Soap Opera Digest: Tell us about SAINTS & SINNERS.
Eva Tamargo: I started working on the show in January and it was a blast. They recently wrapped the show. I hope they call me and say they need me back [if there is a sequel]. I loved playing Pilar for eight years, but in general, she wasn't a very dark character. This character has a lot of secrets. I like what I was able to do with her, even though I am only in 20 episodes. It was a lot of fun.

Digest: What is your character like?
Tamargo: Her name is Helen, or Helena as Maria Conchita Alonso [Diana, SINNERS] says. I'm not going to tell you anything, so don't try to get anything out of me [laughs].

Digest: Is Helena more, shall we say, promiscuous than Pilar?
Tamargo: Oh, she is not Pilar is all I can say. It's one of those things where they let me create her. I didn't have a whole lot of "Don't do this. Don't do that." So I stepped in and I did my own thing and I think they were happy with it. I definitely get to look more spicy than I do on PASSIONS.

Digest: It's so funny that the show has a character named Pilar Martin!
Tamargo: Isn't that hilarious? Every time they would say, "Pilar," I would answer.

Digest: How did you handle working on both shows at the same time, especially since SINNERS was filmed in San Diego and PASSIONS is in L.A.?
Tamargo: At first, I was like, "What did I get myself into?" I wasn't really working on PASSIONS, so I went out on [auditions] and with Lisa's [de Cazotte, executive producer of PASSIONS] blessing, she was like, "Go see what you can get." And the minute I booked SAINTS & SINNERS, they needed me on PASSIONS, so it was hard to be driving back and forth and working both shows. But hey, what actor is going to complain about work? It turned out to be such a sweet blessing. I'm very happy about it. I'm telling you, just like PASSIONS, it's a great group of people, crew and cast. It was really a great experience.

Digest: Will you watch the premiere episode?
Tamargo: I can't wait to see it because I don't know anything about the show. It's like I get to watch it from a fan's perspective. Even though I had all the scripts, I didn't have time to read anything [except my own scenes]. I'm excited to see how my character intertwines with everything else. I'm very curious.

Digest: The cast is amazing, with several daytime alum.
Tamargo: I worked with Charles Shaughnessy [August; ex-Shane, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Maxwell, THE NANNY]! You know the thing about six degrees of separation? My boyfriend has a lot of English friends and his close friends are friends with Charles. He had dinner with them one night and they said, "We're dying to meet Eva." He said, "She's shooting in San Diego." One of them said, "Really? Our good friend Charles Shaughnessy is shooting in San Diego." And Scott's like, "Wait a minute. What show is it?" And the friend was like, "SAINTS & SINNERS." Scott was like, "Oh, my God, that's the same show Eva's on!" Small world.

Digest: To make it smaller, Nick Stabile [ex-Mark, SUNSET BEACH] is in SINNERS [as Gabe] and was briefly on PASSIONS as Fox.
Tamargo: I never worked with him, but he's a doll.

Digest: And Maria Conchita Alonso is on the show.
Tamargo: She's my new best friend! She is Cuban, like me, and lived in Minnesota like I did. It was instant friendship. We are so similar. Most of my scenes were with her and the director was like, "Okay, you guys have to stop with the Spanish. We have to shoot." And I was like, "You know, you're lucky I wasn't in every episode." He goes, "Yeah, we wouldn't have gotten anything done." She's a firecracker and so am I. She's a blast. What a wonderful human being.

Digest: Did you work with Mel Harris [Sylvia; ex-Hope, THIRTYSOMETHING]?
Tamargo: I was such a huge fan of THIRTYSOMETHING. I only had a couple of short scenes with her.

Digest: Was the shooting schedule as fast-paced as PASSIONS?
Tamargo: They shot the show with one camera and we didn't do the [amount of] pages like we do on PASSIONS. The only difference is, I would say, we did a lot of location shooting [on SINNERS], so it's hectic in that regard because you're in different studios, different locations. So that's hard. But as far as doing a lot of dialogue and pages, it was a breeze for me. I'm coming from doing 80 pages a day.

Digest: Have you signed on for another of MyNetwork TV's new soaps?
Tamargo: I'm waiting. I told Stephen Brown [Senior Vice President Programmer for Twentieth Television], "I'm waiting for that phone call." We'll see. [The series] ends like a cliff-hanger, so we'll see. Now with PASSIONS coming to an end, I'm open to anything. I would love to do another soap, another anything. As sad as [PASSIONS being over] is, I'm comfortable moving on.

Digest: How did you deal with the news?
Tamargo: I think we had a feeling it was coming because we heard rumors, so I think a lot of us were prepared. But like anything in life, no matter how much you think you're prepared for it, the news hit and we were like, "Holy crap!" A lot of us have kids and car payments and it's a big deal. It's not just the show getting canceled, it's how it affects everybody's life. You only grow through change. Maybe it's time for us all to move on. Maybe PASSIONS will have a different forum. Maybe it will be on the CW or something. I've always said we were more of a prime-time type of show anyway. I don't think anybody is too devastated by [the news], but definitely moving and shaking to see what to do next.

Digest: Have you had time to audition?
Tamargo: It's pilot season and I just got back from Miami so now I'm going to see what's out there for me. Ever since UGLY BETTY won the Golden Globe, everybody wants to do similar things. Hopefully, they are looking for a hot, older Latina woman. Not hot like sexy, I meant hot like hot flashes [laughs]. I told Maria Conchita Alonso that she was so good on DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES [as guest-star Lucia] that they need to bring me on as her sister and I could be a bitch again.

SAINTS & SINNERS airs at 8 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. CT on Wednesdays.