All My Children - NEWS ROOM

As soap opera fans, we know our favorite characters - and the actors who play them - inside and out! But we also know that the shows would never be made without a few extra faces thrown into the mix. Though these day-players rarely receive contract status or get their own bios, I thought it would be fun to track a few down to get the scoop. Here is what I learned.

Murphy Guyer, Rafael, is another Pine Valley newcomer. Robert Gardner's henchmen may have been shot this week but he has certainly made an impact on the lives of Tad and Jesse! Murphy Guyer has had a long acting career, and it seems that he has focused mainly on dramatic/law and order type shoes. His first big role was on "The City", where he played Darryl Hassey. He also played a police officer on the HBO series "Oz" and has made several appearances police dramas like "Third Watch" and "Law & Order". He is currently working on a project called "The Mercy Man".

Geoffrey P. Cantor, Carl, has been seen in and around Pine Valley a lot lately, mostly as Samuel Woods' right hand man. The campaign manager would like Sam to use Erica to win a Senate seat but Samuel seems to have other ideas. Though he is a newcomer to All My Children, Geoffrey Cantor is no stranger to acting.

Geoffrey graduated Magna Cum Laude from Amherst College with a degree in theatre. You may recognize him from the 2001 television series "The $treet" or as Abe Shelton from "The Kill Point". He has also appeared on several episodes of the "Law & Order" series, and recently made an appearance on Guiding Light as Mr. Combs.

Erica's assistant Val has gotten a few laughs lately. Mostly from fans who know just how difficult it would be to work for La Kane. The talented actor who plays the character is Michael Malone. Before joining the cast, he played a soap opera fan on the Kelly Ripa comedy "Hope and Faith" and appeared on "The Sopranos".

Micki Grant, Mrs. Remington, is another newcomer to the set but soap fans may recognize her from other roles. Ms. Grant is no stranger to daytime dramas. She got her start in the business on "Another World" as Peggy Harris Nolan and from there got a job on "The Edge of Night" as Ada Chandler. Micki took a break from soaps for a while before returning to daytime television in 1982 to play Helen Tynan on Guiding Light. In 1999 she played Sadie-on-Broadway on "Having our Say: The Delaney Sisters First 100 Years".

And there is one last newcomer to become acquainted with. Jeffrey McCarthy has been an on-again, off-again character in Pine Valley for several years. Playing Judge Winnick, he is usually called to appear when one main character or another gets himself (or herself, in the case of Erica Kane!) into trouble. When he isn't working with the cast here, he has appeared in several episodes of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit", but you might recognize him from a blockbuster movie: Cliffhanger! That's right, Jeffrey appeared in the Sylvester Stallone hit as one of the jet pilots! In 2009, he is slated to appear in the film "Consent"!

There you have it fans. You are up to date with a few not-so-familiar faces from Pine Valley!