I’ve been showering the Kyle/Fish storyline on One Life to Live with a lot of praise these past weeks, but in all of that joyous bouncing, I think I’ve overlooked the story’s unsung hero: Cristian. David Fumero has played this role on OLTL off and on since 1998 but not much attention  is paid to his perpetually unlucky in love character (except to note how good-looking he is, which is an absolutely valid topic). I feel like this storyline is finally highlighting more than his brooding good looks and that angsty intensity that both Cris and his brother Antonio were famous for. I mean, I never knew Cris could be this funny. And Fumero’s facial expressions and line readings throughout this arc have been priceless.

Here are yesterday’s scenes; just skip to the 3:35 or so mark if you want to catch the hilarious Twix commercial “need a minute?” moment when Layla concludes that Oliver is gay. 

I also loved last week, when Cris and Layla walked in on Stacy mauling Oliver. While Layla quickly accepted Fish’s lies, Cris was in the background having the best reaction. (around the 6:50 mark)

Cristian also has the distinction of quite possibly flashing back on the infamous Kish kiss more times than Kyle and Oliver themselves —not to mention constantly walking in on awkward situations. They call him “Captain Cockblocker” in the Television Without Pity OLTL discussion thread, and I snicker every time I read it. Can’t you just picture him with the cape and tights? And I think it’s great. Cris is the perfect straight man (no pun intended) for this storyline, to play those kinds of scenes. He’s a genuinely good guy looking out for his friends; he’s liberal and pretty easygoing. And Fumero is obviously having a good time with the character’s direction. He, Tika Sumpter and, of course, Scott Evans and Brett Claywell are pretty much the embodiment of a great foursome: unique, distinct characters and actors who really work well together.

So, I salute you, Captain C!