Penny for Her Thoughts
ALL MY CHILDREN’s Sydney Penny has many reasons to be excited about 2007. Not only is Julia in a fresh, new story surrounding little Kathy, but the actress and her husband, Robert Powers, are expecting their first child together in June.
Soap Opera Weekly: I really like Julia, Jamie, Amanda, Di, Aidan, Del and now Kathy all living together at Wildwind.
Sydney Penny: I do, too! Pretty much everyone at Wildwind is helping to raise Kathy right now. I love that group of people. We always have such a good time working together.
Weekly: It’s funny how so many of the characters have slept together. I wonder what they talk about over breakfast?
Penny: Hey, believe it or not, as much as Julia was tarting around there for a while, she’s only been with one person there!
Weekly: Obviously Jamie. But what about Del? Didn’t they get together back when Winsor Harmon (now Thorne, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL) was playing the role?
Penny: No. Back in the day Julia had a crush on Del, but Del was having none of it. Those were different times (laughs). It’s kind of like when there’s been somebody you had a huge crush on and then you see what they’re really like and you go, “Oh, my God! What could I have been thinking?” Del is like a little brother now.
Weekly: It must be fun getting the chance to work with so many new actors you probably wouldn’t have.
Penny: It is. And I’ve been very lucky playing a nurse, because everyone in Pine Valley either gets poisoned or bonked on the head. They all have to come and see me, so it’s given me a chance to work with some people I never normally would have, like David Canary (Adam/Stuart), James Mitchell
(Palmer) and of course, Ray MacDonnell
(Joe). I got to work with Julia Barr (ex-Brooke) because she’s Jamie’s mother, which was delightful. It’s funny because I always thought Julia and Brooke would have a lot in common. I was hoping to see a resolution there. I thought it would be fun to put them together and team up against Jamie, but I don’t think we’re going to get to do that. I get to work more with Mikey Knight (Tad) coming up.
Weekly: Is there anyone you haven’t worked with by now?
Penny: Cady (McClain, Dixie) and I were just talking about how we’ve never gotten to work together hardly at all. I haven’t worked with Susan (Lucci) a lot, either. Erica/Julia scenes would be fun, very similar to what they do with Julia and Kendall. Although I haven’t gotten to work with Lish (Alicia Minshew, Kendall) in quite a while.
Weekly: I miss the rivalry between Kendall and Julia. So many fun fights.
Penny: I know! But she always wins because she has that sharp wit and sharp tongue. Julia is usually like, “Ahhh…”
Weekly: Who would win in a catfight? Julia does have that Witness Protection experience now.
Penny: Oh, I’ll tell you right now, Julia could take her. No problem. But don’t underestimate Kendall. She fights dirty. She goes right for the eyes and hair.
Weekly: How is it different the second time around on AMC?
Penny: It’s really an entirely different show now, just as the medium is entirely different. For me, it’s nice playing a character that is a little bit older. I’m not in the 20-something crowd, so it’s different storylines and looking at things in different ways. It’s challenging to me because it’s new territory. You tend to have the same things again and again for a while, and then you find yourself playing opposite different people in different situations, and there’s something new happening. That feels really invigorating. The show has always had a lovely sense of family and community. It’s always felt like that to me, and this particular mix of people who are on the show right now are all wonderful. There is not anyone I don’t look forward to seeing every day and couldn’t spend an hour talking to.
Weekly: Would you like to see Jamie and Julia have a baby?
Penny: That’s a difficult question because no one in Pine Valley seems to stay together very long. So almost in answering that, you’re assuming that there will somehow be an end to their relationship and, in a way, it’s a sad thought. It’s interesting because it would be an amazing fulfillment for Julia — her deepest wish ever. It’d be interesting for Jamie as a young man to have that experience and see how he would react to it. I don’t know how he would react.
Weekly: I can see Julia being ready for motherhood, but I just don’t know about Jamie.
Penny: And Julia’s always had those doubts because she’s lived more and lived a very difficult life, at that, knowing how things can change. It doesn’t mean she’s cynical or jaded, but definitely pragmatic. I think Jamie still has stars in his eyes to a certain agree, so he’d be inclined to say, “Oh, everything’s rosy.” It could cause a great deal of friction between them. It’s fun to have relationships that just roll along, but I also think it’s very important to explore the differences between people. That is a major difference between the two of them.
Weekly: On another note, I’m a huge baseball nut and I hear you are, too. Is this true?
Penny: Did you see Fever Pitch? It’s not quite that bad, but you know… (laughs). Baseball has always been my heart. I grew up watching the Dodgers, so they’ll always have a special place, and then there are many other teams I enjoy. I read books about baseball. I’ve very passionate about it. I read a wonderful book called Baseball and Philosophy (edited by Eric Bronson). It shows how our whole national psyche has developed pretty much along the same lines as the game of baseball itself. As baseball has confronted certain issues, so has America. Baseball has dealt with issues just as we were ready to deal with them as a larger society, like integration, drug use, labor issues, union issues, all these things. It’s a beautiful sport, and I’m surprised that more women aren’t drawn to it.
Conversation
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