Kristoff St. John

Kristoff: (on his change of style of dress) I've always worn jeans and T-shirts and that's what I'm buying, but for the first time in a long time, I went out and bought myself a pair of $3000 jeans! I've hit a few stores, like Nordstom's and M Fredrick. I've always been so frugal about my clothing because I have kids and they come first. Then there's the bills, the wife and the ex-wife, but I've just spent $100 on a T-shirt, and thought, 'Wow, how can they charge that much?' But it sure looks good!

Kristoff: (on race rarely commented on in daytime drama) Hmmm. You've got to be careful what you say on this topic, and, I guess therein lies my answer. Daytime has always been pretty cautious about stepping over that fine line and offending somebody of colour and has usually taken a backseat to the issue.

Kristoff: (on his children following in his footsteps) Paris used to play the piano and could have done something with that, but she decided she was done with it and there was no changing her mind. Julian's very much into his music and is a pretty talented film maker and videographer. Lola is a little Tasmanian devil. We'll see.

Kristoff: (on his parents' short-lived careers) Unfortunately my dad had a broken career in the '70s. He'd done a politically charged movie and was put on the black black list. There's no list blacker, darker or deepest! It was hard to get a job. Mom was from England and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. She ended up with a nice career in Hollywood for four years and then she gave it up to tend to the house. Looking back, she shouldn't have, because she was very talented.

Kristoff: (on breaking into show business as a young black actor in the '70s) I had the burning ambition from a young age, but it started a little rocky. I'd get a guest spot on Happy Days or Wonder Woman, and then not work for six months and go back to school. The kids at school would say, 'Hey, ain't you Rodney Allen Rippy?' Rippy was another child actor and I remember being asked that a lot, because even though I didn't look like Rodney, I was another black kid.