Soaps Actors Who’ve Played Different Characters on the Same Soap Opera

Evil twins, doppelgangers and plastic surgery allow actors to pull double duty in daytime.

Actors jump soaps all the time – playing different characters on different shows – but there are several actors who have played different characters within the same soap opera. Sometimes they play their character’s evil twin or they play someone who happens to look exactly like their previous or current character. And sometimes the resemblance between characters is ignored by the other characters on the canvas – but never by the audience. Soaps.com looks at the many actors who have pulled double (sometimes triple or even quadruple) duty on The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of our Lives (which boasts the most actors playing more than one role), General Hospital and The Young and the Restless.

Bold and the Beautiful

Joanna Johnson as Caroline Spencer & Karen Spencer

Joanna Johnson portrayed Caroline Spencer from 1987 until the character’s death in 1990. She returned to the canvas as Caroline’s twin sister Karen Spencer, who has appeared sporadically since 1991.

Days of our Lives

Josh Taylor as Chris Kositchek & Roman Brady
Josh Taylor originated the role of Shenanigans manager in 1977. That role was written out in 1987 and ten years later, Taylor returned to portray Roman Brady in 1997, replacing Wayne Northrop.

Wayne Northrop as Roman Brady & Dr. Alex North
Wayne Northrop played the role of Roman Brady from 1981 – 1984 and from 1991 – 1994. In 2005, he returned to Days of our Lives once again but this time as Dr. Alex North, who was presumed dead in 2006 after falling from a cliff during a fight with John Black.

Renee Jones as Nikki Wade & Lexie Brooks Carver
Renee Jones first appeared on Days of our Lives in 1982 as Salem PD secretary Nikki Wade, who dated Abe Carver, but left town in 1983. Jones returned to Days of our Lives in 1993 as Lexie Brooks, who eventually married Abe. Lexie died of a brain tumor in 2012 when Jones decided to retire from acting.

Judith Chapman as Anjelica Deveraux & Diana Colville Cooper
Judith Chapman was the third actress to play Anjelica Deveraux from 1989 – 1991. The next time Chapman would appear in Salem was in January 2019 as a recast Diana Colville Cooper, who left the canvas after getting arrested for poisoning Marlena Evans in March 2019.

Deidre Hall as Dr. Marlena Evans & Hattie Adams
Despite being written off twice for a couple of years, Deidre Hall has been playing Salem confidant Marlena Evans on Days of our Lives since 1976. In 2004, Hall took on the dual role of Hattie Adams, who had surgery to look identical to Dr. Evans. Hattie wasn’t seen again until 2016 when she started popping up on occasion, making Marlena’s life more difficult.

More: Soap actresses who’ve been on more than one soap

John Aniston as Dr. Eric Richards & Victor Kiriakis
Before taking on the iconic role of Victor Kiriakis, John Aniston played prison doctor Eric Richards on Days of our Lives from 1969 – 1970. He returned to the NBC soap in 1985 as Victor, who, despite a brief absence in 2004, he has been playing ever since.

Judi Evans as Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis & Bonnie Lockhart
Judi Evans first came to the NBC soap as Adrienne Johnson in 1987 and left as Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis in 1991. She reprised the role from 2007 – 2008, and again in 2010 until the present. However, from 2003 – 2007, Evans took on the new role of Bonnie Lockhart. Then in 2017, she pulled double duty when Bonnie took over her doppelganger Adrienne’s life, before leaving the canvas again in late 2018.

Thaao Penghlis as Andre DiMera & Tony DiMera
Thaao Penghlis has played Stefano DiMera’s non-biological son Tony DiMera on and off since 1981. In 1983, he began playing Tony’s cousin Andre DiMera who underwent surgery to look exactly like Tony, per Stefano’s orders. Andre impersonated Tony a few times over the years and was later revealed to be Stefano’s biological son. Both DiMeras are currently presumed dead.

James Scott as EJ DiMera & Santos DiMera
EJ DiMera was played by James Scott from 2006 – 2014. He left the role when EJ was presumed dead after taking a bullet to the stomach. During his reign as Stefano’s son, Scott also portrayed Santos DiMera in 2007 flashbacks used to explain the basis of the Brady/DiMera family feud.

Alison Sweeney as young Adrienne Johnson, Sami Brady, & Colleen Brady
Best known for playing the complicated often misunderstood Sami Brady on Days of our Lives since 1993, Alison Sweeney first appeared on the NBC soap as a younger Adrienne Johnson in flashbacks in 1987. Sweeney also took on the role of Sami’s great-aunt Colleen Brady in 2007 flashbacks which helped explain the contentious history between the Bradys and the DiMeras.

