How has Anna changed over the years? “She’s become more human. She’s not so black and white in terms of what she wants and what she needs. There are emotions involved now. Because of the love she has expressed and felt from Tony over the years, she feels very much that she’s more of the grande dame at this point. She feels like she can pass out advice to anybody. She’s kind of the go-to yenta of the town.”
Was it hard playing the woman causing friction between Roman and Marlena, initially, and how did fans react? “I didn’t get good fan mail because of it. Marlena was hugely popular, obviously. It was a little intimidating, but on another level, it’s acting. I knew all of that, and Deidre [Hall, Marlena] was kind to me. Anna and Marlena’s relationship developed over the years, especially with the Marlena character being compassionate toward anybody with any kind of problem. And Marlena and Anna always had this commonality in their love for Carrie. When Anna first started she passed off control of Carrie to Marlena because she was so interested in taking care of her own life and getting her own life underway.”
Has Anna ever had a role model? “Not Anna, no. It’s funny, because I used to watch Frances Reid [ex-Alice]. She would give me a few acting tips here and there. I remember just watching her and seeing how professional she was, but with a naughty sense of humor behind it. She was frisky, and I liked that. I’m grateful to have had those years with her, and I got to learn a little bit from her. As far as Anna, I don’t think she got along with Tony’s mother.”
Has she ever had a best friend? “It would have been Calliope back in the day. It was really wonderful. Those were such good years when we were all together — Arleen [Sorkin, ex-Calliope], John [de Lancie, ex-Eugene], Thaao [Penghlis, Tony] and myself. We all jelled very well. Of course, Anna was very selfish and very willing to use Calliope [for Anna DiMera Designs]. Anna took credit for everything, and Calliope did all the work. Anna didn’t know how to sew a button on a shirt, let alone design something. But it was her name on the door and she got credit for everything. She willingly took credit because she was looking to find another way to make more money.”
What are Anna’s strengths and weaknesses? “Anna’s very adaptable. She’s very much a chameleon that way, which is where those early manipulative talents came into play. At this stage of Anna’s life she’s more compassionate and understanding of other people’s loves and hates. As far as weaknesses, she’s susceptible to flattery. She’s susceptible to making a dollar. She’s susceptible to her own insecurities, I suppose. She’ll do anything to defend her position, and she will do anything to defend Tony and her daughter and anybody that she really cares about.”
Were there any story turns that surprised you over the years? “When I had to use a shoe to knock an eyeball out of Steve. That was shocking, and I thought, ‘How am I going to make this work?’ I had to rely on all the other actors to make it real enough that we could make all of it work. That was an out-of-the-box storyline, especially for Anna to go after somebody and hit somebody and hurt them. That’s a bit out of character. Yet, she was protecting Tony, because he was being attacked. That’s where that came from. I had to lean on the actors in order to make it work for me. They had to give me enough for me to feel that I was justified in that. And they did, thank God.”
What life event or events do you think most affected Anna? “When Tony disappeared off the pier never to be seen again. Anna was devastated because by then, she was all in. She loved him so desperately, and she couldn’t live in that town without him. So she took off and went to Europe for years, traveled around the world aimlessly. Then somehow she got his urn [of ashes] and carried that with her for a while. That was the catalyst, when he left and left her alone.”
Who is Anna’s all-time nemesis? “Stefano, overall. He was the one who hired her, also the one who fired her, and I think at one point sent her off to be executed or something. He’s probably the one. Even though she had great respect for him, she would do everything she could to undermine him once she got out from under his thumb. She wasn’t a big fan of Andre’s, either, because he took advantage of her. She didn’t take kindly to being manipulated that way.”
Who is the love of Anna’s life? “Well, there would be two. There would be Carrie, the daughter who she has loved all of her life. As much as she semi-abandoned her on Marlena’s doorstep, she knew she could always get back to her. And Carrie’s always been forgiving of that. Strangely, you don’t see it on screen, but we play that in the background, that they see each other outside of whatever is on screen. Then there’s Tony, of course. She did love Roman once upon a time. She did have great affection for Roman, but he was too straight arrow. She went after a DiMera because that’s a little more twisted. Then she fell in love with Tony and that was not planned. She was planning to use him, but then she felt emotions that she didn’t expect to have. She was very surprised by that but learned how to go with the flow and let that happen.”
