Soaps In Depth
October 5, 1999
Daytime Believer

Someone get Catherine Hickland a candy bar, and quick. After sinking her teeth into Lindsay's tart dialogue for the last 16 months, all the actress desires on this, the 13th day of her no-sugar diet is something sinfully sweet. "The first six days, I was just a hateful bitch!" she laughingly says. "The withdrawal symptoms were terrible. I think that getting off crack cocaine has to be easier than getting off sugar!"

Yet Hickland's subscription to this sugar-free lifestyle is perhaps the only bittersweet consequence of her unrelenting workload, which effectively established her character as a fixture (albeit one with loose wiring) in the land of Llanview. "Having such a heavy schedule last year -- I didn't have a single day off all summer -- I wasn't really taking care of myself. I was just eating whatever I wanted," she admits. "And one demon that I have fought my entire life is that I am a slave to sugar. I even used to joke that sugar was my primary food group! So I committed myself to this lifestyle again, and now that I've gotten off sugar, I'm feeling a lot better."

Fixin the Vixen

It's an interesting contrast. As Hickland works to curb her sweet tooth, Lindsay has been busy evolving into a bit less bitter a bad girl. For the actress, who last year was full of trepidation about tackling the role of a troublemaker, it was a most welcome development. "There was a point where I was really afraid Lindsay was heading to the point of no-return," she confesses. "So when they took me in the direction of the hit-and-run storyline, where Lindsay didn't do it, I felt a great sense of relief, and excitement. I was going to get to see if I could turn the audience around in the way that they felt about me.

After that, she did. Where Lindsay once was a rabble-rouser without a cause, now she is a woman caught between her love for an honorable man -- Bo -- and her innate need to stir the pot, especially if it makes rival Nora simmer. That Lindsay's portrayer shows any success in bringing this complicated character to life, says Hickland, is just one glorious byproduct of her 20 years of experience. "I think that I absolutely bring something to the role now that I couldn't have done when I was in my 20s," professes the actress, who cut her teeth on such shows as Texas, Capitol, Loving/The City. "I have always maintained that it's a shame that this genre is so skewed toward a younger audience, because there is something that you really cannot bring to your work in your 20s that you can in your late 30s or over 40. There's a settled dignity in your work.

Sure enough, OLTL married the right role with the right actor, at the right time, resulting in what Hickland calls the best showcase to date for her craft. "There is no question about it! I get to play subtle comedy and intense drama. I get to be vulnerable. I get to be bitchy and awful. It's the best stretch I've ever had to play."

Blonde Ambition

Comedic. Dramatic. Bitchy. Vulnerable. One may wonder where amidst all those conflicting characteristics lies the real Catherine Hickland. Yet perhaps the best way to describe the actress is with four simple words: She likes to share. This past April, she led a workshop for aspiring actors. When ABC Super Soap Weekend rolls around, she is always there entertaining the crowd with her next talk show. Next up on her wish list is the launch of a make-up line, a fundraiser concert for Leonard Staab (ex-Hunter), who was severely injured in a hang-gliding accident six years ago, and possibly a mall "makeover" tour. "I'm interested in the well-being of women, and helping them find a different way to look at themselves," she professes. "I'm more interested in that than I am in the money I could make from it. I honestly want to show women everywhere that with a little effort, they can make themselves feel better."

Hmmm, even if the path to self-improvement calls for swatting the sugar monkey off one's back? "Like everything," she laughs, "it's a state of mind and you have to be ready and willing to change. I mean, if I wasn't on TV, I'd probably be at home eating bonbons watching soap operas all day!"

SIDEBAR-DREAM DATE

Look out, Bo—there’s another man out there who could get Lindsay a Tad bit excited!

The synergy is scintillating: Right now, ABC has a familiar-looking lady named Devane (perhaps General Hospital’s Anna?) making mystery on All My Children, Pine Valley pariah Skye Chandler is making waves in Llanview, and OLTL relationship guru Rae Cummings is making tracks for each of those soaps, plus Port Charles. Catherine Hickland, for one, finds the crossover concept laudable. “It’s a very interesting idea,” the soap opera actress/fan offers. “Yes, it’s a bold move, but what can it hurt? That’s the question, and the answer is ‘Nothing!’” In fact, the wife of AMC’s Michael E. Knight (Tad) thinks that ABC’s strategy could suit her own needs just fine. “I honestly have to say that I wouldn’t mind Lindsay having cross-over with Tad. Those two characters, for a couple of episodes, could be interesting,” she says with a sly grin. “I think we could do something really fun.”