vanessa marcil - Soaps In Depth - 09.16.2003
New opportunities and a favorite old role
allow Vanessa Marcil to put her career in overdrive
What a year 2003 has been for GENERAL
HOSPITAL alumna Vanessa Marcil. Not only did her short-term return
as Jax and Sonny's (and our!) true love, Brenda Barrett, result in
her first Daytime Emmy victory, but Kassius' devoted mother also
has begun work on a line of children's clothing and landed a lead
on NBC's hotly-anticipated fall series, LAS VEGAS, with fellow
Emmy winner Josh Duhamel (ex-Leo, ALL MY CHILDREN)
Here, the actress
gives Soaps In Depth an exclusive look at where she's been and a
sneak peek at where she's heading! - Rosemary A. Rossi
And The Winner Is...
Soaps In Depth: You looked shocked
when they called your name at the Emmys.
Vanessa: I'm still shocked, because I
can't believe that it's true. I always thought that being
nominated was the high point and who the award goes to doesn't
matter. But [getting the statuette] meant more to me than I
realized. I gave a big piece of my heart and of my childhood to GH.
I felt like it was a beautiful, full circle moment for me to win.
In Depth: Maurice Benard (Sonny)
wasn't sure he was going to win... but he was sure about you.
Vanessa: That's what he told me. I
told him he was crazy. (Laughs.) When I came back on the show for
those six months, he went on and on about how proud he was of me.
He said, "If you're going to come back, you want to come in and
take no prisoners." Maurice has always been kind of a father
figure to me. I look up to him and admire him. To see that he felt
so proud of me meant a lot to me. We worked so hard together for
so long. For us to finally win after almost 10 years -and to win
it together- it was a very special moment.
In Depth:
Let's talk about LAS VEGAS. What appeals to you most about it?
Vanessa: It's simple and smart. My
character is the girl who's hard to figure out. One second, she
seems like the sweetest girl you've ever met, and a second later,
you're not sure if she just ripped you off. She does her best to
stay focused on becoming as successful as possible, to steer clear
of love or anything that would make her too vulnerable. My job is
to bring the human side to her that people are going to be able to
relate to. I couldn't be happier. I have to pinch myself.
In Depth: Do you feel as if you’ve
made that transition to mainstream entertainment now?
Marcil: Somewhat. Not completely. I
definitely consider daytime my home. I’m just going to stay in the
moment. My life is so full and happy now, just because I’ve grown
into someone who likes myself and doesn’t worry so much about what
other people are thinking about me; someone who does what I really
want to do. I’ve simplified my life in a lot of ways. The last
decade of my life was about wanting to work hard and prove something
to myself and to the world, and set a foundation for my career. This
decade, I want it to be about having fun and spending time with
Kassius and the people that I love and doing things that really
excite me. The point is, LAS VEGAS is really fun! The producers want
it to run for ten years. If that were to happen, that would be a
huge blessing. If it didn’t happen, I would know that my interests
were supposed to be focused on other things that my heart is in to.
The Good-Bye Girl
In Depth: How did you feel about your GH
exit. The way it came down, there wound up being bad blood between
Brenda and Jax.
Vanessa: Oh yeah. As Vanessa, I was
disappointed with the way they were having Jax act toward Brenda in
the end. But I also believe in their love affair. I can watch it and
get so involved that I forget that's me playing her. The writers
have better long‑thought‑out plans, so it was probably a smart thing
that they did. It's always amazing to play hating someone who has
hurt you who you’re really madly in love with. But I worried for
Ingo that it was going to affect his character after I was gone.
In Depth: Is there something that didn't
play out that you would have liked to?
Vanessa: I think everyone feels the same
way, that they wished they could have seen a little more of the
Brenda/Sonny love story. They cut stuff about me saying to Jason
that I finally understood why Sonny left me by watching how much
Jason was in pain when he was trying to leave Courtney. She finally
put it to rest and realized that Sonny left her because he loved
her. It was a beautiful moment, and it was a scene that I was really
proud of. When the scene was over, we hugged. It was a profound
moment for us.
In Depth: With LAS VEGAS being on a
rival network, will you be able to go back to GH on hiatus if you
have time?
Vanessa: I have no idea how they would
feel about me doing that. But I do know that it's always a
possibility. As an actress, you're lucky to get a perfect character
to play, where you just click with them. I can tell you what Brenda
would do in any situation. I can tell you what she would eat for
breakfast on Sunday compared to Wednesday. She's inside of me, in my
blood. So I would always go back to GH. I truly have a love affair
with Brenda.
Viva Las Vegas!