Post by soraya on Apr 16, 2006 23:51:49 GMT
I found this interview...I think that's from 2003 few weeks before Emmy's.....
Susan Flannery Stephanie Forrester, The Bold and the Beautiful
Nobody does bitch better than Susan Flannery. As The Bold and the Beautiful's Stephanie Forrester, she has turned haughty, high-class haranguing into high art, whether she's choking her nemesis Brooke, chiding her fair-haired son Thorne or championing her heavily favored other son Ridge. In real life, though, Flannery's a fun-loving and frank breath of fresh air who has seen it all and done even more. A licensed pilot, avid sailor and a Golden Globe winner (for The Towering Inferno), she broke our hearts as Days of Our Lives's fragile Laura Horton, for which she won her first Emmy, and now chills our blood as daytime's mother hen from Hell. In a rare interview, the Grande dame and Emmy nominee for outstanding lead actress — her fourth year running, thank you very much — lets loose an infectious laugh and unexpected soft side to dish everything from paternity plots to keeping up with her competition. — Damian Holbrook
You don't give a lot of interviews, do you?
No, I don't. But I'm fond of TV Guide.
And we love you. Ever since that first Forrester pool party!
Ha! Somebody actually wrote in TV Guide that you know you've been bad if you get left at the pool with Stephanie. That was one of the very first critiques of the show!
Back then, the hair was so big.
(Laughing) Let me tell you, we do a cast photo every year, and they line the hall [at the CBS studios]. You can actually see the hair getting smaller and smaller and the shoulder pads getting less and less.
You've been with the show since its 1987 debut; what keeps you coming back after 16 years?
Ronn Moss (Ridge), John McCook (Eric), Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke) and myself, the four of us, have all been here since the start. And you know, I've been thinking about that. I said to Katherine the other day that I worry so much about getting repetitive in the performances. But I try to find new waves, while staying in the framework of the character, without repeating "Take 100" or "Emotion 215." And it's hard.
By now, it must be like home.
It is. The four of us get along so well and there is so much history. The less you do, the more the audience fills in for you. I'm a great believer in that.
As part of that history, Brooke and Stephanie go back and forth between being sworn enemies to unexpected sidekicks. You even went into therapy together! Maybe the whole bunch of you should have gone!
(Laughing) That's what I said — get this dysfunctional family in there!
But behind the scenes, you are obviously a happy family. Jennifer Finnigan (Bridget) and Adrienne Frantz (Amber) both rave about your mentoring skills.
I try. From the very beginning on the show, I've kept my eye on all of the kids. The truth is, when we started, Katherine and Ronn had done very, very little. But over the next couple of years, as they became more confident, I sort of stepped back and allowed them to blossom. Especially Katherine. All of my favorite scenes, for drama and conflict, have involved Katherine Kelly Lang.
Like the episode where you throttled her at Big Bear?
When I did the scenes at the cabin, which I won the Emmy for that year, they originally had been written that Stephanie was drunk. And I called Brad (Bell, B&B's executive producer and head writer) and said I didn't want to do alcohol. It's not necessary. There is so much history; Stephanie was so completely enraged at this woman for sleeping with [Thorne], her other son, that she'd probably hit her with a car! With that high emotion, she didn't need to be drunk.
And what about playing opposite Darlene Conley (Sally)?
Ohhh, what a sweetheart. She is a hoot!
Though you two haven't tangled in a while.
Yeah. I think they've focused on introducing this whole new family, to lock them in.
And how are the Paynes fitting in?
You mean Jack Wagner (Nick) and Lesley-Anne Down (Jackie)? I haven't had scenes with them yet, but I am directing them next week for the first time, and I'm looking forward to that. I think Lesley is just a wonderful, intelligent actress. She's excellent.
Steph and Jackie, they're probably not going to play well with one another, are they?
I'm hoping they're not. I mean, it would be kind of silly if they did!
On genetics alone, could they be spinning this whole paternity plot? Jack's got your coloring, Ronn could obviously be Lesley-Anne Down's son...
I know, Jack does have all that blonde hair.
So where the hell did Ridge come from?
