Kassie DePaiva's wide smile, bright green eyes and honest demeanor cast a warm, inviting, captivating glow on anyone lucky enough to catch sight of her. This Kentucky native admits that she looks for the beauty within as a compass to her beauty without. "I find the more peaceful I can keep myself, the more light I can share with other people," she says. "I'm a Christian, and I try to remember how grateful and how blessed I am. It's easy for me, when I remember how good God has made my life and all the blessings he's given me, to share it with other people."
She also acknowledges her debt to those of this earth. "I have to thank my mom and dad for good genes. I've been blessed with a good metabolism and a long, lean body."
OLTL co-head writer Claire Labine has noticed both sides of DePaiva's beauty. "Kassie is a warm human being with a bright soul," she says. "Her beauty is reflected from the inside out." --R.S.
He can freeze molten lava merely by raising an eyebrow. Even the air moves differently when he enters a room. As ultra-bad-guy Todd Manning, OLTL's Roger Howarth is like a force of nature. "Roger has a passion for his acting and a passion for his character which are unmistakable," says OLTL executive producer Maxine Levinson. "He brings so much to the role. We all know who Todd is because he's so well-defined, and it makes him mesmerizing to watch."
The attraction to Todd has always been the blatant ambiguity; we never know whether to hug him or kick him in the shin. "Roger has a level of sensitivity that catches you off-guard because it's unexpected," observes co-star Florencia Lozano (Tea). "And he has a great sense of humor and a subtlety that's really fun to hook into when you act with him."
Howarth is always riveting to watch. That could be because no matter what heinous crime Todd has committed, under Howarth's tough-as-shoe leather veneer a flicker of humanity peeks through. "Roger is a beautiful human being," says Levinson. "That part I know from working personally and professionally with him. He's also a loving and devoted father, which also makes him a beautiful person." --L.B.