Semi-spoilerish Kate Mansi Interview; "A new chara (Read 279 times)

[karebr13]

from daytime royalty

daytimeroyaltyonline.com/topic/8546098/1/#new



www.mediablvd.com/magazine/katemansidaysofourlives_201107173894.html

Semi-spoilerish Kate Mansi Interview; "A new character arrives in Salem and brings a lot of turmoil..."


“Days” Actress Kate Mansi Discusses Her Character, Abigail Deveraux!

The gorgeous, talented, and versatile Kate Mansi is certainly a name to keep an eye out for in Hollywood. After an appearance in How I Met Your Mother, Mansi went on to star in one of the popular and celebrated soap operas in the history of television, Days of Our Lives. Acting for a soap can be challenging - mainly due to the prolific episodic output, and the consequently high levels of memorization required for those roles. Nonetheless, Mansi has proved herself as a valuable asset to the show and as a cast favorite to the audience.

Kate Mansi took some time out of her busy shooting schedule to talk with MediaBlvd about her start in acting, her feelings about her character, and a few potential plot developments.

MediaBlvd> How did you get started in acting?

Kate> Well, my mother was in the entertainment industry, and I grew up with musical theater as a background and dance. When I was in high school, I did a school play and I had “caught the bug” as they say. I felt like it was a different kind of fulfillment in my life; I felt that dance was wonderful but it could only take me so far. I lost my love for dance. [As for acting,] I really enjoyed the idea of becoming a different person, and getting into their head. So I started acting when I was in college; I started auditioning for things, got a manager and an agent. I was going to Pepperdine University and it getting really hard to do both things [acting and school] at the same time, and I graduated from Pepperdine in 2009 and booked Days of Our Lives shortly after that.

MediaBlvd> Tell us about your character on Days of our Lives…

Kate> Abigail Deveraux. Ah, where can I start? First of all, she’s been played by five different people, so what I tried to do when I got this job is to take on the history of character and add some more of my personal characteristics to her. Abigail comes from a really good family and she has a really grounded moral view of life, but she’s also a little feisty, a little bit stubborn. She has been known to always get what she wants, she’s a straight A student, she works really hard, and she loves her family. And she’ll fight for anything she loves, and I think that’s a really admirable quality about her. She’s also going through the growing pains of becoming a woman from being a young girl. She’s falling in love for the first time and having all these experiences that I think are very relatable as a character, so I’m really excited to dive in to working on this character.

MediaBlvd> What attracted you to the role of Abigail Deveraux?

Kate> Well, a job, first of all! [laughs] When I got the part; that attracted me a lot! [laughs] What really attracted me to Abigail is that we’re similar, but we’re also really different. Also, I felt it was a little bit of a challenge – she’s younger than me, I’m 23 and she’s 19. She went to Europe and now she’s coming back to a family that’s very broken. Her father is away and has sort of left the family behind to pick up the pieces, and I come from a broken family as well – my parents divorced and remarried other people, so I’m very sensitive to family issues. I was very excited to dive into playing a character that is similar to me in certain ways.

MediaBlvd> You had a guest role in an episode of How I met your Mother – what was that experience like?

Kate> One of my favorite acting experiences! I think it was because it was my first – I had done a lot of small films, USP film projects, I’ve done a lot of print work – but that [How I Met Your Mother] was my first [televised] job. That experience, I remember just taking pictures and I was really excited! [As for] working on it, I think I only had like five lines, it wasn’t Shakespeare or anything [laughs], but it was so much fun for me! I have such an admiration for Neil Patrick Harris, so it was really great to be in that scene. It was fun, exciting, and so great to work with them. It was really great to see the difference between comedy [and dramatic acting] also – I really enjoy comedy because it’s challenging and it’s so spontaneous sometimes. You can make mistakes and they would turn it into an even funnier joke. I felt like a kid in Disneyland – it opened up my whole world, and that was the day I thought ‘this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.’

MediaBlvd> Yeah, that seems like a lot of fun!

Kate> It was, it was really fun! I think I got a better workout there from laughing that day than I ever had in dance class! [laughs] I couldn’t stop laughing! Everybody there is so fantastic!

What can you tell us about what happens to your Abigail over the next few episodes?

