Nelson Branco's SOAP OPERA UNCENSORED: Issue 51 Page 3
Would you like to see Nina’s darker side re-emerge in a realistic manner? Nina recently slapped Phyllis and fans went crazy!
Sure! I would embrace another facet of her personality. I trust Y&R to do what is best for the show when it comes to Nina. And I’d be happy to do it. I don’t have expectations as much for Nina as I do hope. If I were writing the story, I would bring Nina’s darker side back for a bit so she can continue her journey.
I’d like to explore pockets of Nina’s past in L.A. and even her murky childhood days. I don’t think Maria Arena Bell scratched the surface.
Nina has enough depth and experience that you can really do anything with her. She’s street-wise but she’s a great mother.
It’s ironic that in the motherhood department Nina has become a lot like Jill — way too protective of her sons’ lives. I’d like to see those beats explored more especially now that Jess Walton is Y&R-bound.
Absolutely.
Was it frustrating dealing with Maria’s fragmented storytelling style?
I guess so. I was happier when there was a definite storyline playing out like when Ronan came on the show. It’s harder to come in for two months and remind people about the character, the story and relationships. It’s always more fun to apply yourself. You never see the end of an arc, but when there is an arc, you know there is an end — even if you don’t know what it is. Maria’s kind of storytelling is really great for a commuting schedule but, as a performer, I prefer to work more consistently.
When you unleash, you unleash! Where does that come from? Do you have a switch you turn on and off? When Nina saw both her sons in an epic gun battle— an episode you were nominated for two years ago as Outstanding Supporting Actress — you were riveting to watch.
Thank you. It was nice to be nominated considering I had just returned to the show, was on recurring and the story lasted only four weeks!
You should have won, in my opinion.
It’s OK. As for my performance, it’s kind of a slow build. It’s never at the forefront of my brain but it’s definitely somewhere inside me working itself. My husband can tell you that my mood definitely changes when I have to act out something like that and after I film something like that. It’s a bit of an automatic thing but I’m constantly preparing. As soon as I have the idea, feeling, or scene in my mind of what needs to happen there, I put the scripts away and forget about it and work on creating that emotion. The day of a show like that, I’m probably not the most social person on set. I stay to myself a little more. I have seen myself respond with one-word answers and I do not engage. I’m quietly preparing. I don’t rehearse… I don’t like to act out a scene more than once. I will in my head until it’s time to roll.
Do you visualize the scene in your head or do you just focus on the emotional core of a scene?
I sort of just do it. I don’t see the scene but I feel it.
Why do you think you are so talented? Where does the gift come from?
I have empathy. I feel things deeply and it helps me in my work. I also can go very high and very low very quickly. That might mean I’m bipolar! [Laughs] But it’s a useful tool for me to use. I feel lucky to have the desire to be an actor and then the opportunity to be tuned into a feeling.
You were a child actor, did you know right away you wanted to be in show business?
I remember the moment. I was in first grade summer school. We were a huge family of seven kids. We stayed in town while my friends would go on vacation so I signed up for summer school. There, I did a play, YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN where I played Peppermint Patty. I instantly knew I was having fun. Oddly enough, because you could never get me to do this today, there was a moment when I was singing when I heard a friend say, “Wow, she’s good.” I thought, “There’s something I’m good at it!” Because I was sixth out of seven kids, attention was sparse. I was thrilled I was able to find something I was good at — and I was hooked. My father started doing Summer Stock for an entirely different reason — he was an aerospace engineer who had to sell his ideas to large groups of people but he had stage fright so someone suggested he go to acting class — so our stages got bigger and bigger. I didn’t want to act to be rich or famous but because it was satisfying as a creative person.
Did you ever see yourself on a soap?
Nope. I didn’t want to do it.
Weren’t you on SANTA BARBARA for two seconds before Y&R?
Yes. With Jill Farren Phelps, in fact.
Oh, that’s interesting.
I didn’t see myself on a soap opera. I felt that playing one character for so long wouldn’t be interesting. And then, here comes Bill Bell! Everything was thrown out the window!
While you’re stunning in your own right, you weren’t the typical soap beauty Bell liked to hire, which I think made Nina all the more fascinating. Did you know you were going to get the part?
No, not really. I like auditioning. When I audition for something — anything, it doesn’t matter what it is — I always want to do well. I never consider my auditions an audition — I always consider them performances. I didn’t audition for Y&R to land a job on a soap opera but to perform and make an impression. I remember the audition and wanting to do well but I was relaxed about nabbing the job. It was OK if I didn’t get it. I think my relaxed performance probably helped me get the role because I wasn’t desperate for the job. And like you say, I wasn’t cookie-cutter soap. I think Bill was looking for a street urchin; a misfit and I fit that. I know Nina was only intended for a limited run during the summer because kids were out of school. When my story was up, I left. I even got a letter stating my services were no longer needed from Tom Langan, so I said all my goodbyes even though some in the cast told me, “Nah, you’ll be back.”
What was your relationship with Bill like?
He was like a little imp. He was so playful and fun. I never spoke character or storyline with him. Lauralee [Bell] and I became friends so that’s how I got to know Bill better because I was at their house a lot. After the audition, I never had a conversation with Bill about Nina — nor did I ever question what he was doing. I knew him as Lauralee’s dad. He was a creature of fun! He loved a silly or practical joke.
He really exercised your acting muscles. You must still feel honoured to have been able to have worked with one of our master class writers.
I was — and I am. I’m more aware of that now than I was before. I mean, I knew Bill was brilliant but I had no idea how uniquely brilliant he was. I knew he did what he did very well but I had no clue at the time he was only one of two people who could do it that well.
What would he think of Y&R today?
I don’t know. He was omnipresent and a little bit of a control freak so he’d probably be crazy about it. He’d be crazy because he wasn’t writing the show. He’d be mystified and angered more about the fact he wasn’t doing Y&R than the story direction of the show today. The show still has great moments. I was watching Y&R the other day [during Maria Arena Bell’s run] and there were some great brilliant moments on Y&R. We still have intelligent humour, funny jokes and some beautiful frivolity on the show.
I think that’s because Y&R employs excellent dialogue writers, which can save some bad long-term writing. Were you surprised at the changes behind-the-scenes at Y&R?
I was mystified because Maria was a Bell. I was surprised they moved away from the family [running the show]. But I also think they made choices for her replacement for the future of the show. I wasn’t around for Josh Griffith’s era but people I know and trust tell me it was really good — so I like that. Jill is first in the genre so I have high hopes. I feel like I’m in capable hands.
Josh wrote my favourite daytime era on ONE LIFE. Have you seen Jill yet?
Yeah. She’s been very sweet to me. We had a nice conversation on set one day. On her first day on set we both said hello. She recognized me from our days on SANTA BARBARA. I was also preoccupied that day because I was taping scenes but the other day she came down on set and she was very warm and lovely. She said great things about the show and how pleased she was to be working on Y&R.
What’s the mood on the set today? There have been a few firings and recasts.
People are optimistic, definitely. It’s feeling better than it has in a long time. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with who’s in charge. I think it’s more because we haven’t known how long we were going to last due to the current climate of daytime, so the fact that our parent company saw fit to take a look at our situation and make changes said to us that they are interested in keeping us going. At least we’re trying.
CBS Daytime VP Angelica McDaniel also really cares about the genre.
I like her a lot. She’s a cool woman.
Were you a fan of soaps before?
No, I wasn’t. First of all, I wasn’t allowed to watch soaps so I didn’t know anything about them. But in junior high school, I remember all my friends talking about Luke and Laura [from GENERAL