Aside from Thaao, do any other leading men stand out that you feel you had great chemistry with? “I didn’t have that many storylines with other guys. I had the prince, but he died early. That was mainly because Anna wanted to be a princess desperately, like every other girl. I don’t remember having great chemistry with the actor [Grey O’Neil] who played him. I did love working with Quinn Redeker [ex-Alex]. He was great fun, and I learned so much from him. He was so good at the play on words. He was such a great writer. I loved the flirty back and forth with him because it was so easy. It made it make sense. It made it real. It was great fun.”
Would you be friends with Anna? “I think I would. She’s fun. She’s who I would like to have the guts to be. She says things that surprise me. She’s a lot of fun. I would love to be friends with her.”
What were some of your favorite storyline moments? “It’s so funny. I do remember when we crashed on an island. We all had a lot of laughs because there were so many of us in those scenes day after day. I remember they took the cue cards away and some of the actors couldn’t stand it. They were so used to having a giggle in between and then looking at the cards and saying their line. Those were fun days. There was another storyline where Anna was kidnapped and taken to some harem. Tony, Eugene and Calliope went to rescue her. Those were fun scenes. All the scenes with John and Arleen were terrific and great fun back in the day. More recently, it’s been nice working with actors I had never really worked with before. I did some scenes with Ari [Zucker, Nicole], and we hadn’t worked together in 15 years or something. That was fun to revisit. It’s fun to connect with other actors that you see in the hallway or the makeup chair next to you but you don’t necessarily have any story with them unless you’re in a big party scene. So it’s been a good time connecting with everybody.”
Do you have a favorite DAYS wedding? “It’s probably the Tony and Anna wedding that everybody has seen. I’m wearing a giant headpiece thing and a long white dress. It was probably in the 1985 time frame. I remember that day vividly myself because it was so real at the time. I really felt like I was getting married to him. We had beautiful vows to each other. It was heartfelt. It was really beautiful. We loved each other. We still do. Thaao and I are such good friends, and it all makes that very real.”
What comment or question do fans ask you the most? “Mostly I’m grateful because they say, ‘We love you. You’re so much fun to watch.’ Anna always brings a zinger and makes something different. I always say I’m a free radical who just shows up in these scenes that are so serious. Then here comes Anna, and she’s going to mix it all up. She adds a little bit of spark, and I’m pleased with that. I’m happy to be the spark. I’m happy to have something fun to play. We all need a little joy. We all need a little laugh.”
Is there anyone from Anna’s past you’d like to see back on the show? “I’d love to see Arleen and John. As a matter of fact, Arleen came back and we did a few shows in 2010. That was so sweet to work together again. I’d love to have John back as Eugene. He was funny, too. We had a great time together.”
Me vs. Her
Who gives better advice? “I’m pretty good. I hope that I’m a good shoulder for my friends and my family to lean on. Anna speaks from her heart, as well. Nobody wants to give bad advice. I don’t know. It might be a toss-up.”
Who’s funnier? “Anna is pretty funny, but I have my own sense of humor. The old saying is, ‘Make ’em laugh.’ I think we need joy, so I kind of play around with friends and family and words and all of that. I’m kind of frisky, but Anna is probably funnier because that’s captured on screen. She’ll do anything, she’ll say anything, and back it up later.”
Who’s more adventurous? “Oh, Anna. It would be funny to watch her jump out of a plane. Anna might try it, if she had to under threat of death. I would never do it myself, personally. I’m not that adventurous. I love the outdoors. I love hiking. I love ‘glamping’, but I am not ready to go into the bush in Alaska and live in the wilds and do Bear Grylls. I watch a bit of [his shows] and have to stop. I can’t watch it. It makes me too nervous. I just don’t understand how he gets these people to do what they do. I would just never. That wouldn’t happen.”
Who has a better wardrobe? “Anna. She has a terrific wardrobe, although I have [amassed] a pretty good one over the years. But Anna has the wardrobe and, of course, she feels she deserves it because she had Anna DiMera Designs. So she knows all about fashion. I get dressed when I’m out and about. I don’t want to wear a sweatshirt every day. I want color. I want vibrancy. Anna wears a lot of color and jazz. If I’m going out to dinner, I’m putting my jewelry on and going out nicely dressed.”
Who has a better home? “Anna, but the fact of the matter is, it’s like a boarding house at the DiMera mansion. We don’t know how many rooms and corridors there are, but there are a lot of them because a lot of family members live under that roof. Anna’s got the bigger house. No question. I live in an apartment. It’s not as grand or spacious. Many years ago, I got divorced and sold my big old Tudor house up in the Hollywood Hills. I loved my house, and now I’m very comfortable in a smaller space. It’s not as much for me to keep up with.”