I don't know (laughing), obviously! That is so funny. But what a brilliant stroke. It was entirely Bradley Bell's concept. When I heard that they were going to [make Ridge Massimo's son], I literally said "Oh my God, this is just brilliant!" Because it is something you would never in your wildest imagination even think of.
And this thing with Ridge and Bridget?
Jennifer has been so nervous about it, and driving Ronn Moss crazy. Not in a bad way, but Ronn, you give him something and he plays it. Jennifer comes at things from a totally different angle. She's another intelligent actress. Absolutely.
What scenes did you submit for the Emmys?
I usually let the kids upstairs in the office pull the scenes and pick them out. They'll say, "This is what we think," and I'll look at them and say "Okay." So, that's what they did [and they picked] the scenes in the hospital with Adrienne Frantz, and where Stephanie discovers that Deacon is the father [of Brooke's baby].
Were you surprised by Katherine's Emmy snub?
I'm puzzled, to tell you the truth. Especially these past four or five years. I think she has really sort of reached her peak, and come into her own. And I honestly am kind of surprised and befuddled by it. I don't think they realize how she has taken such a plain sort of bitch and turned her into someone the audience just adores and loves, you know?
With the Emmy changes this year, which makes it easier for smaller casts to garner nominations, we finally got to see B&B get the outstanding drama nomination.
Well, you'll remember that Darlene was the first to get any nomination (for supporting actress in 1991), and I thought that would sort of open things up. But then nothing else happened until Ian Buchanan (ex-James; Joshua, PC) came on the show and he got four or five in a row, and won. I thought maybe that would open it up for us. And it didn't! But then Adrienne and I were nominated in 2000 together, and we've been on a roll ever since.
Do you think if the voting changes had been instituted years ago, B&B would have been nominated for outstanding drama earlier?
Well, I always say cream rises to the top eventually. I wasn't sure about the way they changed the voting, and I called Peter Price, the president of the Academy. I told him that I wasn't upset about the changes, but what I was upset about was that we couldn't vote for anybody else [outside of our own show]. You can vote for yourself, which every actor is going to do, and I get to vote for Katherine. But I can't vote for Finola Hughes (Anna, AMC) if she has an exceptional year, or Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis, GH).
So you would vote for another actress?
Oh, listen to this; I almost dropped dead. Peter said that people had called in to complain that they hadn't been nominated. I nearly fell off the chair. I said, "You mean people have actually called you?" I was seven and a half years on Days of Our Lives before I was nominated. And now, 13 years on this show. And I never called anyone! I thought that was insane! But in the long run, it's okay. It's worked out.
But honestly, you know the fans were dying to see Katherine on the ballot with you.
I know. Everybody thought she had a really good chance. But it's nice to see Nancy, Michelle Stafford and Eileen Davidson (The Young and the Restless's Phyllis and Ashley) up there. That's three new nominations in the outstanding lead actress category. So that's great.
Of your competition, whom do you like?
For outstanding actress? I think Nancy. I wouldn't be surprised. As soon as I heard who was nominated, I called everybody, and I said to them, "This is the best time." Everybody is so positive and so happy for you. The reality is, we're all winners until the envelope's opened up... whatever will be, will be.
Tell me about directing versus acting.
This year, I haven't directed a lot; I don't know why. I guess because I have been in so much and had a lot to do, but I'm directing next week.
Are you directing episodes that you are also in?
No, I don't. I never have. That's what makes it so difficult. They have to find the episodes for me and give enough time to prep. But I enjoy it very much and the actors seem to as well. Because I come at it from their point of view. I understand how difficult it is to take a line and make it seem real and natural. It's not that the directors aren't concerned about the performances. They are. But I have the ability to talk to them in a different language. And they have all acted with me, so they trust me. If I come out on the set and say "Don't do that," or "Try this," they'll go for it, whole hog. That makes a big difference.
And you're still close friends with Joanna Johnson (ex-Caroline/Karen), right?
Oh gosh, yeah!
Well, could you call in a favor? She needs to come back.
(Laughing) Well, I hate to tell you, but like they say, she ain't never coming back. But I do have good news. When she left the show, Joanna wanted to write. And she's done rather well, selling original screenplay ideas to [various studios]. But then she called me last October and said, "I think I want to write a half-hour comedy." And I said, "Oh my God, you want to go into television?" Needless to say, she's in New York, they filmed on April 30, with Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley, AMC) and Faith Ford. Hope & Faith, it's called. That's hers.
