A Funeral, an Engagement…and a Wedding?
Last week, ALL MY CHILDREN’s Cara had a fake funeral. Then Tad offered to marry her to save her from immigration officials out to deport her, and the two got engaged. Lindsay Hartley reflects on her character’s offbeat Pine Valley adventures.
Soap Opera Weekly: Okay…fake funeral followed by an engagement. Kinda wacky, right?
Lindsay Hartley: [laughs] Yes. It is.
Weekly: Cara must love it that Jake stood up the INS for her.
Hartley: Yes. In her mind, it’s like a dream for her; she knows [she and Jake] are never going to happen, but she sees these glimpses of what they had. I find it unique to play this character, because usually, the girls are always after the guy and, like, destroying their marriage.
Weekly: Well, it is a soap opera…
Hartley: But Cara finds herself in these moments where she can’t control her love for Jake, as opposed to acting on it. That’s another moment where she’s like, “Oh, my God, I love this man but, what the hell, get out of the way, because he’s married.”
Weekly: Why did the INS consider Cara a terrorist?
Hartley: Because of her history working in Afghanistan and all over [that region]. There were a lot of areas that could be considered questionable — like, why did Cara disappear, and why was she involved with all these drug people and the drug cartels? So they’re jumping to the conclusion that, well, “All the pieces make it look as if you are a terrorist, so you must be.”
Weekly: How did Tad get involved?
Hartley: He tried to figure out a way to get Cara out of her situation.
Weekly: Jake can’t be too happy that Cara’s engaged to his brother!
Hartley: Jake thinks it’s crazy…that this is the unthinkable and that Tad and Cara spending three years together is, “You guys have no idea what you’re walking into.” Cara wasn’t for it, either. She was like, “What are you thinking? You’re out of your mind. I screwed up your brother’s life; I’m not doing this to you, too!”
Weekly: But Tad can be very convincing.
Hartley: He convinces Cara and the agents at the same time that they are doing this, and she goes with it.
Weekly: Is it possible that Tad and Cara could become a real couple? I know the fans are interested as to whether or not Cara and Tad are gonna take off.
Hartley: Absolutely. I think she already has some small feelings of love toward Tad. Through Tad, she connects with Jake in some kind of messed-up way. That is a bond they’ve developed. Tad’s always there, trusting her and understanding her, and that’s beautiful for Cara — to be around a man who sees her for who she really is. And he’s single, and so is she; so, yeah.
Weekly: How has it been, joining an established cast and being thrown into a major storyline?
Hartley: Well, I’m grateful to be a part of this family, this team at AMC. They’re amazing; everybody’s amazing, and I’m blessed with the people I work with. I can’t believe I’m sandwiched between the men that I’m surrounded by [on-set]! And I love Chrishell [Stause, Amanda]. I’m so lucky, and I feel really fortunate that I happened to get grouped with some lovely people.
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