Always and Forever
By Lauren Baier Kim
Has it really been 15 years since Jake and Vicky rolled into Bay City looking to take on the WORLD? Now, as ANOTHER WORLD's final chapters play out, and Jake and Vicky jump to AS THE WORLD TURNS, Tom Eplin (who created the role of Jake) and Jensen Buchanan (who's played Vicky since 1991) tell Digest what it's taken to develop and sustain a rousing chemistry on-screen, and an abiding friendship off-screen. The actors arrive for the on-set interview minutes after performing an argument scene between the husband and wife.
Digest: Jake and Vicky had a rough day today!
Tom Eplin: I wasn't really there for my partner.
Jensen Buchanan: Like a good soap opera, we're having differing opinions right now. It makes for a good conflict. It spices things up.
Digest: Is it fun to bicker?
Eplin: A good healthy fight is great to play.
Buchanan: I like both. Even when we're getting along, there is always this underlying tension.
Digest: Vicky and Jake have had a lot to argue about lately.
Buchanan: The conflict is great. We're always looking for something to disagree about [laughs]
Eplin: Yeah. Sometimes we try to take an agreement scene and turn it into a fight!
Digest: But fans prefer Jake and Vicky to be happy - they're AW's supercouple.
Buchanan: I don't really know what that phrase means. But we've been a pretty successful match on this show.
Eplin: Supercouple means different things to me. We're a couple that works well together. Supercouple...
Buchanan: They're the ones that are on the cover of Digest.
Eplin: Right. When two characters are on the cover of everything, that's when they're a supercouple.
Buchanan: One of the things I wonder is what could break up Vicky and Jake? I don't think there is a conflict that could ever realistically break them apart. It would have to be pretty huge. I can't imagine what it would be.
Eplin: Jake could never cheat on Vicky. In the context of the history of the relationship, there's not enough there. It would come out of thin air.
Digest: Have you always worked well together?
Eplin: We had one weak moment. It's actually where we're sitting right now! [Eplin laughs; Buchanan shoots him a look]
Buchanan: No, I can't remember...
Eplin: Oh, yes, you can. You're selectively forgetting that.
Buchanan: Oh that. But I can't remember feeling, you know...these things evolve. It's not like all of a sudden, one day, Jake and Vicky are this big couple. It slowly evolved.
Eplin: It's at its best when, after all the time we've been together, we surprise ourselves. That's the most rewarding thing about this relationship.