Tom Pelphrey & Jessica Stroup Join the Netflix Original Series 'Marvel's Iron Fist'

Tom Pelphrey, Jessica Stroup

Guiding Light alum Tom Pelphrey and 90210 star Jessica Stroup have joined the growing cast of the Netflix original series Marvel's Iron Fist as Ward and Joy Meachum, childhood acquaintances of Danny Rand's who now play an important role in Rand Enterprises.

The children of Harold Meachum (David Wenham), Joy and Ward have spent their lives building Rand Enterprises to its current standing in the world, only to have all their work put in jeopardy when Danny returns to claim his birthright.

"With the terrific addition of the very talented Jessica and Tom, we've now brought the entire Meachum family together," said Executive Producer/Head of Marvel Television, Jeph Loeb. "While Marvel couldn't be happier, Danny's mission just got a lot more complicated.

"I'm very happy to have Jessica and Tom as our Joy and Ward Meachum," said Executive Producer and Showrunner Scott Buck. "Much like Danny Rand's past is a mystery to us, we'll discover along the way that the Meachum children have intriguing secrets of their own."

Stroup and Pelphrey complete the cast of series regulars for Marvel's Iron Fist, which includes Finn Jones as Danny Rand, Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing, and David Wenham as Harold Meachum.

Stroup is known for her portrayal of Erin Silver on 90210 and Max Hardy in The Following. Pelphrey won two Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Jonathan Randall on Guiding Light. He currently stars as Kurt Bunker in Banshee.

In Marvel's Iron Fist, Daniel Rand returns to New York City after being missing for years. He fights against the criminal element corrupting New York City with his incredible kung-fu mastery and ability to summon the awesome power of the fiery Iron Fist.

Marvel's Iron Fist is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios for Netflix.

Langley Kirkwood, Tom Pelphrey, Meaghan Rath & Chaske Spencer Join BANSHEE Season 3

Langley Kirkwood has joined the cast of Cinemax drama BANSHEE as a series regular in Season 3. Tom Pelphrey, Meaghan Rath & Chaske Spencer have also been cast in recurring roles.

Kirkwood will play Colonel Douglas Stowe, a former commando now running an illegal business out of Banshee’s Camp Genoa. Rath will recur as Aimee King, the sole deputy in the corrupt Kinaho Reservation Police Department. Spencer will recur as Billy Raven. A former deputy in the Reservation Police Department, Billy is now considered an outcast by his own people. Pelphrey (GUIDING LIGHT) will recur as Kurt Bunker, a former skinhead who applies to be a deputy at the Banshee Sheriff’s Department.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Catching Up With Ellen Wheeler As She Begins A New Project With Old Friends (Part 1 of 2)

Left to Right: Kurt McKinney, Frank Dicopoulos, Robert Newman,
Ellen Wheeler, Michael O'Leary and Jordan Clarke.
Photo Credit: Sue Coflin/Max Photos.

Former GUIDING LIGHT executive producer Ellen Wheeler began her career in Daytime as an actress. She landed the role of Marley Love on ANOTHER WORLD in 1984 and, a year later, she began playing Marley's twin, Victoria. Soon, she won an Emmy (for work in 1986).

She took on the role of Cindy Parker on ALL MY CHILDREN the next year, in what turned out to be one of the most moving HIV/AIDS stories ever told on television, and won another Emmy (for her work in 1988).

Primetime roles on DARK SHADOWS, HUNTER, STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE and ER followed. She guest-starred on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL and returned to ANOTHER WORLD as Marley for its final year. That's when she first moved behind the camera and directed episodes of AS THE WORLD TURNS, earning three more Emmy nominations. Then, in 2004, Wheeler was named executive producer of GUIDING LIGHT.

Ranked last among the nine remaining daytime soap operas (at the time, in the key ratings demo) GUIDING LIGHT was only beating PASSIONS in total viewers. Forced to move to a new production model, with little time for the cast and crew to adjust (and no time at all for the audience), ratings dipped again in 2008, as the loss of fan favorites Beth Ehlers and Ricky Paul Goldin exacerbated the sense the show was, at times, physically jarring to watch.

Ironically, by the start of 2009 (CBS announced cancellation of the 72-year-old soap on April Fools Day) GUIDING LIGHT was back on solid footing. Some of the technical kinks had been worked out, Grant Aleksander returned as Phillip Spaulding and the Olivia and Natalia slow-burn love story garnered the show more buzz than it had received in years. Nevertheless, GUIDING LIGHT went off the air on September 18, 2009, with cast and crew moving on to other projects.

Wheeler and oher GL alums recently got together on a beautiful fall Sunday for a day of taping, talking and pizza. Dubbed "A New Project With Old Friends," it was a chance for much of the old gang to get back together, shoot some scenes and catch up. We Love Soaps recently spoke with Wheeler about this reunion, what she's been doing since GUIDING LIGHT and where it might go in the future.

Read Part 1 of our exclusive interview below.

