What
did the casting director (Judy Wilson) tell you about the character of Laura?
Please do not reprint or post materials from this page without consent!
(1/21/2011) - Kathy
The PVB recently went one on one with Laura Allen. Laura played the role of Laura Kirk English from 2000-2002. She went on to movies and exciting TV roles including one of my faves, Julia Mallory on the FX drama, Dirt.
How did you find out about the role of Laura Kirk/English?
I auditioned for a contract role on Guiding Light weeks before auditioning for AMC, and I think Judy Blye Wilson (casting director of AMC) caught wind of my work when I wasn’t cast as GL’s “Michelle" [a role formerly held by Rebecca Budig]. I read for “Laura,” and promptly went on a roadtrip with my sisters! I was somewhere in northern Montana when I got the call.
What
did the casting director (Judy Wilson) tell you about the character of Laura?
She sat me down in her office and had me watch a monitor... a live feed of a scene between Leo and Greenlee (Josh Duhamel and Rebecca Budig). She told me then that Laura Kirk/English was a character who would disrupt the romance between these two. I watched as they were in the hot tub drinking champagne or something and already I thought, “uh oh, this is going to be ugly…”
What do you remember from your first day on the set?
Of all people to show me around on my first day, I was introduced to a very pregnant Kelly Ripa. She hadn’t yet joined Regis on her morning show, and she took me up to the stages to watch the actors, took me into the hair and makeup room, etc. She was delightful. I couldn’t get over how TINY all the women on the show were, even the pregnant ones... Beautiful and glamorous and funny!
Who on the set did you relay on the most in your early days?
Eden
Riegel (ex-Bianca) had joined the cast about 4 months before
me, and I gravitated to her instantly. The writers were soon drafting scenes
between Laura and Bianca so I was happy to have a new friend and get to work
with her too.
Laura came on as runaway who was abused at one of Brooke English's (Julia Barr) shelters. What did you think about this storyline?
I hadn’t followed early AMC days or the actress who played Laura [Lauren Roman] before me, although I had seen her photo. I loved the idea of being a runaway, someone who takes risks and has a sense of adventure but is broken too. Knowing that Julia Barr had a deep connection with this character and how Laura Kirk/English harkened back to her own biological daughter “Laura” gave me an immediate sense of history of the show….. I stepped into a world that had already been richly drawn.
Who were your closest friends on the set?
Easily Eden Riegel was an early favorite for me. But you wouldn’t believe who I am still close to: Eden, Kelly Overton (ex-Rain), Alana de la Garza (ex-Rosa Santos), and Catrina Ganey (ex-Nurse Zora). These are some of my best girl friends to this day. I talk about AMC like it was some sort of sorority and these are the sisters I hold so dear after all these years.
You
worked very closely with Josh Duhamel, Rebecca
Budig and Eden Riegel. How were they
to work with and do you have any funny stories to share?
Josh and Rebecca were awe-inspiring to watch. Not just in their chemistry with one another but in their professionalism. I couldn’t get enough of simply watching and learning. Rebecca: always in lingerie, and Josh: always in a Matrix-style leather jacket or pants. They were sex on screen. This was my first professional job and they made it look so easy. Fans loved Leo and Greenlee. I was hired to break up a ‘super-couple’ and I knew I was in for treacherous waters.
You spent a lot of time onscreen with Julia Barr (ex-Brooke). What about your personalities gave you so much on air charisma?
Somehow I could look at Julia Barr and see myself in her a few years from now. Relating to her like that made it easy to feel like I really was her daughter. Julia was such a seasoned pro, and it was unspoken, but I looked to her as a mentor, mother, friend. She could feel things so deeply and genuinely. She sat next to me in a hospital bed in many scenes and I could sense her whole heart bubbling up under her tears. I also knew she had a daughter off to college soon (in real life) and I think she allowed those raw emotions to play between Brooke and Laura. I was so happy for her for her Emmy nomination that year.
What was the public reception to your character?
Hmmm. You may be able to answer that one! I think it was a tricky role to play, to be honest. Laura started out a high school bad girl who came home to Pine Valley from China with an interest in photography….(?) Next she was popping ecstasy pills and sick in bed with a heart condition and accidentally married to a man who didn’t love her. Laura wasn’t a very sympathetic character. And then she went crazy on her meds. Fans had a hard time following the ride, I think. I have a few fans who –bless their hearts -- follow me still, but for the most part I think Laura was misunderstood and mismatched by the time she ended up in the insane asylum…!
Speaking of the insane asylum, was it difficult to play someone who has gone a bit nutty?
Actually, by then I tried to embrace it. I felt like such a misfit by then, anyway, that I just tried to crack myself up, or find creative stuff to play.
Who did you not have a chance to work with on AMC that you wished you had had a chance to?
I had a few brief scenes with Susan Lucci (Erica), but I would have loved to have an ongoing storyline with her. I think she holds herself so regally, as a woman and an actress. I was fascinated by her.
What
was the hardest day onset (maybe an emotional scene, a long wedding shoot, etc.)?
I had a brutal day while shooting the wedding ceremony to Leo (before Greenlee set off the sprinklers). I had to say Laura’s vows: a long, long formal speech about “you are my anchor, etc” stuff. I stood up in my dress in front of a large congregation of actors and extras, and looking at Leo, I just couldn’t get it out. I went blank. Many times. Sort of like stage fright. Or perhaps a real, personal fright of saying vows (!!) It was mortifying.
Your exit storyline was fairly abrupt. What prompted your decision to leave All My Children?
Well, many things I think. My exit happened shortly after 9/11 had struck New York City. Changes were happening at AMC. New writers came on board and with that four of us left at about the same time.
Did you ever attend the Emmy Awards? What was the tone of the ensemble at these awards?
I did go to the Emmys at Rockefeller Center in 2000. I loved it. Michael Knight (Tad) won that night. I was still new on the show and it all felt so fancy.
When did you begin to feel like you fit in with the ensemble?
I think I started to really enjoy being part of it all and relax into my character with my first Crystal Ball. Such a large glamorous set with so many characters working at once! I got to watch and learn all the storylines as we went.
What
else can you remember from your time on the show?
It was intense, being in New York and due to report to the AMC stages the morning of 9/11. I hadn’t talked to anyone yet that day and my first call was to the hair and make-up room. Rumors were going around about remaining planes in the air, etc., but I hadn’t a grasp on what was really going on. Maybe none of us did. We were all just glued to CNN. The show was still shooting until late in the morning. Finally, sometime before noon the producers sent people home. Returning to work a couple days later was surreal. And yet I had never felt such community with the cast and crew of AMC until then, and a new sense of purpose. Strange to say, but I felt it was a service I could do post 9/11: like ‘let’s help the viewers of AMC get back to these stories, and their sense of “normal.”’
You were also on one of my faves, Dirt, for FX and your character Julia Mallory certainly went through the ringer. Did it feel like being back on daytime! What can you tell us about your time on Dirt?
Yes, I was reminded of AMC while shooting “Dirt”! Mostly for the wild ride that took me and the audience by surprise. “Julia Mallory” started out a sitcom starlette (a la Jennifer Anniston) and ended up experimenting with hard drugs and ruining her career. By the season finale of Season 1, Julia launched her own online sex tape in attempts to revitalize her Hollywood cache. It was delicious to play, but took a dark turn quickly. Nonetheless I learned a great deal on that show, like I did on All My Children. I feel incredibly grateful for these characters.
Thanks so much to Laura Allen, to Melanie and to Cathy! Photo credit Troy Jensen.
Back to: