Stripped Down

B&B’s Darin Brooks And Katrina Bowden Dish About On-Screen Love, Off-Screen Double Dates And What Not To Eat Before A Love Scene

- Tom Stacy

Soap Opera Digest: We know you met during Katrina’s audition process. What were your first impressions of the other? Darin

Brooks: Did I read with you in the room beforehand?

Katrina Bowden: Yeah, we read together in passing first and then went into the producers.

Brooks: Right, which was great because I always like to run it with people beforehand because the audition process is always so nerve-wracking. I just wanted to make sure everybody was good with as many of the actresses as possible. There was one girl I didn’t get to read with but right away when I met Katrina, I thought she was a terrific actress. She was making choices that were great. I had a good feeling about it. Then, when we read for Brad [Bell, executive producer/head writer], she blew it away. She had the perfect essence for the character. She really captured the sweetness of this girl but there was a ballsiness to this character, too. She was throwing it back at me, which was fun. I enjoyed it.

Bowden: It was super-fun. Darin was so disarming and nice. Sometimes doing a chemistry read with another actor can be a little intimidating, but I felt comfortable with him right off the bat.

Digest: Since they have a past together, it was necessary for your characters to have an instant chemistry. Did you feel it then or was it something that you built over time?

Bowden: I liked him as soon as I met him. He was very easy to talk to and really welcoming. We became friends pretty quickly, so I think that helped make the chemistry you see on-screen better and come alive.