'Excuse Me For Living' Opens! Photos From The Set

Excuse Me For Living, a new film starring a number of soap alums including Tom Pelphrey and Melissa Archer, opened on Friday in 14 cities and nationwide on VOD, iTunes and other major platforms. Photographer Sue Coflin (Max Photos) visited the set on May 1, 2011, and shared some photos from that day with our readers.

'Excuse Me For Living' Trailer Released - Stars Tom Pelphrey, Melissa Archer, Ewa Da Cruz

Excuse Me For Living, the new film starring Tom Pelphrey (GUIDING LIGHT), Christopher Lloyd, Wayne Knight, Jerry Stiller, Robert Vaughn, Melissa Archer (ONE LIFE TO LIVE), Ewa De Cruz (AS THE WORLD TURNS), James McCaffrey, Tonja Walker (ONE LIFE TO LIVE), David A. Gregory (ONE LIFE TO LIVE), Shenaz Treasury (ONE LIFE TO LIVE), Dick Cavett and Kevin Brown, will hit select theaters on October 12. The trailer for the romantic comedy has been released. Watch it below:

Tom Pelphrey Film To Have October 12 Theatrical Release; Features Several Soap Stars

Indie film distributors Dada Films and Required Viewing have picked up Excuse Me for Living for a theatrical release that will coincide with the publication of the novel that tells the same story.

The movie stars Tom Pelphrey (GUIDING LIGHT), Christopher Lloyd, Wayne Knight, Jerry Stiller, Robert Vaughn, Melissa Archer (ONE LIFE TO LIVE), Ewa De Cruz (AS THE WORLD TURNS), James McCaffrey, Tonja Walker (ONE LIFE TO LIVE), David A. Gregory (ONE LIFE TO LIVE), Shenaz Treasury (ONE LIFE TO LIVE), Dick Cavett and Kevin Brown.

Tom Pelphrey Shines In "End of the Rainbow"

Emmy winner Tom Phelphrey (ex-Jonathan, GUIDING LIGHT) is currently playing Mickey Deans, Judy Garland’s young, untrustworthy fiancé, in the Broadway premiere of "End of the Rainbow." He recently spoke with Broadway.com about the early days of shooting a soap where sets resemble classic stage sets.

“It might sound odd, but filming a soap was closer to acting in a play than filming episodic television,” he says.

50 Greatest Soap Actors: #23 Tom Pelphrey

NAME: Tom Pelphrey
RANK: 23
SOAP ROLES: Mick Dante, AS THE WORLD TURNS (2009-2010); Jonathan Randall, GUIDING LIGHT (2004-2009)

AWARDS:
2008 Daytime Emmy win for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series
2007 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series
2006 Daytime Emmy win for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series
2005 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series
2005 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Male Newcomer

COMMENTS FROM THE PANEL:
Alan Carter: Lightning in a bottle. From his first appearance on GL, you knew you were watching a star. He was the best young actor in a generation and why he doesn't have a prime time show is a mystery to me.

Tom Pelphrey Talks Acting, GL and "My Italy Story"

Two-time Emmy winner Tom Pelphrey made an immediate splash on the daytime landscape when he debuted as Jonathan Randall on GUIDING LIGHT in 2004. Since leaving his full-time soap gig, Pelphrey has guest-starred on primetime shows, moved to Los Angeles and formed his own theater company with friends. He is now back on the east coast, returning to GL this summer, and starring in Joseph Gallo's "My Italy Story" at Mile Square Theatre starting on Wednesday, June 17. He recently spoke with We Love Soaps about his life as an actor, his time on GUIDING LIGHT and the new one-man play.

WE LOVE SOAPS: Tell me a little about your background. You grew up in Howell Township, New Jersey. When did you get the acting bug?
TOM PELPHREY: The first time I remember wanting to act was in middle school. I'm glad I waited because I got to high school and started there. My high school teacher was fantastic and I'm grateful that was my first experience with it. I think if your first experience with something is a negative one, and less than serious, that can get you into some bad habits from the start. I got lucky to have such a great teacher, not just with the acting, but how to be. In high school, if you missed three rehearsals, you weren't in the show. He didn't care who it was and he stood by it. If you weren't rehearsing, he didn't make you, but you got the idea that meant your job was to stay after school anyway to help build the sets. I'm glad that's how I started and that's how I approach things now.

WE LOVE SOAPS: At what point did you decide this was actually going to be your career?
TOM PELPHREY: In high school. By junior year of high school, I knew this was what I wanted to do. And by senior year, I was applying for colleges, which meant going to schools to audition.

WE LOVE SOAPS:  How did your parents feel about your pursuing acting as a career?
TOM PELPHREY: I was a bit surprised, not that they were supportive, but they didn't question it. I asked my dad years later, and he paid my tuition to go to school [at Rutgers], how did he get behind the idea of paying for me to a degree in acting. And he said, 'You knew what you wanted to do since you were 15 years old and you never wavered, and you always took it seriously. I didn't know what I wanted to do until I was closer to 25.' He said it was the fact that I was so serious and knew what I wanted to do from a young age that made him want to support that.