Could this be your ticket to directing prime time?
I don't know. If the show goes, they'll do it in New York because of Kelly whom Joanna met last year! It's funny. Ian and I always give a cocktail party when we're in town for the Emmys and Joanna was staying with me, and Tracy Bregman (Lauren, Y&R), too. It was a ball. Anyway, Kelly and Mark [Consuelos, (ex-Mateo, AMC)] were there, because Ian has been good friends with Finola for years. So I said to her, "How do you like that? You get to meet Kelly last year and now you get to cast her in your pilot this year!" Life is so funny, isn't it?
What are your plans for Emmy day this year?
One of my very best friends is coming to New York with me. Her husband is "letting" her take the four days (laughs). And I think Ian will be there, as well. He's just waiting to see. Since Port Charles is nominated, they're hoping ABC will send [the whole cast]. I told him that he had to be there; he's my good luck charm. And I think on Friday, we usually have people over for champagne at the hotel before we go over for the awards. So we'll probably do that, maybe go to a museum early in the morning. But we're coming in Tuesday and we're going to see some shows: The Play What I Wrote and Helen Hunt in Life x 3. And I'm trying desperately to get to see the Matisse-Picasso show out in Queens at the Museum of Modern Art.
That's a lot of time off. In fact, B&B and Y&R are two of the only soaps that take definitive breaks for this sort of thing. That must be nice.
Oh, it's wonderful. And you know, when I won for the first time three years ago, all the kids in the office flew in at their own expense. They wanted to be there. This year, Bell-Phillips has given all of them stipends for their airfare and hotels. I thought that was really lovely. You don't see a lot of that in this industry.
Talking to you now and having seen you on the show for 16 years, I have to say, you are the absolute opposite of Stephanie.
(Laughing) People say to me, "What is it about you and Stephanie that is alike?" and I tell them we look like each other. But that's it!
Susan Flannery Stephanie Forrester, The Bold and the Beautiful
Nobody does bitch better than Susan Flannery. As The Bold and the Beautiful's Stephanie Forrester, she has turned haughty, high-class haranguing into high art, whether she's choking her nemesis Brooke, chiding her fair-haired son Thorne or championing her heavily favored other son Ridge. In real life, though, Flannery's a fun-loving and frank breath of fresh air who has seen it all and done even more. A licensed pilot, avid sailor and a Golden Globe winner (for The Towering Inferno), she broke our hearts as Days of Our Lives's fragile Laura Horton, for which she won her first Emmy, and now chills our blood as daytime's mother hen from Hell. In a rare interview, the Grande dame and Emmy nominee for outstanding lead actress — her fourth year running, thank you very much — lets loose an infectious laugh and unexpected soft side to dish everything from paternity plots to keeping up with her competition. — Damian Holbrook
You don't give a lot of interviews, do you?
No, I don't. But I'm fond of TV Guide.
And we love you. Ever since that first Forrester pool party!
Ha! Somebody actually wrote in TV Guide that you know you've been bad if you get left at the pool with Stephanie. That was one of the very first critiques of the show!
Back then, the hair was so big.
(Laughing) Let me tell you, we do a cast photo every year, and they line the hall [at the CBS studios]. You can actually see the hair getting smaller and smaller and the shoulder pads getting less and less.
You've been with the show since its 1987 debut; what keeps you coming back after 16 years?
Ronn Moss (Ridge), John McCook (Eric), Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke) and myself, the four of us, have all been here since the start. And you know, I've been thinking about that. I said to Katherine the other day that I worry so much about getting repetitive in the performances. But I try to find new waves, while staying in the framework of the character, without repeating "Take 100" or "Emotion 215." And it's hard.
By now, it must be like home.
It is. The four of us get along so well and there is so much history. The less you do, the more the audience fills in for you. I'm a great believer in that.
As part of that history, Brooke and Stephanie go back and forth between being sworn enemies to unexpected sidekicks. You even went into therapy together! Maybe the whole bunch of you should have gone!
