~~~MY INTERVIEW WITH JEN LILLEY~~~~

                                        MY INTERVIEW WITH JEN LILLEY

                                         (EX-THERESA DONOVAN BLACK)

                                                          PHOTO BY BRAD EVERETT YOUNG

I just watched today's and it was pretty epic. Congrats! 

When you saw the scripts leading to your exit, what do you think? I was so overwhelmed by the exit.  It's EXCELLENT.  I think it's some of the smartest writing I've ever seen.  It's tragic and classic, a true modern day version of Romeo and Juliet.  Some fans have found it to be unbelievable, but if they understood how dangerous certain mafias and cartel leaders are, they would realize it is VERY believable.  I am so grateful Theresa went out like a hero.  She went out fully developed, with a full arch.  It was beautiful and selfless, and I think they tied so many lose ends up in a full and perfect bow.  It's flawless.  

Would you ever do daytime again?

 I would happily return to Days of Our Lives on a recurring basis.  That's my family.  I'd go back recurring tomorrow if they'd have me.

Have to ever been "star struck"? 

 Absolutely.  After I did The Artist, I got to go to Weinstein's Oscar party, and I saw Meryl Streep.  It took me 45 minutes to muster up the courage to say hello to her.  She was incredibly gracious and kind.  I made her cry (happy tears)...but that could have just been a performance.  She's THAT good.  That same night, I saw Tony Bennett perform for the private party.  I started crying. I love him so much.  I called my mom in the car on the way home and told her if I died now, my life would be complete.  She was horrified.  haha, but seriously.  Can you ask for more?

"Its Tinsel Time" again...any plans for another Christmas CD or regular?

 I'm currently selling Tinsel Time again on my website and itunes and all other digital platforms.  I will definitely do another Christmas CD in the future, just not this year.  I'm currently working on a regular album, but I don't want to give any details on that yet.

http://www.imdb.com/name/ nm2373595/
www.jenlilley.com

Twitter: @Jen_Lilley
Facebook.com/JenLilleyFanPage

Women in Film

Congrats on being a foster parent!!! I'm so happy for you. Can you tell us what led to this decision?

That's a LONG story.  And something to do a complete article on.  But in short, I have found the foster care system in the United States to be a road paved with good intentions, but leading to hell.  It's the most broken system in the U.S.  And I figure, none of us can take on the world, but if we do our part, and do what we have the power to change, we do actually change the world.  So Jason and I became foster parents to change a foster kids experience. So many foster homes are horrible, dangerous places.  Ours is happy, safe, and full of love.  We're doing our part to love on abused, neglected, and at risk children.  And our love will have a ripple effect.  (seriously, we can chat more about it, but on phone.  I could never type fast enough).

Any other projects in the works? 

Yes! I've shot 3 movies and 2 TV shows since I left Days in June.  And on Saturday, I fly to Vancouver to shoot another movie.  I'm the lead in a Romantic Comedy :) More details on that later.

The others are 

Mommy, I Didn't Do It premiering on Lifetime Jan 1

Galileo (in post production)

The Wedding Do Over (in post production)

Grey's Anatomy (aired in October)

Encounter (a new original series for Pureflix) that is available on their website.

~MY INTERVIEW WITH BILL TIMONEY~

                                                            MY INTERVIEW WITH BILL TIMONEY

                                                (EX-ALFRED VANDERPOOL, ALL MY CHILDREN)

                                           taken after Bill's performance on Broadway in "All The Way"

Hi Bill! Welcome to The Soap Spiel!

Hi Lisa -

Thanks again for inviting me onto The Soap Spiel. 

You are known for being Alfred on AMC. Tell us what that experience was like?

I had an extraordinarily good time working on AMC. Casting director Joan D'Incecco gave me my Big Break when I was still in college; she auditioned me to be Devon's new boyfriend "Wally" in '78. I didn't get the role, but the show put me to work as a background extra, U-5 player, stand-in (for young "Tad" when he had exams at school) and audition reader. They auditioned me for "Greg," too. In '82, they decided to bring back Tad (the boy had run away), only this time he'd be a savvy street-hustler. I read for the role, got a callback, but the job when to the brilliant Michael E. Knight. AMC's new producer was Jackie Baban; after seeing my Tad callback, she said "why doesn't Greg have a college roommate yet? Let's make him a preppy nerd, and have Bill play him." And we were off to the races.....! I was delighted to receive the opportunity of my first professional role, and I'm grateful to Jackie, Joan, and all the writers and directors with whom I worked. I had So Much Fun!

