Read Nelson Branco's SOAP OPERA UNCENSORED: Issue 51 Page 4
HOSPITAL] and, while I still wasn’t allowed to watch soaps and didn’t because I was a good girl, I saw an episode at my friend’s house. It was something about an Ice Princess… and I just rolled my eyes and thought this was the worst thing I had ever seen! [Laughs] It was so far-fetched and ridiculous that I couldn’t believe the country was so involved and invested in this show. My mom would watch DAYS OF OUR LIVES but I only heard the intro, which was my cue to go outside. It was a weird situation.
This is a perfect example that depriving your kids of stuff will backfire! Look at you now! Were your parents happy you became a soap star?
I think so. I don’t know. They’re always proud of me. I don’t know what their expectations were of me but they are happy for me. I have one sister who doesn’t think soaps are a good way to earn a living. She thinks they are depraved! [Laughs]
Sometimes they are! At least you ended up on the smart man’s soap. Do you keep all your DIGEST covers?
My mom might but that kind of thing isn’t my focus. I don’t collect stuff. I hope someone is but I’m not.
Favourite Tricia Cast performance ever?
Hmmm… the whole stuff when Chance was “killed” and Nina speaking to Ronan afterwards when she realized he was her son. I also loved, and I always go back to this, the storyline when Nina was so in love with Phillip. Nina was too rough around the edges for him so Danny and Christine decided to refine her. There was a scene, and it’s very comedic, and I love playing comedy, where I was dressed in this awful gold lamé dress with matching gold lamé gloves that went up my arms. Nina was eating lobster… and the [directors] said, “You can’t eat the lobster with your lame gloves on,” and I said, “No, I’m leaving these gloves on while I’m eating the lobster so don’t even think about it!” So I loved doing it and I laughed watching it.
Did you like Phillip’s return from the dead and the character’s coming-out storyline?
Yes, I did. And I was very proud and happy of the show for telling that story. I thought it was a little bit of a convoluted storyline and I was constantly confused but I loved that they brought Thom Bierdz back and made Phillip gay.
Did Nina suspect Phillip was gay back in the day?
I didn’t play it like that.
We can blame Nina for turning Phillip gay!
[Laughs] I don’t think of it that way. They were so young when they got married and then he died so she couldn’t have possibly put that together. I didn’t play it that way — and I didn’t need to. It was heavy story enough that he was in fact gay and that he was living a lie.
You must be proud of Thom, who eventually came out in real life and survived all that personal drama and tragedy in his life.
He’s a special person. He’s endured a lot. He’s a sweet guy. He’s in a happy place…
... being a Mountain Man. BTW: I think Cricket is who made Phillip gay! [Laughs]
Does it feel like you’re in a time portal when you act opposite Michael Damian, Lauralee Bell, Thom and Doug Davidson? Do you see each other as adults or still as kids?
Kids! I swear we have not changed one bit. And the characters are still exactly the same as they were, too. We still have the same dynamic. We still joke with one another… we all understand how the other person works. It’s always been very easy to work with this group — there were no jealousies or drama — but now it’s better than homecoming because I’ve had more problems with my real family than these great group of friends. It’s extraordinarily unique. We all left around the same era and now we’re back during another era.
John Driscoll just enrolled in the Army. Are you worried about him?
Yeah. I’m proud, too. He’s always been that way: he comes from a military family. But I’m always worried when someone picks up a gun. I don’t even want to think about it but I’m quietly sending good thoughts. I hope one day there will be no reason for war. It’s hard to entertain the idea that he is not safe. He’s a bright and dedicated man… and I bow down to anyone who takes on that responsibility. I’m in awe of him. I pray for his safety.
What’s it like having Driscoll and Jeff Branson play your towering handsome children?
My mom is shorter than me and I’ve had brothers as tall as these guys. It’s kind of easy for me because I’ve seen that dynamic in parents and children so it’s not awkward for me. And Jeff actually looks like my brother. But I think we did work out that Nina had to be eleven to have had Ronan! I don’t care. I suppose if I were more vain I’d be more upset but I’m not.
