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Interview

ICYMI: Farah Fath Interview

Dirty Soap
DIRTY SOAP -- Season: 1 -- Pictured: Farah Fath -- Photo by Frank Ockenfels/E! EntertainmentD

Farah Fath dishes about her DAYS comeback as Mimi.

 

Soap Opera Digest: You left DAYS in 2007. How did you react when you got the call to return? 

Farah Fath: I was never expecting it. After 11 years, you just kind of think that window of opportunity has been closed. I was totally for it. I just didn’t want it to be a long stint, but I really wanted to do it. So it was more of a timing thing for me. When Ron [Carlivati, head writer] and I discussed that we could do something cool in just a few weeks, that sounded great to me. I basically accepted his verbal offer and a couple of weeks later, before I started taping, is when I found out I was pregnant and I was just like, “Really?” I was totally taken by surprise, for sure.

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Digest: What was it like to learn dialogue again and get back into the pace of soaps?

Fath: Thankfully, I had my experience with ONE LIFE TO LIVE [as Gigi] because they were pretty much on par with that type of speed. When I moved to New York and started on that show, I got whipped into shape real fast. DAYS had a much more relaxed taping atmosphere and ONE LIFE did not; it was much more regimented and we used to refer to it as a well-oiled machine. With that experience and my friends at DAYS telling me that it’s so different now, they go so much faster, I was like, “All right, I should be okay because I did that.” I was a little concerned about memorizing the dialogue. In the first like, week or so, it was totally fine and easy, but once my morning sickness settled in, it got a little bit tougher because I couldn’t concentrate as much. And they kept adding dialogue for me. I kept getting pages almost every day of added monologues. I was flattered that they were choosing me, but I was like, “Oh, God, they don’t know how sick I am.” But I got through it and I’m pretty proud of myself. I think I did okay for not having done it in seven years or whatever it has been.

Digest: What was it like when you first walked into the studio?

Fath: It was trippy; that was the word I kept using. I just kept thinking it was so trippy because it was like going back to your old high school. It’s somewhere you haven’t been in a couple of decades and all these memories come flooding back. And everything looks the same but older. It was kind of like THE TWILIGHT ZONE the first few days. Then I definitely got settled in and it felt old hat.

Digest: Was it different being there as an adult?

Fath: Seeing all the younger people that are now the new generation, I didn’t know who they were and I’m sure they had no idea who I was. I kind of had internal thoughts like, “Wow, I was that girl.” I just kind of took that all in. I guess it’s been about 20 years since I first started. I remember back in the day, I would look at people like Kristian [Alfonso, Hope] and Deidre [Hall, Marlena] and the ones that have been there for a long time like, “Wow, I can’t believe they’ve been here for 20 years,” but gosh, it can go by so fast. It’s just a total trip. Now I know how they feel.

Digest: You’re working with a lot of the same people. Did it feel familiar right away?

Fath: I think it all fell into rhythm pretty quickly. I’m just so comfortable with Judi Evans [Adrienne] and Nadia [Bjorlin, Chloe] and Martha [Madison, Belle]. I keep in touch with them. We spent so much time together working in years past that it was easy and fun. It would’ve been a lot more fun if I wasn’t so nauseous! Those girls kind of helped me through it and we had a good time.

Digest: What is Mimi like all these years later?

Fath: She seems to have her wits about her and seems to have a fairly stable life. I think she purposely distances herself from her mom so she can maintain a sense of stability. The personality is still there and all that but she’s grown up. She’s matured. But you’ll still see flickers of the Mimi Lockhart you knew.

Digest: You commuted to Los Angeles to work. How is life in Las Vegas?

Fath: Great! Phil [Galfond, her husband] and I have a beautiful home and good friends. We’re just getting ready for baby. I have many, many things to be thankful for. My husband’s at the top of the list. We’re just good, wholesome poker players. People say to me a lot, “How could you live in Vegas?” But I’m like, “You associate it with a bachelorette party and you think about how hungover you were the last time you were there.” But it’s our home and we stay in every night, basically, and watch TV. We have our local shopping center in our little community. I really, really like it there. I like that I’m not too far from L.A. in case stuff like this pops up. And I get to play poker, which I love.

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Digest: I know you’re focusing on impending motherhood right now, but are you open to other acting opportunities down the road?

Fath: I never say never to anything. I need to have the baby first and I need to lose the weight, then I can start entertaining some other ideas! I’m definitely down to do another stint on DAYS, maybe next year if they want. I would love to have another shot at it, just because I won’t be so sick this time and I’ll be able to enjoy it more. So just throwing that out there. I have a couple of little side projects. I have a short film that I’m interested in producing and starring in, but I can’t do any of it right now. I don’t want to never act again, but it’s probably not ever going to be the forefront of my priorities. I really do love playing poker so much. It kind of fills any void that I have of missing acting. I still miss it, but I’m so happy with my new career. I did have a lot of fun working on DAYS again, so I’m definitely open for other stuff. We’ll see.

 

 

 

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