Digest gets to know AS THE WORLD TURNS newcomers Chris Heuisler (Cole) and Justine Cotsonas (Sofie), who play Oakdale's co-dependent pair of expectant parents.

Justine Cotsonas (Sofie)
ATWT is the first job for Long Island-bred, New York University grad Cotsonas, who kept her day (care) job even though she's now got a daytime gig.

Soap Opera Digest: What other jobs have you had before this?
Justine Cotsonas: Actually, right now I'm a live-in au pair, so I'm doing both things at the same time. Before this, I was a hostess at a research marketing facility where they held focus groups. I graduated in January and then I booked a commercial, and then this.

Digest: What commercial?
Cotsonas: It's an international spot for the new Motorola RAZR2. It was kind of amazing because it was directed by Michel Gondry, who directed Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. That was my first professional job — it was the craziest thing ever. I feel very lucky.

Digest: What was he like?
Cotsonas: He has this huge imagination. I think I had a little crush on him [laughs] — a cute French man and he's a genius. He was very focused during the shoot. It was a commercial, but it was almost like a film production, and all of the special effects were done on set. It was a very crazy, creative world. I didn't interact with him that much, but he was a wonderful man, very nice. He gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek when I was done and I giggled and blushed.

Digest: What was your family's reaction when you got the ATWT job?
Cotsonas: Oh, my gosh! They've always been extremely supportive ever since I was little, but it was such a weird time. My second callback was the day after my birthday and the day of my yaya's — my Greek grandmother — funeral. I actually rushed from her funeral on Long Island to my callback. I held myself together somehow. I thought, "I did the best I could. Now it's time to go home and mourn." It was really kind of surreal. My dad had driven me to the studio and literally four minutes after I left, I got the call that I booked it. And my dad started screaming. He hit the ceiling in the car. Everybody was screaming and crying, so happy. My mom told everybody; my grandparents told all of Florida, I'm sure.

Digest: But you're still working as an au pair?
Cotsonas: I'm watching my manager's kids. There are three of them and they're adorable and sweet. I'm a little tired, but for now it's working out really well. [My manager] wanted me to book this, so she's been great. I feel almost like I'm family at this point. I'm just really happy all around.

Digest: Had you ever watched soaps?
Cotsonas: When I was 14 staying home from school sick, I would watch some of the ABC soaps. But then lately, I had been watching AS THE WORLD TURNS because a very close friend of mine is friends with Jesse Soffer [Will] and Alex Chando [Maddie]. So I started watching just because it was like, "I know that guy" even though I had never really met them, but I felt like I had.

Digest: What was it like when you first starting working with them?
Cotsonas: Everybody has been so supportive and so helpful and so friendly, genuinely so. I hate to say that I'm amazed by that, but you hear stories about other sets. Nothing specific, because I'm so new to this, but people aren't always so nice. But everybody involved has been so good to me. It's just the nicest environment to work in and I'm having such a wonderful time.

Digest: What do you think of Sofie?
Cotsonas: I think a lot of people can sympathize, if not empathize, with her. Sometimes, I want to smack her and make her smack Cole, but I think it's a really important story to tell. I think there are a lot of women in that position who feel like they're stuck. Fortunately, I've never been in a situation like hers, but at the same time, I feel very much like she is me. I read a script and think, "That's what I would have said." I write — I don't want to say I'm a writer because I don't do it professionally — but one of my other loves is writing. I once wrote a story in which one of the main characters was named Sofie and it was basically the same as this character that I'm playing now. And in the phone commercial, my character's name was Sofie. It's like, "Okay, I am fated to play Sofie for my entire life." I'd like to think that I'm a stronger person, but I think Sofie has a backbone that we haven't seen yet. The way she operates is that it's all based on love. She does it at the expense of herself sometimes and she thinks that's making her happy and maybe it is, but she's taking — maybe not a literal beating — but a beating for it.

Digest: I still want Cole to turn out to be not so horrible.
Cotsonas: Well, there has to be a reason that she fell for him in the first place. I'm sure there are good qualities about Cole. And Chris makes it really easy. I love Chris so much that I can find things in Cole that I can cling to. I'm sure a lot of people are just seeing this abusive, jerky guy, but he's very complex and I think Chris does a good job with him.

Digest: Would you want this to be long-term?
Cotsonas: We'll see. I'm really excited to see where Sofie's story is going. Right now I'm really happy, and I think they like me there. I'm excited for the future.