Tell us what you have been up to since we last saw you on AMC?

Susan Lucci urged me to "go west" and try my hand at LA prime time sitcoms in '86. I made the move, but was not successful. I returned to NYC for some lean years - bartending, graveyard shift paralegal, etc. I then swore that any non-acting jobs I took would be industry-related. I worked as a stunt coordinator for cheesy horror flicks, a stage combat coordinator for university Shakespeare stage productions, stand-up comic, etc. I did a nightclub act with the late great Perry Stephens (Jack Forbes, "Loving"). In the early '90's, I worked my way into a kind of voice-acting called "ADR looping." My voice is in hundreds of movies and TV shows, from HBO's "Sex & The City" to Showtime's "The Affair." I also specialize in dubbing foreign language programming, especially Japanese animation. I've voiced lots of roles on "Pokemon," and I'm best-known in the anime community as Parn, the hero of "Record of Lodoss War," otaku club president Madarame in "Genshiken," and naughty cat Setora in "Queen's Blade." For many of my anime-dub titles, I adapted the scripts, cast the other voice actors, and directed the recording sessions.

Would you ever go back to daytime?

Only a very few actors can afford to turn down a job, so I would go back to Daytime in a heartbeat. AMC brought Alfred back on a cameo basis from '98 (Michael Knight tracked me down in the California desert where I was working on the Bryan Cranston movie LAST CHANCE with news that AMC was looking for me) to 2007. I had a blast each time I returned. I have a strict policy of always saying "yes" to work, regardless of the role, the salary, the location or the schedule. I firmly believe that "works begets work."

We lost so many in the daytime community this past year. Agnes Nixon most recently. What has Agnes meant for your career?

Ms. Nixon once met a friend of mine in a social setting. He identified himself as a pal of mine. Agnes said"you tell Bill that, even though the Erica's and the Opals get all the attention, the show wouldn't work without roles like Alfred and the performances that he delivers." I really appreciated her saying that.

Do you still see or talk to any of your former castmates?

I'm close with Liz Vassey ("Emily Ann Sago"). When Liz joined the show, she was sixteen. She and her Mom took an apartment on 8th avenue. My girlfriend at the time and I would go up to their place with Chinese food and videos of classic movies. I like to think we helped them adjust to the big city. I'm enormously happy for Liz and admire all she's achieved, from her successful acting and writing careers, to her fantastic marriage to David, to her work mentoring under-privileged girls. She is an amazing woman! I stay in touch with Carmen Thomas ("Hillary") via emails and Facebook. She met for lunch in Los Angeles last year - we hadn't seen each other in many years - and she said "there are no lines on your face? How come you don't have any wrinkles?" I answered "probably because I don't have any children."   And I try to see Mr. Wonderful Peter Bergman ("Cliff") whenever I'm in LA; Peter and his wife are friends with our best friends, actor Bryan Cranston and his wife Robin. My wife Georgette and I do projects with the Cranstons whenever we can - the four of us did the Neil Simon play CHAPTER TWO on the Jersey Shore (where we live) some years ago, we worked as voice actors on Bryan's movie TRUMBO, I was a producer on the film Bryan made with Robin LAST CHANCE.... when Bryan booked the play ALL THE WAY, he hired me to help him learn his lines as LBJ. The director then put me in the show; in March 2014, Bryan and I made our Broadway debuts together! He won a Tony, the show won a Tony, and I played a role with Bryan in the HBO film version that aired earlier this year. Some of our adventures are chronicled in Bryan's memoir "A Life In Parts," which hit the stores a few weeks ago. Some people from my AMC saw the show, and they came backstage to meet Bryan. Susan Lucci greeted me warmly, which I appreciated. When Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos came backstage, he introduced himself. I told him that the two of us had played a scene together on AMC in the late '90's - as Pine Valley's banker and Adam's flunky, Alfred had denied an indignant Mark a loan. He didn't remember, and I didn't expect him to (Marcy Walker once said of me, "Bill remembers EVERYTHING!" And it wasn't a compliment!). When Mark started to introduce me to his wife, Kelly pushed him aside and loudly announced "I KNEW BILLY TIMONEY BEFORE I KNEW YOU!!!" I've always dug that woman, and I couldn't be happier about her supremely impressive success as a professional and as a Mom.

