Olivia and Ned are facing quite a challenge, which is that he thinks he’s Eddie Maine. Are you enjoying the storyline? “Oh, definitely. They had to find a wrinkle for them! They’re happily married, and you have to find some way to put some conflict in the relationship if you don’t want to break the relationship up, and this is a pretty interesting one! Of course, it’s not like this is the first time anyone’s had amnesia on a soap opera, but it’s not the classic soap opera amnesia. But because he doesn’t remember me, it’s sort of like playing that you’ve lost the person you love, that he’s died in a certain sense, but also that the person you love is right there, in your face. It’s a unique version of playing a classic death storyline, and the way that it’s written and the way that I’m sort of seeing it on the page is walking a fine line between real pathos and sadness, and then occasionally finding some levity in how incredulous Olivia is that this has happened. It’s so beyond the pale, what this puts her through, that you can only really laugh at it at a certain point! I’m getting to play the love that she has for Ned, and the sadness that she has about missing him, and she’s also frustrated and a little bit pissed off, both at the situation and, occasionally, him, but realizes that she can’t really be pissed off at him, because none of this is his fault! Which makes her feel a little bit guilty for being a bitch. So it’s a lot of emotions all at once to try to get out, to try to put into the scenes!”
Before his accident, she had proclaimed that she was going to stand by Ned even though he was being accused left and right of having reported Carly and Drew to the SEC. Do you think she believed him when he said he didn’t do it? “In my mind, she was not 100 percent sure that he didn’t do it, but she was going to support him anyway. That was a choice that she made, maybe without 100 percent faith in him. Her love for him made her choose that. And that was a very difficult conversation for her to have with Carly, but what else could she do?”
One would imagine that the groundwork is being laid for some serious friction between Olivia and Nina down the line, as well. “Oh, yeah, I assume that’s coming. I mean, I assume that somewhere down the line, we’re all going to find out that Nina was behind that [SEC call]. That should be some good stuff, too. If Carly and Olivia and Sonny are all pissed off at her, she’s gonna be in big trouble!”
Olivia has lost a live-in husband — for now, at least — but has regained a live-in mother-in-law, Tracy. What has it been like for you to have Jane Elliot back in the mix? “Oh, it is so wonderful. I’m so grateful that I’m one of the people that her storyline circulates around and I love the dynamic that they’re writing between us, especially since Jane and I have become very dear friends in real life. She’s sort of my mentor and a dear friend who I rely on for advice a lot, and so being able to play this fun dynamic of antagonism with her is especially delightful. She is unlike anybody else and we need her on the canvas. She is incredible — an incredible actress and an incredible person.”
