leslie's articles & interviews

It Takes Two To Tango
Soap Opera Update - December 1993

General Hospital's battling Quartermaines aren't happy unless they are at each other's throats. Through multiple marriages, murder attempts and countless affairs, Alan and Monica always manage to find their way back to each other - usually via the bedroom. Soap Opera Update brought Leslie Charleson (Monica) and Stuart Damon (Alan) together betwen scenes in an effort to unlock the mystery to this unusual couple's success. What we found was a genuine warmth and chemistry between the two actors, along with a healthy dose of playful sarcasm - just like Alan and Monica.

Stuart Damon: I want to ask you something. You and I have been on the show the exact same amount of time, correct?

Leslie Charleson: That's correct.

Stuart: No, you are lying. That's absolutely not true.

Leslie: (Realizing.) I've been here longer.

Stuart: So you are older than I am because you've been on the show longer than I have. How much longer have you been on the show than me?

Leslie: Oh, quite a bit. (She ponders.) Let's see ...

Stuart: (Feigning impatience.) The answer's three weeks. So your third in senority on the show and I'm fourth. We've been on the show for 16 years. How do you feel about celebrating Alan and Monica's 25th anniversary?

Leslie: Horrible.

Stuart: Why? Does it make you feel old?

Leslie: Well, because we haven't been together for 25 years. I feel that we have to accommodate our sons who are older than our marriage.

Stuart: The fact that they went from eight-year-olds to 18-year-olds in three weeks I think certainly creates a problem in terms of the years we've spent here.

Leslie: How I feel is old and horrible. But Alan and Monica are still getting it on in the bedroom. (Grinning.) How do you feel about it, Stu?

Stuart: I think it's great that we're still at it and we're still being shown doing it, and that it's interesting and it's sexy and it's fun. It's certainly different from all the other couples on the show.

Leslie: I've enjoyed it because it's been so long. At one point, when the thing with Rhonda was going on, I actually said, "I don't blame you if you go to Rhonda because I'm finding Monica terribly boring right now." She was so consumed with her sons and being angry all the time. It was a breath of fresh air to see us back doing what we do best....argue and make up.

Stuart: I loved my storyline with Rhonda.

Leslie: I figured you would.

Stuart: I loved it because it showed a side of Alan that's never been seen before. It's a little boyish kind of side, a side that lights up. It's a side thats vulnerable. And I don't think that the Alan Quartermaine that's on the show has really been vulnerable until he was seen with this woman. I think it was a very nice thing to happen. Do you think it was a strange choice that we never consummated the affair.

Leslie: Yes, I think it was very strange. It's strange for Alan not to have consummated his affair as it was for Monica to have a made up affair. These two characters wouldn't do that. They have never done anything halfway in their lives.

Stuart: I agree.

Leslie: And I felt it was very much against the grain of what we've developed these characters to be. Alan and Monica play chess, they don't play checkers. It's very sophisticated, and certainly Monica would not stoop to doing something so childish. Alan and Monica have both had affairs and there's been no pretense about them. Monica is convinced that he has had an affair, so why he doesn't I don't know. But that's his problem. I'm certainly looking forward to having my own affair.

Stuart: And now because of Rhonda, Alan is a murderer.

Leslie: This is the first time Alan's pulled off a murder that has worked. He's tried to kill me twice and it never worked. He finally got it right.

Stuart: They figured they finally got the right job for the man. I threw Ray through a window. But he was a woman beater and a child molester. Who's going to be mad at me for killing him?

Leslie: So what do you do when your not being Alan Quartermaine?

Stuart: You know exactly what I do. I play golf. If I work twice a week, I try to play golf twice a week.

Leslie: I have an Andalusian mare that I ride and exhibit. We were invited to ride in the Hollywood Parade again, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade which is my favorite.

Stuart: I play golf in Griffith park, which had the biggest bridle path of any place around here and it runs right alongside the golf course. (Leslie starts to laugh.) One day I'm getting ready to tee off on the 12th hole, which is directly adjacent to the bridle path, and I go into my backswing and drop the club....here comes Ms. Monica Quartermaine cantering down the path on this beautiful creature. I yelled out, "Hey, Lester!"

Leslie: Immediately my horse is spooked and I practically fell off. The likelihood of us running into each other with our two hobbies.....

Stuart: It wouldn't happen again in a million years.

Leslie: It was incredible. Having a horse affords me the pleasure that golf has afforded you. It's getting completely away from what we do. Your club doesn't know what you do and mine doesn't know what I do.

Stuart: What is the most worthwhile thing you are doing in your life?

Leslie: I think the work I do with cystic fibrosis.

Stuart: For me it would have to be the work I do with the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. It's something where my recognizability for the 16 years I've spent on the show really pays off. And everybody who reads this magazine knows I have a son with diabetes, and they also know your affiliation with people you have been close with over the years who unfortunately have had cystic fibrosis.

Leslie: All the events that both you and I take part in, we are very fortunate to have castmates who have given their time to help us. I do a fashion show every year and the girls are willing to help, and thankfully they come back year after year. This year I'm going to see about getting some of the guys in it. I'm looking forward to it actually. A few them have expressed interest.

Stuart: Really?

Leslie: Guess who I'm looking at?

Stuart: Me?

Leslie: I've been to yours.

Stuart: (Smiling.) You won't have any problem whatsoever.