What projects are you working on now?

 In the past few years, I've acted on episodes of PERSON OF INTEREST, BLUE BLOODS and MR. ROBOT. I played the recurring role of "Senator Royce" on the first season of the SyFy Channel TV series 12 MONKEYS. When I'm not acting, I'm writing (Nickelodeon hired Bryan and me to write a script for a TV movie some years back, but then other writers changed it so much that our names aren't on it. The finished film is titled JINXED). I did a scene with Bryan in his movie THE INFILTRATOR, but the scene got cut for time. When I'm not acting or writing, I coach other actors. I also do workshops for corporate clients showing their employees how to use improvisation exercises to improve creativity, listening and speaking skills. I get to travel to places I would never see in my acting career ] have a "blink and you'll miss me" bit as a homeless man in the beginning of Bryan's new movie WAKEFIELD....I have a nice scene with Melissa Joan Hart playing her TV news producer "Max" in the Hallmark Channel's TV movie BROADCASTING CHRISTMAS (which begins airing on November 23rd), and I'll be seen in the indie feature film DELENDA (starring Shirley MacLaine's granddaughter)next year. Currently available on downloading sites is the animated feature film THE STAR MAKER, about a little boy who rides his rocket sled into the galaxy to save the stars. I voiced the role of the boy's robot sidekick, and it's one of my all-time favorite jobs. It's a kids' flicks, but there' lots in there for adults to enjoy. I imagined the robot to be a bit like Alfred Vanderpool, which helped me find the character. I hope AMC fans will check out THE STAR MAKER.

What advice would you give to up and coming actors?

 Study. Take class in a very specific acting discipline....then take another one that contradicts that previous approach. Acting is all about your own creative process, not about adhering to any one philosophy. Don't take things personally (easier said than done), and perceive of mistakes and disappointments as healthy learning opportunities. Learn to cook - going out to eat all the time kills a young & hungry actor's budget. And read the Bryan Cranston book "A Life In Parts" - his insight into craft & career and his generous advice is essential! I now coach other actors as a side business, and anyone who wants to engage my services can find me on Facebook. Finally, find something else in your life that fulfills you, something completely separate from your acting pursuits. It grounds you. Georgette and I are passionate about animals; we share our lives with dogs and cats... and we choose to live next to a forest so we can look after the deer, raccoons, opossums and foxes that share our territory. We cured our local alpha female fox of mange last year, and she rewarded us by permitting us to observe her young pups from a fairly close distance. It was glorious!

Thank you so much Bill! It was a pleasure to meet and talk with you!!

 

*SPECIAL FEATURE*

                     

                                              MY INTERVIEW WITH TC WARNER
                                                (ex-Kelsey Jefferson, AMC)

Hi TC! Thanks so so much for joining me again! Welcome!!

I want to start with the passing of Agnes Nixon. Tell us what that meant for you.

Have you ever been "star struck"?

            Actually with Agnes herself I was very star struck... 
            
           she has accomplished so much more than all of the cast combined.

            The creator, driving force and main reason why "All My Children " survived. 

            She created something that will be the continual thread for many years... a family.
            Agnes wrote me  a letter in 1997. I will share the whole letter another time; but this 
            quote will tell you the beauty and determination that is Agnes Nixon:
    
           "I understand and respect deeply your reasons for leaving, not the least of which 
            being the severe ABC budget crunch from which we are all suffering, but I wanted 
            to give you my word that if you should decide to stay, we shall try very hard
            to make you glad you did."
             
            
                    

Would you ever go back to daytime?

I would go back to daytime! In a heart beat!

What actor would you like to work with that you never have?

Jodie Foster

What is your guilty pleasure?

Sleeping.... and more sleeping... then when I can't get enough sleep... coffee!!!

You have recurring roles on NBC's The Night Shift and AMC's Better Call Saul. What are those characters like?

           Interestingly enough they are both nurses! 

           I love getting to put myself physically and emotionally into this type of role.

           It's always exciting and full of self revealing surprises.

           If you have not, join TC's FREE and OFFICIAL fan club here:

            http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/OFFICIALTCVICTORIAWARNERFANCLUB/

           It's been a pleasure TC as always!