Melody Thomas Scott tells all! Page 2
Weekly: She almost did recently with Neil.
Scott: I read that and I thought: All right! I never felt that that storyline ended properly. We never followed her through rehab or therapy or any of those therapeutic things that one must do. All of a sudden, Nikki woke up one morning and was fine. So I’m still hoping for her to take that drink and realistically show how that has to be dealt with. But maybe soap writers think that that process is boring to watch. We never really see people go through rehab on our show. But I think it could be very helpful for some of our viewers.Weekly: She has had a lot to deal with lately.
Scott: Yes. Now would be a perfect time for Nikki to crumble! As an actor, you always want to play something dramatic like that. You never want to play a perfect character. I’ve always wanted to play somebody who is totally insane living in a rubber room. Nikki hasn’t done that yet! That would be much more interesting than serving tea and looking after your grandchildren. Don’t get me started on that!Weekly: Luckily, you haven’t been serving tea lately. The hospital scenes were fantastic.
Scott: Yes, thank you, they were wonderful to play. An actor’s pace goes in and out. We’re all used to being front-burner and then back-burner. Regardless, we’re still part of the canvas of the show. You can’t always be featured every day for years and years. A lot of actors don’t understand that, but they must learn to because that’s the nature of this genre.
Weekly: So, it doesn’t matter to you?
Scott: It doesn’t. I’m such a non-actor in that way. I don’t think about, “How big is my part today? How many lines do I have?” I can’t think that way. I’m an unusual actor in that respect. Most actors are thinking about themselves and what they are doing and “How important am I to the show this week?” It’s just a part of my life. I get my work schedule, then I plan my life around it. Despite popular opinion, I have a whole other life outside of that studio! A lot of actors are single and have nothing but their careers to think about. Thank God I am not one of those. I love my job and will continue to act my whole life, but actors should never live for their career. They’ll regret it. Your spouse should always come first, then the children, and then your career.Weekly: Is it weird without Ed there? (After 25 years on the show, Ed Scott stepped down as executive producer in December 2001.)
Scott: Yes it is. I’m used to it now, but it was a difficult transition for me because I was spoiled to always have my husband there. Not just in a personal sense but professionally as well. People always used to say, “Oh, my God, how can you stand to work with your husband? How can you be with him 24 hours a day?” It would drive most people crazy. But we loved that. We thrived on that. We’re sickeningly happy being together. We constantly love it. And if we’re not together, we’re on the phone, so it’s just been an adjustment for me. But Kathy Foster and David Shaughnessy are doing a tremendous job maintaining the quality that has kept our show No. 1 in the ratings for 14 years.
As a couple, ours was never a normal situation. It was very unique for an actress to be married to a producer, especially because we met on the show. I had no idea who he was before I started Y&R. In fact, we didn’t even like each other for several years! So I came onto the show simply as an actor, and then all of a sudden I found myself being “the producer’s wife.” With that came all the crazy nonsense. Some people said that there was nepotism involved, which was so untrue. My husband is very professional. He would never, ever cross those lines. People would think I knew future storylines. Ridiculous. First of all, he was not part of the writing staff. He was producing. We very rarely even talked about the show outside of that building. We have more important things to occupy our time. Like our children. Like “Where are we taking our next vacation?” Like “I love you and our life together!” But people get these ideas in their heads about pillow talk and whatnot.
I do miss him. A lot of our actors do. Nobody can pull a great performance out of an actor better than Edward Scott! But he is very busy. He’s doing all these other projects, and he’s happy. It’s definitely been a transition for all of us, but the show must go on. You move forward.
Weekly: Let’s talk about when you re-signed. You were actually off the show for a while, right?
Scott: It was a strange time, because normally, in the past, whenever there was a renegotiation, the show would start the process well enough in advance so there was never this last-minute panic. It used to be assumed that you would re-sign and they would keep writing you and you would continue going to work with the understanding that your new deal would all be retroactive.
With my negotiation, they decided not to do that. I was not extended that courtesy, so all of a sudden it was, “Bam, Nikki is in the Amazon.” I was off the show, which was shocking to me. Now, they do that all the time. They did it with Sharon (Case, Sharon). They did it with Lauren (Woodland, Brittany). It’s a whole new ballgame. I ended up being off the show for seven weeks. That was when I was doing The Vagina Monologues. It was a crazy time. But a lot of what you read is not necessarily what happened. People turned it into a big press circus.Weekly: It was a “scandal.” What was the craziest rumor you read?
Scott: That I had a moving van pull up and remove my things from my dressing room. I thought, Oh, my God! This is unbelievable! But I did take my things out of my room, because when you don’t have a contract and you’re basically told, “OK, it’s over,” what am I supposed to do? Leave my personal items in a room in a building that I would no longer have a pass to enter? People made such a big fuss about that. They thought it was some kind of strategic, hostile move on my part. It was simply what anybody would do. You pack up your desk and your picture frames. It certainly was not intended to be anything evil.Weekly: I guess people want to think you’re a diva?
Scott: Oh, I know. The D-word! That doesn’t bother me. I try to think of it as a compliment.Weekly: Where would you like them to take Nikki? Do you think she could be without Victor?
Scott: There’s always going to be a little piece of her heart that belongs to Victor. That’s the way it will be for the rest of her life, and I think his, too. I imagine they will split us up again, because there always has to be some kind of conflict. Then, Nikki and Victor will find their way back to each other, which is what we’ve been doing for over 20 years. I’m wondering who they’re going to hook Nikki up with next. I’ve already been with every male character on the show. Maybe they’ll bring in somebody new — somebody new for me to torture!
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