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Follow the links to our archive of Thorsten's print interviews and articles about the characters he's portrayed.
Above: On the cover of the June 26, 2007 issue of Soap Opera Digest.
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Performer of the Week
Thorsten Kaye (Zach, ALL MY CHILDREN)
Soap Opera Digest
Published October 5, 2004
They say that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But on AMC, what happened in Vegas -- the introduction of Thorsten Kaye's Zach Slater, that is -- has already made a huge impact on life back home in Pine Valley. At first, we thought Zach had deserted the desert for P.V. because of his past with Maria. But we were wrong. Boy, were we wrong. For as it turns out, Zach is actually Alexander Cambias, Jr., the supposedly dead brother of murdered rapist Michael -- and because he's viewing his sibling through some severely rose-colored glasses, Zach wants the people of Pine Valley to pay for Mikey's defamation, not to mention his death.
It was a lot to swallow, especially all at once. But when he unloaded this backstory on a stunned Maria, Kaye vividly reminded us of why he's an asset that ABC has been so loathe to let go. He did this by speaking so tenderly about the Michael he remembered, the Michael to whom he felt he owed his life, the Michael who helped him orchestrate his death to escape the Cambias curse ("He knew that the only ay to save me was to let me die," he said fondly). And he did it when it was his turn to listen. to Maria as she explained that his sweet little brother grew up to become “a soulless, sadistic pig." Kaye avoided her gaze, tugged on his fingers, scratched at his cheek, pulled at his fingers -- anything to avoid the ugly picture she was painting.
By allowing us to see Michael through Zach's eyes, Kaye showed us why Zach is clinging so stubbornly to his illusions: because they are, for him, a lifeline. When Zach is finally forced to face the truth bout his brother, it surely won't be pretty. But with Kaye in the role, it's sure to be pretty powerful.