What the heck is happening with Paul and Nina? Are they still together?
Yes, they are. I kind of like it because Paul and Nina are normal and not overly dramatic. There was one moment when Paul was missing Christine, which pissed off Nina, but besides that, they are normal — and more normal than Michael and Lauren who have a long marriage. Paul and Nina are less exciting — and I like that. There are no shenanigans… it’s kind of like a real relationship. Would I love to play more? Yes. But I’m not dissatisfied with the relationship right now.
You must be psyched that Jess Walton is headed back?
Yes, I am! I just talked to her the other day. She’s in Oregon now so she called me to pick my brain about the commute.
Finally, what’s it like working with that diva, George Guzman? Is he as intolerable as he sounds?
Oh God! My eyes are rolling now! [Laughs] No, George is a good guy. He has a way with my hair that no one has had ever before. It’s uncanny and I don’t know how he does it. I don’t allow anyone else to do my hair. He knows exactly what he’s doing. Also, he is super sensitive to the actors. You can sit in his chair and he asks what we are doing emotionally that day and helps us relax or prepare.
And your hubby has a new CD. I got it in the mail, thank you!
He’s very talented. I’m so proud of him. Our relationship has been wonderful.
It’s a beautiful love story how you guys found each other again!
We’ve been up in the woods and it’s like we’re kids living alone in the wilderness. It feels like we’re getting away with something. He’s a singer-songwriter. Very original. He’s very honest. I don’t think he’s written a song that didn’t come from his experience. I go to New York for his gigs. He has a huge following in Toronto. He’s going to do a little tour of Western Canada — Saskatchewan and Alberta — so I live two lives: a roadie and an actress.
I want to come back in my next life as Tricia Cast!
I do, too! There’s nothing wrong with this incarnation!
Sneak Peek
KATHERINE THE GREAT
Inside B&B’s New Book — BECOMING BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL
For the past 25 years, award-winning soap opera B&B has captured the imagination of more than 35 million people in more than 100 countries. To celebrate this historic milestone, the CBS/CTV soap opera is traveling back in time by releasing an anniversary photo book, BECOMING BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL (Source Books; November 2012), co-authored and produced by B&B’s international publicist David Gregg and his partner Adrian Aviles, chronicling its sudsiest moments with a series of 200 photographs of the cast and crew by some of Hollywood's best photographers. UNCENSORED spoke with the soap’s eternal leading lady Katherine Kelly Lang —who personifies the show’s title — to find how she juggles stardom with raising a family and stays forever young at age of 51.
What’s it like having the past 25 years immortalized in this book?
It’s kind of strange but fun at the same time. I like scrapbooking old photos and remembering the past so it’s fabulous. The pictures captured B&B in a different way that our other books haven’t so it’s a nice addition to our library. It’s younger and hipper.
B&B is at crossroads with two of the core four actors leaving: your longtime co-stars Susan Flannery and Ronn Moss. How do you feel?
It’s hard to see them go. Everything happened so fast with them deciding to leave at the same time. They are a part of my family. I feel a little bit empty and
lost. I feel like I’m working on a different show in a sense. The history isn’t there even though we still have a lot of our veterans on the show. But it’s not like I will ever see them again because I will in my personal life.
How do you stay in great shape after all these years? You were on THE TALK without any make-up recently and you looked younger than ever.
You have to stay healthy and happy. You are what you eat. I make a lot of smoothies with green, leafy vegetables. Drink a lot of water and sleep. I exercise a lot outdoors. But having a positive outlook in life is really important because I believe beauty comes from within.
You’re always outdoors. Why do you think you’re so connected with nature?
I could have been a wild animal in my past life. I relate to the American Indian because they took care of the earth and what they took from the earth they gave back to it. Ever since I was young, I was fascinated by nature. I loved feeling grounded by putting my bare feet in the earth, which is why I can’t live in a big city for long. I love hiking, surfing, and swimming at the beach. I also can think straighter when I’m surrounded by God’s creations.
Like your character, Brooke Logan, you’re a fashion designer. You’ve just released your original line of Kelly Kaftans (available at