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Applause, Applause: Beth Chamberlin & Grant Aleksander (Beth and Phillip, GL)
Outstanding performers for the week of Feb. 28, 2000
by Tony Calega
Soap Opera Weekly
March 28, 2000

One of a parent's worst nightmares is discovering that his or her child has a life-threatening disease. On Guiding Light, when Beth and Phillip learned their daughter, Lizzie, has leukemia, the gifted Beth Chamberlin and Grant Aleksander gave haunting, thoroughly convincing performances as the nightmare crept into their characters' reality.

Phillip was the first to find out from Rick about Lizzie's illness; Beth came out of Lizzie's room, and Phillip was faced with the near-impossible task of revealing to his ex-wife something he was still struggling to digest himself. When Phillip asked Beth to sit down, Chamberlin visibly recoiled, yet somehow stood her ground. "No, I don't want to sit down; I just want you to tell me what's going on," she said, which should have opened the door for Phillip to just say what he had to say. That door remained closed however, for what seemed like an eternity, as Phillip struggled with his words. Aleksander, eyes first searching Chamberlin's face, then the floor, made Phillip's struggle excruciating to watch. Beth visibly reeled when finally told the cruel facts, but thankfully Chamberlin didn't resort to histrionics to illustrate her shock; instead, she skillfully lead her co-star into the first step of what would be a heartbreaking dance of despair.

Next, Beth and Phillip had to tell Lizzie about her illness. What made that scene especially touching was the way Beth and Phillip took every precaution to cushion the blow to their daughter. Chamberlin and Aleksander again shone, keeping their characters' emotions carefully -- yet not entirely -- veiled. Their pain may have eluded Lizzie (played by the always remarkable and wise-beyond-her-years Hayden Panettiere), but to viewers, it was visible in the eyes and subtle mannerisms of both actors.

A few scenes later, Aleksander had a goose-flesh inducing moment as Phillip finally broke down in tears. It was impossible not to share in Phillip's grief as he slowly crumbled while explaining to Harley his need to not fall apart. But Phillip did fall apart -- at least for an instant, and Aleksander gave a brief yet heart-wrenching glimpse into the soul of a father who was suddenly hit vvith the brutal truth: His daughter could die.

Powerful stuff, but Aleksander and Chamberlin more than rose to the occasion, proving once again that in sickness -- or in health -- they are acting forces to be reckoned with. #