Susan Haskell's ears have been ringing. Metaphorically speaking,
that is: Her OLTL character, Marty, who started out as a needy bad
girl and accused Rev. Carpenter of sexual misconduct, then got gang raped
and ultimately fled to Ireland with poet husband Patrick, was recently
discussed on the show as an example of how a spurned young woman can cause
major trouble.
Laughs Haskell, "My friends
have called and said, "They were talking about you [on the show] the other
day!" It's flattering when they bring up your character like it's
part of the history." She used to be able to catch up on her soaps, but
since February, the actress and former co-star Thorsten Kaye (Ian, PC;
ex-Patrick, OLTL) have had TV time curtailed, thanks to the birth of daughter
McKenna. "She's so much fun," gushes the new mom. "I can't
imagine what it was like before." As for daddy, "He's just a natural
father. She lights up with him."
All of which means that Haskell
has put her career on hold for a while. Though after OLTL, she continued
working steadily on TV (JAG) and in film (Mrs. Winterbourne),
pregnancy put a strain on such pursuits - and then she developed placenta
previa. "Basically, it means three months of bed rest," she explains.
"[McKenna] was always healthy, it was just me who had complications.
It was interesting, to say the least. It was easy to do in a sense
that I knew what I was doing it for."
And the silver lining:
She could watch soaps. "I did!" she exclaims. "It was nice,
getting to watch some of my friends again." PC's cancellation means
that Kaye will be looking for work, but the show's death is upsetting for
other reasons, too. "The people I met there were a lovely group.
It's always sad when something like that comes to an end."
Speaking of which, though
she's not ready yet, Haskell will eventually test the work waters again.
"I'm now just starting to think about it," she says, not ruling out another
soap. "However it evolves, it will evolve around [McKenna]."
And, she adds, changing coasts is not out of the question. "Back
East has always been in the back of our minds," she says. "We don't
have any specific plans, though."
For now, the former Marty
will remain just Mom - and wait for what the future holds. And who
knows? Someday, Patrick and Marty might sail back over from Ireland.
"That's right," she grins. "Of course, [our] child would end up being,
like, 25 now - that's how it works on soaps. That's a little frightening.
I'd have to talk to [Thorsten] about that first." |