(Laughing) That's what I said — get this dysfunctional family in there!
But behind the scenes, you are obviously a happy family. Jennifer Finnigan (Bridget) and Adrienne Frantz (Amber) both rave about your mentoring skills.
I try. From the very beginning on the show, I've kept my eye on all of the kids. The truth is, when we started, Katherine and Ronn had done very, very little. But over the next couple of years, as they became more confident, I sort of stepped back and allowed them to blossom. Especially Katherine. All of my favorite scenes, for drama and conflict, have involved Katherine Kelly Lang.
Like the episode where you throttled her at Big Bear?
When I did the scenes at the cabin, which I won the Emmy for that year, they originally had been written that Stephanie was drunk. And I called Brad (Bell, B&B's executive producer and head writer) and said I didn't want to do alcohol. It's not necessary. There is so much history; Stephanie was so completely enraged at this woman for sleeping with [Thorne], her other son, that she'd probably hit her with a car! With that high emotion, she didn't need to be drunk.
And what about playing opposite Darlene Conley (Sally)?
Ohhh, what a sweetheart. She is a hoot!
Though you two haven't tangled in a while.
Yeah. I think they've focused on introducing this whole new family, to lock them in.
And how are the Paynes fitting in?
You mean Jack Wagner (Nick) and Lesley-Anne Down (Jackie)? I haven't had scenes with them yet, but I am directing them next week for the first time, and I'm looking forward to that. I think Lesley is just a wonderful, intelligent actress. She's excellent.
Steph and Jackie, they're probably not going to play well with one another, are they?
I'm hoping they're not. I mean, it would be kind of silly if they did!
On genetics alone, could they be spinning this whole paternity plot? Jack's got your coloring, Ronn could obviously be Lesley-Anne Down's son...
I know, Jack does have all that blonde hair.
So where the hell did Ridge come from?
I don't know (laughing), obviously! That is so funny. But what a brilliant stroke. It was entirely Bradley Bell's concept. When I heard that they were going to [make Ridge Massimo's son], I literally said "Oh my God, this is just brilliant!" Because it is something you would never in your wildest imagination even think of.
And this thing with Ridge and Bridget?
Jennifer has been so nervous about it, and driving Ronn Moss crazy. Not in a bad way, but Ronn, you give him something and he plays it. Jennifer comes at things from a totally different angle. She's another intelligent actress. Absolutely.
What scenes did you submit for the Emmys?
I usually let the kids upstairs in the office pull the scenes and pick them out. They'll say, "This is what we think," and I'll look at them and say "Okay." So, that's what they did [and they picked] the scenes in the hospital with Adrienne Frantz, and where Stephanie discovers that Deacon is the father [of Brooke's baby].
Were you surprised by Katherine's Emmy snub?
I'm puzzled, to tell you the truth. Especially these past four or five years. I think she has really sort of reached her peak, and come into her own. And I honestly am kind of surprised and befuddled by it. I don't think they realize how she has taken such a plain sort of bitch and turned her into someone the audience just adores and loves, you know?
With the Emmy changes this year, which makes it easier for smaller casts to garner nominations, we finally got to see B&B get the outstanding drama nomination.
Well, you'll remember that Darlene was the first to get any nomination (for supporting actress in 1991), and I thought that would sort of open things up. But then nothing else happened until Ian Buchanan (ex-James; Joshua, PC) came on the show and he got four or five in a row, and won. I thought maybe that would open it up for us. And it didn't! But then Adrienne and I were nominated in 2000 together, and we've been on a roll ever since.
Do you think if the voting changes had been instituted years ago, B&B would have been nominated for outstanding drama earlier?
Well, I always say cream rises to the top eventually. I wasn't sure about the way they changed the voting, and I called Peter Price, the president of the Academy. I told him that I wasn't upset about the changes, but what I was upset about was that we couldn't vote for anybody else [outside of our own show]. You can vote for yourself, which every actor is going to do, and I get to vote for Katherine. But I can't vote for Finola Hughes (Anna, AMC) if she has an exceptional year, or Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis, GH).
So you would vote for another actress?
