, and to that end has garnered the Best Actor award at the 2017 Midtown International Theater Festival when the play was presented there. He said that he welcomes the discussion that the issues in the play present.
“I think America needs to talk about these issues,” he said. “They will talk about things at a football game or a baseball game that they won’t talk about on television and in the political arena, because everyone is so guarded and protective and they have their point of view.”
A Soap Return?
Even though Trevor met an untimely demise on AMC, what with dead soap characters routinely being called back to the land of the living, could there be a chance for a Trevor appearance again, say, on General Hospital? Never say never!
Don’t Miss: Get to know AMC icon Julia Barr, who played the luminous Brooke English.
“If one of the shows (existing soaps) was open to that kind of character emerging, well, it was an awful lot of fun to play him!” Kiberd said. “An awful lot of fun. I loved it, and I had a very strong hand in it.” Kiberd himself helped to shape Trevor, right down to his wild sartorial style.
We at Soap Cities wish Kiberd continued success on his stage run!
Give us your input in the comment section below. Check back with Soap Cities for more AMC/OLTL news, updates, fun, and more! Follow us on Twitter at @soapcities, on Instagram at @soapcities, and come chat with us in our Facebook group. All My Children and One Life to Live will one day be back on-screen—never doubt!
