Playing an ex-nun is an old habit for Santa Barbara's Elizabeth Maclellan
Soap Opera Weekly, 1989	Home   Cette page en Français

Born : Yonkers, N.Y.

Raised : Yonkers, N.Y.

Birthday : March 10

Height : 5 feet 5 inch

Hair : Red

Eyes : Blue

Education : Degrees in psychology and theatre from Marymount Manhattan College

Marital status : Single

First job in business : "I was a dancer for a long time. It was a dancing job for NBC, a variety show that never aired. I still dance. I did an episode of Dear John where I did dancing and acting. Ralph, the nerdy guy, I was his love interest."

Previous soap roles : "I did some stuff on Another World about two years ago. I played Josie. It was when they had a murderer on the show and everyone was worried about their contracts. It lasted forever. I was brought on and I knew I was going to die. He killed me and found me in a trunk three days later. I tested for General Hospital's Arielle. I can imagine what that meeting was like - all of these dark-haired girls and then I appeared. It was funny because we had to wear a bathing suit top and a skirt, so there was a lot of flesh showing. So there I am in my white skin."

Most interesting role : "I did a role on Friday the 13th about a year ago where I played the killer. They had to dye my hair brown for that because the other actress had red hair. It was the first time I was ever a brunette. It was fun. I killed for love with a pool cue. I got a little messy. It went through the abdominal cavity - right through. We had like a Steve Martin pool cue coming out the back. It was very funny."

On playing an ex-nun : "I've played a mannequin, an ex-hooker and a lot of crazies on the stage... but this is my first ex-nun. I was brought up Catholic, so I had something to work from. I went to Catholic schools and I had nuns as teachers. There were a couple of them that I drew from. I also have a cousin who was a nun and left. It's not like Greta because she couldn't have sex. She just thought, "I want to help people, but this isn't the way for me to do it.' Now the story's getting sexual because she is a virgin, of course."

Any word from her nuns/teachers ? : "No. That would be interesting. I don't know if they sit in the coffee room and watch. It's an interesting concept though. I was just reading some fan mails and I haven't gotten to any from nuns."

The scenes where she attacked Mack (Steve Bond) : "I didn't see them, but playing them was just so much fun. We were on the couch and they said, "Try to take off his shirt". So I went for it. What happened in rehearsal was that when I was doing it I got him started laughing because I was tickling him, which I didn't mean to do. So we sort of kept that throughout where I was ripping his buttons off and tickling him at the same time. We rehearsed the mechanics of it, just what, when, where and ‘I'm going to jump you there'. He was terrific to work with. Really fun. I don't think I'm working with him anymore. That was a way to get me with Frank."

On acting awkward : "It's funny, when Frank and I watch some of our scenes, there was one where we had to say good night in the car. You're sitting there and you're thinking, "Well, do I kiss him or shake his hand..." I was just so awkward and we watched it together and said, "Oh, God !" It was what they wanted, but it's just awkward watching yourself be that awkward."

Her own awkward youth : "Sure, I had my moments. I still do. Where you just go, "Oh God, I don't believe this." I remember when I was growing up, you didn't go steady, you went out with someone. So there's that awkward moment of "Are we going out ? Or are we not ?" I remember being at a party and not knowing the status of this one boy I was in love with. We were, in fact, not going out, and I thought we were. It was just so awful to finally realize it, or have it said to you. You die a thousand deaths. That was a bad one. Waking up that morning and saying, "Oh, God. Why am I here ? I'm so embarrassed.""