Heiress Head
Soap Opera Digest: Was it a complete surprise that PASSIONS wanted you on contract when they moved to DIRECTV?
Erin Cardillo (Esme): I was surprised. I’ve been recurring on the show for a while, so I didn’t realize there were thoughts of making it a contract role. I’m excited that they did.
Digest: Have you been recognized yet as Esme?
Cardillo: I’ve gotten a lot of fan mail. I was recognized once in Connecticut when I was home…. I was in a deli and one of the women who worked there recognized me.
Digest: Do you watch your episodes?
Cardillo: Yeah, I watch because I’m curious to see how it plays.
Digest: Do you laugh when you read the scripts?
Cardillo: Yeah, I really like the way they write for Esme. I think she’s just loopy and so much fun to play. They really give me some silly stuff to say.
Digest: Have you modeled her after anyone?
Cardillo: I think she’s taken on a life of her own. I always feel like I’m doing my own little Noël Coward play or something when I work on Esme. But there’s not anyone in particular who I model her after. She’s in her own land.
Digest: She’s pretty hysterical.
Cardillo: Thank you so much.
Digest: It was really funny when she was talking to Fancy about Luis being with a man in jail and Esme said she’s thought about being with a woman.
Cardillo: She prepares for anything.
Digest: Do you laugh during scenes?
Cardillo: Oh, yeah. We do. It’s fun. Emily [Harper, Fancy] and I have a great time working together.
Digest: Who would you want Esme to hook up with?
Cardillo: I was thinking about that because I’m always working with Emily and I don’t really get to have a man on the show. I don’t know. That’s hard. I don’t know if I can answer that.
Digest: You worked with Dylan [Fergus, Noah] before.
Cardillo: Yes.
Digest: Noah’s in a happy relationship, so that means doom is on the way.
Cardillo: I know! Let’s see … I had a scene with Fox the other day, but it wasn’t a romantic scene.
Digest: I think they’d be great together.
Cardillo: I thought that when we were working together. We were just chatting and there was nothing brought up about them dating, but I thought that. He’s married.
Digest: Eh, that doesn’t matter. So, you have a couple of movies coming out. Dante’s Inferno hasn’t been filmed yet, right?
Cardillo: Right. They are trying to get funding, so I don’t know what’s going to happen. The Box, I just went to a cast and crew screening and I know that they’re trying to get distribution for that and were submitting it to festivals, as well. It’s really good. Gabrielle Union is the star. The Hottie and the Nottie actually stars Paris Hilton. Joel David Moore is the lead guy and he’s hilarious. I thought that they were potentially releasing that this summer, but I think they are maybe waiting until Paris gets out of jail or something. I don’t know what’s going on with that.
Digest: They’re waiting for her to be able to do some publicity for the movie.
Cardillo [laughing]: Right, because she has no publicity! I think they are probably waiting on that. I’m not sure if it’s done or not.
Digest: What is it about?
Cardillo: It’s very funny. It’s about this girl, who is played by Paris, who is the hottie of the town and she has this best friend, played by Christine Lakin, who is the nottie and they put her through like three hours of prosthetics to make her look like a troll in the movie. It’s very funny. And Joel David More’s character is pursuing Paris’s character. But in order to date her, he has to find a date for her best friend because Paris’s character won’t date anyone unless her friend has a guy. So the movie is about his character trying to find a guy willing to date this girl.
Digest: Did you meet Paris?
Cardillo: Yeah. It was a fun set. She was actually very nice.
Digest: Marianne Muellerleile, who recurs as Norma on PASSIONS, is in the movie.
Cardillo: I didn’t work with her on the movie, so I didn’t even know that she was in it. A little Harmony connection in there.
Conversation
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