Soap Opera Weekly: Why is Alistair so evil?
John Reilly: (In character) I don't think I am evil. People just misunderstand me. It's because I tell them the truth about their lives, and they don't like to hear that.
Weekly: Does Alistair have any sympathy for Theresa?
Reilly: She put herself in this position; she signed the contract. That's it. End of subject. I don't care what she thinks. I don't care what anyone thinks.
Weekly: Is that fun for you to play?
Reilly: It's like having an anthill and watching the ants run around. Every once in a while, I step on the anthill just to shake everybody up.
Weekly: How do you make Alistair's wickedness so convincing?
Reilly: They write it, I play it. No one's coming over here and consulting with me on what they're going to do with the character. Obviously, I study what's on the page and do what I can with it. I became Alistair. He's a lot of things. He can be charming, evil, sad — he can be any emotion that serves his purposes at that particular moment. He can pull it off, even with a bit of humor. When people attack him, does he fight back? He just laughs at them. They can't hold their emotions in check, can they?
Weekly: Can you?
Reilly: Hell, no (laughs)! Pretty much so, yes. I'm a mellow person, let's put it that way. Not too many things upset me, but if I do get upset, the Irish in me can be a little dicey.
Weekly: How do fans react to you?
Reilly: It was very interesting. We had this red carpet at the Universal movie theater for the Passions: Disaster premiere. Everybody went out on the red carpet: Ben (Masters, Julian), Juliet (Mills, Tabitha) and all the stars of the show. I figured, "Who's going to know who I am? I've only been on the show for six or seven months." [The fans] screamed, "We hate you, but we love you," because I mix things up for them. They never know what I'm going to do next. What Jim (Reilly, creator/head writer) and the rest of the writers have written...I have to fulfill what they have on that page and then some. That's my job as an actor.
Weekly: Do you enjoy the unique relationship Alistair has with Fancy?
Reilly: He has a soft spot for her, but he also knows that she wiggles with him, so he wheedles back a bit. He enjoys the contest. I have five daughters and a granddaughter, so I'm so used to the female psyche — I don't understand it, but I'm used to it. They've written some very nice scenes for us. He does show a softer part, but don't go too far with him. Having her as a young girl and watching her grow up — I know what she is like. She's not evil, but she manipulates. He recognizes something that's like him. I imagine that if he could, he would clone himself!
