Forward March!
Soap Opera Weekly
By Jeffrey S. Pearlstein
Though
life in One Life to Live's Llanview keeps her busy, Susan Haskell
(Marty) is piling more onto her already full plate. She
recently
completed production for the upcoming feature Mrs. Winterbourne; on
Sept. 18 she can be seen in Danielle Steel's Zoya, and on Sept. 21 she
co-starts in the ABC Afterschool Speical Fast Forward.
Fast
Forward focuses on Alex (Geoffrey Scott Brown) a teenager who gets the
opportunity to see the role alcohol plays in his future.
Haskell
portrays Pamela, a pivotal fixture in Alex's future. "My
character starts off as a big drinker - that's what brings them
together - but she ends up giving that up," says Haskell, whom ABC
approached for the role. The storyline jumps ahead in time to
tell what happens to Alex. "It's supposed to be a message for
y
oung kids not to drink, or at least be careful with what they do when
they drink."
According to Haskell, the characters are
fleshed out but the story "is really about how drinking affects one's
life," she says. "It's wonderful to be a part of something
that
has such a good message. I think it's a good way of showing
people that what you do now has an effect on what happens later, and
that you should really think about what you're doing."
Later
this year, Haskell jumps to prime time in the NBC miniseries Danielle
Steel's Zoya, based on the best seller. "We shot that in New
York
and Montreal, and it was great fun," she says. "The main
character is played by Melissa Gilbert - who ages from childhood well
into her 70s - and I play Elizabeth, her son's wife."
However,
it's not a very happy ending for Elizabeth and husband. "Even
though she is a strong woman and really loves this man, ultimately they
have one big difference that drives them apart."
Despite the
character's tough exterior, Haskell enjoyed the challenges Elizabeth
presented. "It was a small aprt, but I had some good scenes
in it
with my co-star and I enjoyed the material."
Another reason
Haskell enjoyed playing the character was because of the story's time
frame. "It takes place in the '40's, and it was kind of neat
to
be in a different time period. The clothing was classic
'40's,
and it was fun to have my hair done differently. When you
have
such a change like that in hair, makeup and clothing, it helps to set
the character in your head and really puts you into that place."
Next,
Haskell moves to the big screen, opposite Brendan Fraser, Ricki Lake
and Shirley MacLaine in Mrs. Winterbourne. "I don't want to
give
too much of the plot away because it would ruin it, but it's a great
love story/comedy. I'm Mrs. Winterbourne, and I'm married to
Brendan Fraser's character," she explains.
Having the
opportunity to do outside projects while staying with OLTL is important
to Haskell. "This is early in my career," she admits, "and I
think it's necessary that I experience other things. It's
been a
good several months, and I take these things as they come. I
have
no idea what the future is going to hold, but I feel very lucky to have
been involved in all of them, and I'm thankful to OLTL for working it
out for me."