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Jackie Zeman on Being Noah's Girl

Soap Opera Weekly: So, what’s it like having Rick Springfield back as Noah Drake?
Jackie Zeman: That’s been so wonderful. He’s just the best. Rick’s talent is amazing. He’s such a wonderful actor, and I love his music. I have all of his CDs, everything he’s ever done, in my car. He’s just a joy to work with, but he’s also a wonderful person. He’s very professional: He’s on time, he knows his lines. We actually have some really nice scenes together.


Weekly: Right, because Noah and Bobbie have quite a history. What is it like to have it revisited?
Zeman: It’s complicated. It’s interesting. The writers thought about it. It’s not just, ‘Oh, let’s put Bobbie and Noah out to dinner and see what happens now, 20 years later.’ It’s interesting to see the dynamics of that — when you have a past with someone and then all of a sudden you realize, ‘Oh, my goodness, I have a present!’ Then you go, ‘Hmm, is there a future?’


Weekly: Bobbie had a past with John Durant, too, and that did not really go anywhere.
Zeman: It didn’t, and I didn’t know why! That’s why, when I heard Rick was coming back, I thought, ‘Oh, don’t get your hopes up.’ I was disappointed when Corbin Bernsen came on and there wasn’t anything for John and Bobbie to do. I always say to my kids, ‘When something doesn’t go the way you had hoped, that’s just the way it’s meant to be.’ There are reasons for things. Now, I’m looking at this: We have Rick back, and I get to do story with him. So, yay!


Weekly: How do you like working with Laura Wright
(Carly)?
Zeman: We’ve had a lot of different Carlys, and that’s the wonderful part. Each woman who has played this role has brought something so different to it. Everybody has a really clear idea of who Carly is in their eyes, and now Laura’s come on and brought her own thing to it. It’s exciting. I would like to have more opportunity to work with her just because the Bobbie/Carly relationship will change based on what she’s doing. I’m hoping that we get to do more: all that stuff that goes on between mothers and daughters; what I’m beginning to learn as my own girls are getting older (laughs).


Weekly: Has playing Carly’s mother given you insight into raising your own teens, Lacey and Cassidy?
Zeman: Just playing it on TV with a grown daughter has made me realize that your children are your children for the rest of your life. I look at my daughters now and they’re not my little girls anymore. They are 13 and 15, so they’re not adult women, but they definitely have their opinions and agendas. It’s teaching me to grow as a person to let my own kids make their choices. I say to them, ‘The power of decision is your most valuable asset.’ Carly is such an example of that (laughs).


Weekly: Do you want your daughters deciding to marry mobsters with dimples?
Zeman: No (laughs)! But it’s fun to watch on TV!

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