JUST THE FACTS:
Born on: March 27
Hails From: Orange County, CA
Must-See TV: FRASIER and FRIENDS
He Drives: "Real boring suburban cars. A '97 Ford Explorer, and we also have a '93 Camry. It's paid for."
Last Book Read: "Something Beth Ehlers [Harley] gave me about food allergies in kids."
Favorite Ice Cream: Mint chocolate chip
Family Matters: Married to Joni Parker since 1987; father of Katie, 5, and Caroline, 2

Way back in 1983, when the now-infamous "Four Musketeers" storyline was being launched, GUIDING LIGHT hired Michael O'Leary not to play Rick--Phil MacGregor already had the part--but to spend a day screen-testing with an assortment of potential Beths and Mindys in LA. "They paid me $450 and I went home," recalls the actor, who promptly forgot all about it. "Then two days later, they called and said they were firing Phil and wanted me to replace him. So, I packed my suitcases and flew [from L.A.] to New York City. I was in my 20s. And I started playing Rick." Today, 17 years later, O'Leary is still the good "doctor" of Springfield (for now) -- and lucky for us, he's still making house calls at Digest.

Digest: It's nice to see you back on-screen.

Michael O'Leary: Weird, huh? I'm in four different stories right now. They just brought back Susan Pratt [Claire] for one of them, which is great. I like Susie.

Digest: When was the last time you saw her?

O'Leary: Thirteen years ago, at the end of her story. She left pretty quickly after we worked together, and we kinda lost contact. And I should say that in this case, there's no excuse because when I first started on the show, Susie really took me under her wing in a lot of respects. I was a kid, I was inexperienced, I didn't know anybody, and she and her husband invited me over to their house quite frequently for dinner. She was very nice to me, and I wish I had tried harder to keep in touch.

Digest: How's working with her this time around?

O'Leary: Same as last time, except that we're adults now, whereas we were more like kids back then. But it's funny because her little girl, who I remember as being 3 years old, is graduating from high school. I guess we've lived a little bit more.

Digest: What do you think about Rick not being a doctor?

O'Leary: Initially, I wasn't crazy about it. I mean, I like the idea of him having a dark secret, just because from an actor's point of view, it should be interesting to play someone who's threatened with losing so much. But the long-term of that, how the writers decide to rectify the whole situation, that's the part that scares me. How do you rectify that? I don't know [laughs]. Of course, a large part of the audience is just gonna say, "Well, this explains the 25 people who died in Rick's care." Rick's not the best doctor in the world, let's face it. But there's gotta be repercussions, obviously. I hope it's not glossed over.

Digest: In the past few years, your storylines were often dropped. Do you have faith that this one will actually play out?

O'Leary: Well, it should at least go on for a few months because a lot of things are happening in June and July. Amy [Ecklund, Abby] is leaving, Rick's losing his medical license, and his sister's on the lam. It seems like he'll get as low as you can possibly go, which should be a good amount of story.

Digest: How do you feel about Amy leaving?

O'Leary: I hate it. But on the other hand, here's this woman who's funny and great at drama and tremendously talented, and she's not been used. So I understand her decision. I really think she would have stayed if she had [more to do]. It's a shame.

Digest: Do you think you could have been a more popular couple?

O'Leary: I think we would have been a very popular couple if the writers had chosen to write to our strengths. Because at the heart of who I am, I'm a clown. And at the heart of who she is, Amy's a clown. We constantly have the crew laughing because that's who we are. But we were written completely different from that. She's almost raped, kills someone, goes to jail. Rick loses his son, and his sister goes blind. Not a lot of opportunities to be funny there. It's too bad because I think the audience would like to see more humor on daytime in general.

Digest: Did you ever think you might stay back-burner forever?

O'Leary: Oh, yeah. It was frustrating. Granted, everybody who works in daytime goes back-bumer at times, but that was a long stretch for me. From last April through De- cember, I only worked like 21 days.

Digest: Is it weird to get paid and not actually be doing anything?

O'Leary: You know what? It is. There's a point where you say, "Hmm, I wonder if I'm gonna get fired?" Because I'm sure they don't like paying people for doing nothing, and I looked at my calendar and thought, "Whoa -- I really have not earned my money."

Digest: Did you ever think you would be fired?

O'Leary: Yeah. I'm pretty pragmatic; I figured there was a chance. You just don't know.

Digest: Did you ever want to be fired?

O'Leary: No. Because being really important on the show doesn't mean that much to me. I think I have a pretty healthy detachment. I mean, everyone does some bitching and moaning, but you have to keep things in perspective. It's like, "You're making $300,000 a year -- what are you bitching about?" One time, a while back, there was this actor [on GL] who had previously been out of work for several years, and we were [sitting in a sushi bar]. And, he's bitching and moaning about this and that. And I look out the window, and there's this guy about our age, mid-30s, unloading an ice cream truck in the middle of a blizzard. And I said, "Blankety-blank, look across the street. See that guy? He's our age, he's probably making $25,000 a year, three or four kids at home, and here it is a blizzard outside, and he's busting his ass." And this person turned to me and he goes, "Yeah, but he doesn't have to say these words."

Digest: Whoa!

O'Leary: Yeah. So some people just don't get it. As far as I'm concerned, I'm in the cat- bird seat. I get paid even if I'm not working, I get to go to golf tournaments, I get to hang out with my kids all the time and go to the beach. What could be better than that? #

SIDEBAR: Makeover Madness

Let's be honest: O'Leary's trademark Afro wasn't really doing anything for him. Thankfully, he knew it, too. "I don't watch a lot of nighttime TV, but I was looking at JAG and some of the other shows, and all the guys had their hair cut really short. And I'd been doing the Greg Brady thing for far too long," the actor admits. "So I talked with this really good hairdresser at the studio, and then we just went ahead and cut it all off, and I love it. I feel totally transformed." Make that ALMOST totally transformed. "Right now, I'm about six or seven pounds overweight," sighs O'Leary. "The show never says anything, but I know that it makes a big difference on me. I've got the round Irish face, you know." Of course, now that he's no longer a Musketeer, he's got a little more leeway. "I remember in the old days, Grant and I used to wear the Speedos at Cross Creek," he laughs. "We'd be standing there talking about Beth and Mindy, and the camera would be right at crotch level, and I'm thinking 'I am 160 pounds of pale, flabby flesh and I'm standing next to the statue of David.' Talk about inferiority complex. But I don't have to do that anymore, thank God!"