For months, we saw another side to SUNSET BEACH's Ben. Sure, he'd always been mysterious, but with Terror Island, he became downright evil! How could the romantic who fell for the sweet Meg be a bloodthirsty killer? Yet all the proof was there. We saw Ben's face as Mark's unmasked killer. We saw him plotting to "take care" of Meg and we saw him push Tim over the scaffold.

Or did we? As we found out last week, Ben has an evil twin brother, Derek. Which means that since January, Robertson has played Derek playing Ben. Robertson had to provide subtle enough changes in Ben's demeanor to let us believe Ben wasn't the man we'd thought he was, without alerting us to the fact that he wasn't Ben at all. Judging from all the mail protesting Ben's "real" nature after the terror island storyline, Robertson pulled off the feat. His portrayal allowed us to believe that Ben had snapped abd hero had turned deadly.

Now that Derek has imprisoned Ben and we're in on the deception, we have a whole new appreciation for Robertson's talent. As he portrays Derek fighting to subdue his rage in front of Meg, we can see why Meg is fooled - after all, weren't we?

Every soap resurrects the twin storyline at one time or another - the trick is to use an actor versatile enough to pull it off. BEACH made the right choice.

SUN's Ben Evans is enduring a double dose of rage, frustration and fear these days. After being kidnapped and held captive by his evil twin, he's been forced to watch helplessly as Derek has taken over his life, moving into his home - and into Meg's arms. As Derek taunts him with images of Meg and wickedly measured words, Ben comes ever closer to giving up the passwords to his bank accounts. For his chillingly smooth transition between two visually identical but radically distinct characters, Clive Robertson is honored as Soap Opera Magazine's Star of the Week.

From the first time Meg opened the door to a shadow-obscured Derek, Robertson's eerie transition from menacing presence to brooding charmer was stunning. Indeed, the actor has thrived in the dual roles, and his work to create two distinct personalities - even as Derek impersonates Ben - has been masterful.

In his impersonation of brother Ben, Derek is pretty savvy in responding to those around him who know Ben well. "I let the audience see that he's thinking quickly," says Robertson. "You don't usually telegraph what a character is doing." As Derek learns more about people around Ben, he is becoming less guarded and is quick to cover a point, a development the actor appreciates. "It's a bit of a relief for me," admits Robertson. "His responses and speech pattern can be quicker now. He's becoming more like Ben."

Robertson adds that "Derek is much easier to play than Ben," perhaps because there may be some freedom in insanity. "Ben is more controlled - he has an economy of movement about him. Derek doesn't," explains Robertson.

To distinguish one twin from the other, Robertson has introduced a slight difference in their voices. "I've made Derek's a bit more posh. It's a bit more contrived because he's actually copying how he believes Ben speaks." Despite Ben's aristocratic air, the actor explains that he feels the brothers do not come from an affluent background. In Robertson's estimation, "Ben came to the States with nothing and struggled to achieve what he has."

Derek, on the other hand, "is somehow under the impression that Ben has always been favored, and he's always come second. He feels he should have whatever Ben has just because they're twins. It's only fair in his mind."

Lately, being Ben has been frustrating for character and actor alike. "He's never really let anyone get the best of him before," offers Robertson. "I'm really chained and gagged, and it's very annoying! In every one of Ben's scenes, I'm struggling for something or doing a voice-over while fighting my chains. It's difficult making that fresh every time."

Derek, on the other hand, is thriving. He likes applying psychological torture and has used a hologram and will use a two-way mirror to let Ben see him with Meg. Although it's clear that Derek is a serial murderer and has homicidal thoughts about Meg, no one, not even the actor, is certain if Derek had anything to do with the disappearance and presumed death of Ben's wife, Maria. For the moment, Ben and his money are Derek's focus.