Soap Opera Weekly: Do you ever get tired of comparisons between your work as Jan and your predecessor’s Heather Lauren Olson?
Lindell: I never get compared. It usually comes out in a compliment form. Fans always say, “We like you so much better.” At some point I would just like them to say we really like you. To forget about the comparative element at all. I mean, I understand. If I was a fan of the show, that’s probably what I would say, too.
Weekly: Jan has worn many costumes since you joined the show. What’s your favorite one?
Lindell: One that I wanted to borrow for Halloween was the Kill Bill outfit that I wore during a fantasy/nightmare sequence with Shawn. It was when Charity Rahmer was playing Belle. I had the Kill Bill sword and [Belle] ended up chopping Jan’s head off. It was a nightmare, but it was great. It was a black, pleather suit that zipped all the way up the front. I had gloves on and heels. It was hot.
Weekly: What about your least favorite getup?
Lindell: The old lady disguise was not my favorite. It was funny, but I wouldn’t want to wear that again. I was so hot in that fat suit. [The makeup took] a long time, too and the prosthetics didn’t smell very good. They took a long time to put on and a long time to take off well.
Weekly: How would you assess Jan? Is she totally crazy or totally crazy in love?
Lindell: A little bit of both. She is totally crazy in that the love that she has for Shawn has driven her to the peak of insanity, which she probably has never experienced before. Now whether she’s ever going to be able to be rehabilitated and get over him, I don’t know. I would hope so. Even if that were to happen, I would hope that she wouldn’t lose her devious side, because that is what is so much fun about her.
Weekly: What are the best and worst parts of playing crazy?
Lindell: The best part is the manipulation factor, the fact that she can lie to these people’s faces and then turn around and have a really big smile on her face. That’s fun to play. You never have one motivation going on. You always have more than one. And there are multiple ways to play her, because she has multiple things she wants out of people. The worst might be fans reactions. All the time [Jan was holding Shawn prisoner] people would say, “Let that poor boy go.” Like I was actually the one holding him in the cage. People sometimes tend not differentiate between me and my character.
Weekly: Most of your storyline has been with the show’s younger cast. Is there anyone else you haven’t worked with much that you’d love to share some scenes with?
Lindell: I don’t feel I’ve really worked with Alison Sweeney (Sami) at all. There could be some really catty fights that could happen between the two of us in terms of her wanting to protect her sister (Belle). That’s somebody that I’d like to work with. I like her as a person and I think her work is good.”
