Rafe Kovich and Alison Barrington Kovich are a supercouple from the
American soap opera Port Charles. Rafe was played by Brian Gaskill and
Alison was played by Erin Hershey Presley. They were one of the most
popular romantic pairings on the short-lived soap. The couple was not
originally scripted into a romance. Once they were, they were written
as star-crossed true loves with multiple obstacles to overcome. The
couple is often referred by the portmanteau "Rali" (for Rafe and
Alison) on Internet message boards.Erin Hershey Presley was cast as
Alison Barrington in 2000. For the first two years of her run,
Alison's love interest was Jamal Woods. The character was crafted as,
at first, shallow and spoiled. She then softened to be playful and
charming. The breakup with Jamal and the romance with Rafe Kovich
developed her into full adulthood. Rafe was created in 2001 as a
vampire slayer and an angel. Brian Gaskill, who had portrayed an angel
before in the short film Higher Grounds, was cast in the part. Gaskill
told Soap Opera Weekly he was excited to be playing an angel again.
"There's something about having that light," he said in the interview.
"Playing someone who comes from there is very freeing." Rafe was
written as "unconventional," allowing Gaskill to infuse his own
"offbeatness" into the role. On other programs, he was not allowed the
same freedoms to make the acting choices he wanted. "I would make
choices on some shows and they'd say, 'That's really quirky and
interesting, but guess what? Not on this show You've got to be the
good-looking cool guy.'" Gaskill credited the role for helping him in
his personal life as well as with his acting. "It has opened me up as
much as an actor and as a person in ways that I never expected," he
said in an interview with Soap Opera Update. "It's been a little bit
of back and forth between me and Rafe. I'm bringing to Rafe, but Rafe
is giving to me. That's where I'm at. Sort of a coming of age a little
late."Port Charles began dividing its storytelling into thirteen-week
arcs called books. Rafe was introduced in Book Three, "Tainted Love."
"Tainted Love" was supposed to be the only story arc Rafe was featured
in but his stay extended to the next arc, "Tempted", then through
"Miracles Happen". He then became a regular character. The show's
executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers "told me that one of the
reasons I'm still around is because it's been palatable," Gaskill
said. "They weren't sure if an angel on the show would get too corny.
Somehow, I've been able to make it easy for people to take." The
character continued on the series until Port Charles was canceled in
2003.Rafe and Alison were not originally scripted into a romance with
each other. "The greatest thing about their relationship is that it's
just something that sort of happened organically," Gaskill said. He
and Hershey Presley, who were friends off-screen, created an
unintentional on-screen chemistry that did not work with the story
they were acting out. They were occasionally told to tone it down by
not smiling so much. "We really had to fight against it," Gaskill
said. The story was soon changed into a romance between Gaskill and
Hershey Presley's characters. Port Charles' co-head writer Barbara
Estensen compared the actors onscreen connection to magic.
American soap opera Port Charles. Rafe was played by Brian Gaskill and
Alison was played by Erin Hershey Presley. They were one of the most
popular romantic pairings on the short-lived soap. The couple was not
originally scripted into a romance. Once they were, they were written
as star-crossed true loves with multiple obstacles to overcome. The
couple is often referred by the portmanteau "Rali" (for Rafe and
Alison) on Internet message boards.Erin Hershey Presley was cast as
Alison Barrington in 2000. For the first two years of her run,
Alison's love interest was Jamal Woods. The character was crafted as,
at first, shallow and spoiled. She then softened to be playful and
charming. The breakup with Jamal and the romance with Rafe Kovich
developed her into full adulthood. Rafe was created in 2001 as a
vampire slayer and an angel. Brian Gaskill, who had portrayed an angel
before in the short film Higher Grounds, was cast in the part. Gaskill
told Soap Opera Weekly he was excited to be playing an angel again.
"There's something about having that light," he said in the interview.
"Playing someone who comes from there is very freeing." Rafe was
written as "unconventional," allowing Gaskill to infuse his own
"offbeatness" into the role. On other programs, he was not allowed the
same freedoms to make the acting choices he wanted. "I would make
choices on some shows and they'd say, 'That's really quirky and
interesting, but guess what? Not on this show You've got to be the
good-looking cool guy.'" Gaskill credited the role for helping him in
his personal life as well as with his acting. "It has opened me up as
much as an actor and as a person in ways that I never expected," he
said in an interview with Soap Opera Update. "It's been a little bit
of back and forth between me and Rafe. I'm bringing to Rafe, but Rafe
is giving to me. That's where I'm at. Sort of a coming of age a little
late."Port Charles began dividing its storytelling into thirteen-week
arcs called books. Rafe was introduced in Book Three, "Tainted Love."
"Tainted Love" was supposed to be the only story arc Rafe was featured
in but his stay extended to the next arc, "Tempted", then through
"Miracles Happen". He then became a regular character. The show's
executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers "told me that one of the
reasons I'm still around is because it's been palatable," Gaskill
said. "They weren't sure if an angel on the show would get too corny.
Somehow, I've been able to make it easy for people to take." The
character continued on the series until Port Charles was canceled in
2003.Rafe and Alison were not originally scripted into a romance with
each other. "The greatest thing about their relationship is that it's
just something that sort of happened organically," Gaskill said. He
and Hershey Presley, who were friends off-screen, created an
unintentional on-screen chemistry that did not work with the story
they were acting out. They were occasionally told to tone it down by
not smiling so much. "We really had to fight against it," Gaskill
said. The story was soon changed into a romance between Gaskill and
Hershey Presley's characters. Port Charles' co-head writer Barbara
Estensen compared the actors onscreen connection to magic.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.
Related Post
