Avery Pohl (Esme, GH) fills us in on the latest happenings in her character’s life
Esme’s been settling into a new life as a working mom. Tell us about working with your on-screen boss, Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis). “Nancy and I had agreed that this relationship was very much Devil Wears Prada, in that the dynamic between Alexis and Esme, while slightly more complicated than the one between Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep’s characters, is at the core of it very similar. You’ve got the assistant that doesn’t really wanna be there, that sort of has this giant mountain to climb that she feels ill-equipped to climb, and you’ve got this boss with very high expectations. I think we’ve found some really fun moments within the scenes because of that dynamic and that relationship. It’s been fun to explore creatively because it’s a very different scenario for Esme. She’s gaining confidence and a sense of independence, the sense of not feeling as reliant on everyone else, even though she still sort of is.”
Meanwhile, she is living with Spencer at Laura’s and he’s helping her raise Ace, parenting classes included. How has their dynamic shifted since Laura has been out of town? “I think that Esme is trying to have a little bit of a new lease on life. She has her job, her baby’s home. She’s much happier and I think she’s sort of trying to accept her scenario for what it is and she’s starting to sort of find some semblance of a routine — and Spencer has become a huge part of that. I think that as she tries to navigate other avenues of her life, she’s just trying her best and I think she has a greater appreciation for Spencer’s ability to step up and want to be a part of his brother’s life. I think a lot of [her view of Spencer] is tied to wanting Ace to be happy and giving him a semblance of stability. But I think Esme also wants some semblance of stability and she can see that within Spencer, but in a very different light than the sort of ‘old’ Esme did.”
It seems like there are some flickers on Esme’s part of developing feelings for Spencer. What is your take on that? “I think that Esme is not fully aware of her feelings or her actions. I don’t think she’s got the same wherewithal of who she is as a person like she did before. So within that, she doesn’t know what she’s doing, I think, is the bottom line. Esme isn’t fully aware of how her actions are going to impact others, which may be similar to old Esme in a certain capacity, but I don’t think realizes her little mini crush on Spencer yet.”
You had an episode not too long ago with your on-screen mom, Heather. What was it like to reunite with her portrayer, Alley Mills? “That was fun because it was the first time I’ve gotten to shoot outside of the studio since I’ve been here. Everyone was in these prison outfits with hoodies and I was sitting on a metal bench in a dress freezing, but other than that, I loved the scenes! I think that Alley and I have great on-screen and off-screen relationships and I think that it’s such a complex scenario between Esme and Heather. It’s so twisted and fun! I hope I get to work with her again soon. I think for Esme, there are parts of her past she has to look at before she can really move forward, and I think Heather is a part of that.”