Kristian Alfonso as Hope Brady & Princess Gina Von Amberg
Despite a couple of breaks in the late 80s/early 90s, Kristian Alfonso has been playing Hope Williams Brady since 1983. Starting in 1998, Alfonso also began periodically appearing as Princess Gina Von Amberg, art thief and forger, who worked for Stefano DiMera. Gina was an actual character who resembled Hope, but when she stopped painting – rendering her useless to Stefano – he implanted a microchip in Hope, giving her Gina’s memories and personality. Gina was last seen in Marlena Evans’ purgatory dream sequence on Days of our Lives in 2019.

Kyle Lowder as Brady Black & Rex Brady
Kyle Lowder burst onto the Salem teen scene as Brady Black in 2000, leaving the role in 2005. When Lowder returned to Days of our Lives in 2018, Brady was being played by Eric Martsolf, so Lowder took over the role of Roman Brady and Kate Roberts’ son Rex Brady, originally played by Eric Winter.

Eileen Davidson as Kristen DiMera, Susan Banks, Penelope Kent, Thomas Banks, & Sister Mary Moira Banks  
Eileen Davison has played Kristen DiMera on and off since 1993. Starting in 1996, she also took on the Days of our Lives role of Kristen’s look-alike Susan Banks who she has sporadically portrayed throughout the years. The ensuing years also saw her portray Susan’s identical siblings Sister Mary Moira Banks, Thomas Banks, and Penelope Kent. 

More: Soap actors who’ve been on more than one soap

General Hospital

Sarah Brown as Carly Corinthos & Claudia Zacchara
Sarah Brown originated the role of Carly Corinthos in 1996 but left General Hospital in 2001. Three actresses went on to play the part with Laura Wright as the latest incarnation. In 2008, Brown returned to the soap to play Claudia Zacchara but ended that run in 2009 when her character was killed off.

Tamara Braun as Carly Corinthos & Kim Nero
Tamara Braun took over for Sarah Brown as Carly Corinthos in 2001. She played that part until 2005 but returned to the ABC soap in 2017. Considering Laura Wright was still portraying the hotel magnate and wife of Sonny Corinthos, Braun was cast in the new role of Dr. Kim Nero.

Chloe Lanier as a young Patricia Spencer & Nelle Benson
Chloe Lanier was originally cast in a couple of 2015 episodes as a young Patricia Spencer during flashbacks to Luke Spencer’s past. Impressed with the actress, the powers that be later cast her in the contract role of Nelle Benson in 2016. That stint ended when Lanier decided to leave the soap in 2018 and Nelle was shipped off to prison. However, she has periodically popped back up in Port Charles to further complicate the lives of the Corinthos family.

Michael Easton as John McBain, Stephen Clay, Silas Clay, & Dr. Hamilton Finn
Michael Easton has played several characters who resided in Port Charles. Though not technically a General Hospital character, Easton first played the vampire Caleb Morely on the spinoff Port Charles from 2001 – 2003. He eventually came to the mothership General Hospital in 2012 as his One Life to Live character John McBain after that soap was canceled. However, legal issues abounded so all One Life to Live characters had to be written off in 2013. Before that happened, Easton pulled double duty as Stephen Clay, a mortal musician with a vampire stage persona, who may or may not have actually been the immortal Caleb. Easton was then given the new role of Stephen’s brother Silas Clay in 2013 until that character’s murder in 2015. Finally, in 2016, Easton began portraying quirky infectious disease specialist Hamilton Finn.

Kristen Alderson as Starr Manning & Kiki Jerome
Like Easton, Kristen Alderson came to General Hospital in 2012 as her One Life to Live character. She played Starr Manning until legal issues surrounding the defunct soap prevented her from continuing in 2013. Alderson later returned that same year as new character Kiki Jerome, who she played until 2015 when Hayley Erin took over.

Roger Howarth as Todd Manning & Franco Baldwin
Joining Easton and Alderson, Roger Howarth played his One Life to Live character Todd Manning on General Hospital from 2012 – 2013. He returned later in 2013 as redeemed serial killer/artist Franco Baldwin – a role originated by James Franco in 2009.

Kelly Monaco as Livvie Locke, Sam McCall & Alicia Montenegro
Kelly Monaco has been playing con artist turned private investigator Sam McCall since 2003. In 2005 she also played Sam’s look-alike socialite Alicia Montenegro, who Sam was forced to impersonate for a time. That ended when Alicia killed the man she was supposed to marry and went to prison. But before all that, Monaco joined the General Hospital universe when she played Livvie Locke on Port Charles from 2000 – 2003.

Laura Wright as Lena Spencer and Carly Corinthos
Laura Wright is the fourth actress to portray Carly Benson Corinthos, taking over the role in 2005 from Jennifer Bransford. In 2015, Wright appeared in a flashback episode of General Hospital as Carly’s grandmother Lena Spencer, and later as a vision appearing to Lena’s son Luke Spencer.

