Five Minutes With … Emma Samms
Soap Opera Digest: So, all of a sudden, it’s 2006 and you’re back — twice. How in the world did this come about?
Emma Samms: They just called my agent. It’s as simple as that. But I was very excited to get the call. I was at home in England, minding my own business, and suddenly the phone rings. It’s Los Angeles and they said, “Guess what? You’re never going to believe this!” And when they told me that Tony [Geary, Luke] and Tristan [Rogers, Robert] would be there, I couldn’t say no.Digest: Then why haven’t you come back sooner?
Samms: They didn’t call me [laughs]. The truth is, the way they offered it to me was perfect because I really try and limit the time I’m away from home because of my kids [son Cameron and daughter Beatrice]. I generally take jobs based on how far away from home they are and how long it’s going to take, so to have a job come up that was within a period of two weeks [each time] was absolutely ideal.Digest: Are you happy with how time has affected the character?
Samms: Well, she is a little softer this time around. She had quite an edge the last time we saw her. But if you remember, when we first met her, she was a con artist. That’s how she met Luke. She totally seduced him and she was trying to sell him into this oil scam. That’s who she was. She comes from a long line of con artists and was very good at it, and apparently, she has gone back to her roots. She’s not the sweet wife of the police commissioner she ended up being. It was great fun and ideal for popping in, causing trouble and then leaving again.Digest: How was it adjusting to the daytime routine?
Samms: It wasn’t quite the same, of course. We used to do blocking in the morning, then we’d have rehearsal. Gloria [Monty, former executive producer] would give us notes and then we’d tape it. Now it’s all what they call “block and tape.” You go up there, they give you your blocking, you run it through once and then that’s it. There’s no time to hang around and run lines like we used to do. They did ease me in gently, though, which I greatly appreciated.
Digest: Was there any experience of déjà vu in coming back?
Samms: I think that of the crew, perhaps almost 50 percent were the same people I worked with when I was on the show the first time around [1982-85]. I was shocked and thrilled and ecstatically happy because these people were so lovely to me, and continued to be lovely to me. To see those wonderful, warm, welcoming faces was an absolute joy. They work so hard. I would love to see them get the rewards that they deserve. I was so thrilled when GH won the Emmy for Best Show. They worked very hard for it.Digest: Describe your life in England.
Samms: I’m in the Cotswolds. It’s about two-and-a-half hours outside of London. Where I live is rolling green hills that stay green all year round, without artificial irrigation. It is just exquisite. The house I live in is more than 300 years old, which is not uncommon. Houses like this are a dime a dozen over there. There’s something terribly comforting about the fact that this house has been lived in for that long.Digest: And you’re still very involved in the Starlight Foundation.
Samms: Yes, thank you for asking. The Starlight Foundation is the charity that I co-founded many years ago. I also work with a few local charities where I am. The longest history I have probably is with The Variety Club, where I do a telethon for them every year in Des Moines, Iowa. I love that. It’s a fantastically fun weekend and I always look forward to it.Digest: And on top of all that, you’re a screenwriter, as well.
Samms: It’s the ideal career, really, in terms of working around children’s schedules because you can do it anytime, anywhere. I’ve had great fortune with my, wait, great luck, I should say. I won’t say fortune because writing doesn’t pay that much [laughs]. But good fortune in terms of luck. The first one that I wrote was actually made by USA Network and the second one I sold hasn’t been made yet, but I suppose that’s very common. The third one is awaiting rewrites and I’m working on my fourth one now, which is actually taking a long time to write because I’ve had to research it. But I love it. I love it with a passion. Writing is probably one hundred times more creative than acting because you get to start with a blank page.Digest: Had you kept in touch with any of your GH colleagues?
Samms: Yes. I’ve kept in touch with Tony. Everybody else has been on the crew — the stage managers, the prop man. Generally, I tend to hang out with them. They’re more fun. Actors are actors [laughs]. And one of the people from DYNASTY [where she played Fallon] I very much keep in touch with is Ray Abruzzo [ex-Zorelli], who played my love interest for the last couple of seasons. He was the policeman who was trying to seduce Fallon and arrest her father at the same time. He’s now on THE SOPRANOS [as Little Carmine]. He’s doing very well.Digest: So, we made it through the whole interview without mentioning that spaceship incident from THE COLBYS [where she also played Fallon].
Samms: Well, almost [laughs]. You just had to commit to it. The trouble was the guy who was playing the spaceman. If you remember, there was this shadowy, shiny figure, and to keep it secret, because it was all very secretive, they used the assistant director, Ned. They couldn’t put out a casting call for a spaceman to go on THE COLBYS because that might be a bit of a giveaway, so they dressed him up in this costume which didn’t fit him properly. It particularly didn’t fit him properly in the crotch area. And I had to do this whole scene mesmerized and terribly serious and stare straight at him, looking deeply into his eyes, and I just had such a hard time not laughing. Of course, before the special effects were put in, this ramp that went up into the spaceship, at that point, was a ramp coming out of the back of a truck [laughs]. It was a very intense acting experience.Digest: Ah, the glamour of Hollywood.
Samms: Exactly!
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