Oh, listen to this; I almost dropped dead. Peter said that people had called in to complain that they hadn't been nominated. I nearly fell off the chair. I said, "You mean people have actually called you?" I was seven and a half years on Days of Our Lives before I was nominated. And now, 13 years on this show. And I never called anyone! I thought that was insane! But in the long run, it's okay. It's worked out.
But honestly, you know the fans were dying to see Katherine on the ballot with you.
I know. Everybody thought she had a really good chance. But it's nice to see Nancy, Michelle Stafford and Eileen Davidson (The Young and the Restless's Phyllis and Ashley) up there. That's three new nominations in the outstanding lead actress category. So that's great.
Of your competition, whom do you like?
For outstanding actress? I think Nancy. I wouldn't be surprised. As soon as I heard who was nominated, I called everybody, and I said to them, "This is the best time." Everybody is so positive and so happy for you. The reality is, we're all winners until the envelope's opened up... whatever will be, will be.
Tell me about directing versus acting.
This year, I haven't directed a lot; I don't know why. I guess because I have been in so much and had a lot to do, but I'm directing next week.
Are you directing episodes that you are also in?
No, I don't. I never have. That's what makes it so difficult. They have to find the episodes for me and give enough time to prep. But I enjoy it very much and the actors seem to as well. Because I come at it from their point of view. I understand how difficult it is to take a line and make it seem real and natural. It's not that the directors aren't concerned about the performances. They are. But I have the ability to talk to them in a different language. And they have all acted with me, so they trust me. If I come out on the set and say "Don't do that," or "Try this," they'll go for it, whole hog. That makes a big difference.
And you're still close friends with Joanna Johnson (ex-Caroline/Karen), right?
Oh gosh, yeah!
Well, could you call in a favor? She needs to come back.
(Laughing) Well, I hate to tell you, but like they say, she ain't never coming back. But I do have good news. When she left the show, Joanna wanted to write. And she's done rather well, selling original screenplay ideas to [various studios]. But then she called me last October and said, "I think I want to write a half-hour comedy." And I said, "Oh my God, you want to go into television?" Needless to say, she's in New York, they filmed on April 30, with Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley, AMC) and Faith Ford. Hope & Faith, it's called. That's hers.
Could this be your ticket to directing prime time?
I don't know. If the show goes, they'll do it in New York because of Kelly whom Joanna met last year! It's funny. Ian and I always give a cocktail party when we're in town for the Emmys and Joanna was staying with me, and Tracy Bregman (Lauren, Y&R), too. It was a ball. Anyway, Kelly and Mark [Consuelos, (ex-Mateo, AMC)] were there, because Ian has been good friends with Finola for years. So I said to her, "How do you like that? You get to meet Kelly last year and now you get to cast her in your pilot this year!" Life is so funny, isn't it?
What are your plans for Emmy day this year?
One of my very best friends is coming to New York with me. Her husband is "letting" her take the four days (laughs). And I think Ian will be there, as well. He's just waiting to see. Since Port Charles is nominated, they're hoping ABC will send [the whole cast]. I told him that he had to be there; he's my good luck charm. And I think on Friday, we usually have people over for champagne at the hotel before we go over for the awards. So we'll probably do that, maybe go to a museum early in the morning. But we're coming in Tuesday and we're going to see some shows: The Play What I Wrote and Helen Hunt in Life x 3. And I'm trying desperately to get to see the Matisse-Picasso show out in Queens at the Museum of Modern Art.
That's a lot of time off. In fact, B&B and Y&R are two of the only soaps that take definitive breaks for this sort of thing. That must be nice.
Oh, it's wonderful. And you know, when I won for the first time three years ago, all the kids in the office flew in at their own expense. They wanted to be there. This year, Bell-Phillips has given all of them stipends for their airfare and hotels. I thought that was really lovely. You don't see a lot of that in this industry.
Talking to you now and having seen you on the show for 16 years, I have to say, you are the absolute opposite of Stephanie.
(Laughing) People say to me, "What is it about you and Stephanie that is alike?" and I tell them we look like each other. But that's it!
So You actually did it ? You saw Susan Flannery ? Anna 
You are lucky. On which of her two trips to Italy ? Villa Deste (Lake Como sights) or Portofino ?