Celesta DeAstis as Francesca Cavallo & Avery Jerome
In 2018, Celesta DeAstis took on two roles on General Hospital. The first was in one episode as a teenaged Avery Jerome Corinthos who was part of a nightmare Ava had that served as a reckoning of sorts. The second character was a bit more fleshed out, as she played nurse Francesca Cavallo who enjoyed a flirtation with Michael Corinthos and who testified on Kiki Jerome’s behalf about Dr. David Bensch’s history of sexual harassment.

Jon Lindstrom as Ryan Chamberlain & Kevin Collins
John Lindstrom first came to General Hospital in 1992 as pediatrician Ryan Chamberlain, who turned out to be a serial killer. Though he was presumed dead in 1995, Ryan was revealed to be very much alive in 2018. In 1994, Lindstrom took on the dual role of Ryan’s brother – psychiatrist Kevin Collins. He played him until 1997 when he took the role to Port Charles until 2003. Kevin briefly returned to General Hospital in 2004, but then came back more permanently in 2013.

Anthony Geary as Luke Spencer & Bill Eckert
Anthony Geary played the iconic Luke Spencer from 1978 – 1983 (and again briefly in 1984) when the character left town with his love Laura Webber Spencer. In 1991, Geary returned to General Hospital as Luke’s look-alike cousin Bill Eckert. The character was killed off in 1993 from a gunshot by one of Frank Smith’s men who mistook him for Luke, who had just returned to Port Charles. In 2014, Geary began playing the role of an evil Luke a.k.a. “Fluke,” who was keeping the real Luke captive. However, it was revealed that Fluke was actually Luke and the Luke being held captive was just a figment of his imagination. Luke left Port Charles again in 2015 but resurfaced for an episode in 2017 when Tracy Quartermaine ran into him in Amsterdam.

Young and the Restless

Kin Shriner as Harrison Bartlett & Jeffrey Baldwin
In 2004, Kin Shriner played Harrison Bartlett, the stepson to Katherine Chancellor’s love interest Arthur Hendricks. He accused the man of killing his mother, but Harrison never obtained any solid evidence. He left Genoa City later that same year. Shriner then returned in 2011 for a few episodes of Young and the Restless to temporarily replace an unavailable Ted Shackelford in the role of Jeffrey Bardwell.

Ted Shackelford played William and Jeffrey Bardwell
Ted Shackelford first came to Genoa City in 2006 as district attorney William Bardwell who died after marrying Gloria Fisher. In 2007, Shackelford took on the role of William’s twin brother Jeffrey Bardwell, who blackmailed Gloria into marrying him so he could spend her money, which she inherited from William. He played the latter role on and off until 2015.

Judith Chapman as Jill Abbott and as Gloria Abbott
While Judith Chapman has been playing The Young and the Restless’ outrageous Gloria Fisher Abbott on and off since 2005, she first came to Genoa City in 1994 when she filled in for Jess Walton as Jill Abbott for a brief time.

Michelle Stafford as Phyllis Summers Newman & Sheila Carter
Michelle Stafford debuted as Phyllis Summers in 1994, a role she played until 1997 when Phyllis moved to New York City. Stafford brought Phyllis back to Genoa City in 2000. Then, from December 2006 – February 2007, she pulled double duty when Sheila Carter had plastic surgery to look like Phyllis. Stafford left the CBS soap again in 2013 for General Hospital and Gina Tognoni was recast in the role. Stafford was once again asked to return to The Young and the Restless in 2019.

Jeanne Cooper as Katherine Chancellor & Marge Cotroke
Jeanne Cooper played the formidable Katherine Chancellor from 1973 – 2013, the year the actress passed away. Katherine’s off-screen death was written in later that same year. During her reign as Young and the Restless’ “The Duchess,” Cooper also played Marge Cotroke, from 1989 – 1990 and again for a couple of episodes in 2008 & 2009. Marge was a diner waitress who, due to her resemblance to Katherine, was hired to take over Katherine’s life and money.

Camryn Grimes as Cassie Newman & Mariah Copeland
Camryn Grimes played Cassie Newman on Young and the Restless from 1997 – 2005. A 14-year-old Cassie died after crashing the car she was driving in order to get a drunk Daniel Romalotti home safely. Grimes continued to pop up over the years as Cassie occasionally appeared to her loved ones. In 2014, the actress returned to the show full-time as Cassie’s identical twin Mariah Copeland.

Jerry Douglas as Alistair Wallingford & John Abbott
Jerry Douglas began playing John Abbott on Young and the Restless in 1982. In 2006, John had a stroke and died, but Douglas would appear in visions as the Abbott patriarch to his children for several years after the character’s death. In 2008, Douglas took on the role of actor and a dead ringer for John, Alistair Wallingford, who was hired to play John’s ghost to try and scare his widow Gloria Abbott out of the mansion.