Kate: I can tell you that we’re about six weeks out [ahead of air date] right now. I’m taping some scenes with… I don’t know if I can say – a new character is arriving to Salem, and it’s going to bring up a lot of turmoil. I will say that. What’s about to air for you guys is the DiMeras, my boyfriend Chad is a DiMera and I’m a Horton, [and this is] like a Romeo & Juliet sort of thing. And now we’re past that whole ‘he’s a DiMera’ and ‘I’m a Horton’ phase, and now we’re falling in love and he’s starting to see who our family really is and he goes through a really big change in his family life and it really bonds us together. We shut out the rest of the world, and find some sort of anchor in each other. Pretty soon, Abigail is going have some really difficult decisions ahead of her with this new character that I can’t talk about. Wish I could tell you! [laughs]

MediaBlvd> Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring actors?

Kate> I have to tell you that I love that question, Frederic. I’ve only been asked that question once, and I love it when people ask me that. I majored in Public Relations at Pepperdine, so maybe I’m a junkie - I always read interviews and things like that, but I never felt that anyone gave a real portrait about what it’s like. It’s hard. It’s not easy for someone who’s really sensitive, you get knocked around in this business – you have to be really tough. Even when you think you’re the toughest, you get drawn to a whole new level and it completely rocks you for a minute. If you’re persistent and always prepared, when that moment comes and you have the opportunity to book something, you’ll be ready. There’s so many beautiful people in this town, and there’s only so much you can do to separate yourself from somebody else, so when an opportunity comes – you have to be absolutely prepared. And I don’t mean just physically and outwardly prepared, I mean [you have to be] in your class, ready to do the work, study the role, get into the character, and keep going from there. Refuse to lose, and that’s what I’m trying to do.

MediaBlvd> That’s very good advice. Thank you so much!

Kate> Thanks, it was a pleasure.

[Kpatch]

Thanks for posting this interview karebr. I wonder if the "new" character is really an old character, meaning Jack. I think Jack's return is going to cause turmoil for Abby in general and particularly in her relationship with Chad. I don't think Jack is going to be happy about that. I think that is the reason that Jennifer has been open to Abby and Chad, just so we can experience the contrast in Jack's reaction to his daughter dating someone who is affiliated with the Dimera gene pool.

[sportsgirl]

I was thinking it's Jack also... Funny, she says Abigail is 19 years old. Kate does bring maturity into this role.. Abigail comes off as much more mature than 19.

[ghoulgirl]

Hmmm...I want to know who this new character is. I hate all this cryptic stuff. LOL
Thanks for posting Karebr!

[DancingDays]

I'm confident the "new character" is Jack. I can not wait to see how she interacts with Matt. Kate was so easy with Melissa that I believed they'd known each other for years. As mother and daughter they've been very believable. I hope the same holds true for her and Matt.

[jaysdelina]

I feel that she was pretty obvious about it without actually saying it.It has to be Jack.Who else would cause turmoil?His return will mess with Jenn and Daniel's relationship,and Chad and Abby's relationship.

I feel too that the poster who said Jenn was probably so cool about it so that we could see the contrast when Jack gets back was absolutely correct.He's not going to keep his mouth shut about this,but at the same time,I hate that he's going to be facing a firing squad.I'm still not buying this walk about thing and really hope the writers have rewritten his reasons for being away.

[DancingDays]

I've heard Matt say before that he hasn't come back in the past because the story wasn't there, and that he's very mindful of the history of the character and that he knows what his fans want. To me, I see that as an indication that Matt coming back this time means theres a really juicy story coming. And for Jack to come strolling into Salem talking about how wonderful Australia was and how he's glad he's divorced now is NOT true in anyway to his history. Plus, that one picture of him in the dressing room with a full grown beard tells me that he's been help captive. By whom, and for what reason, I don't know. But I can't wait to find out.

[jaysdelina]

Thank you DD for stating my points much more clearly than I did,lol.I never bought this walk about thing.Oh,and Jennifer's total hostility?That tells me that somehow SHE is the one who screwed up by not questioning WHY he's gone or WHY they haven't heard more than a word or two here and there.They've done things like that before when he's been "dead"and again the first time when they were in Africa,they really made it look like Jenn was hooking up with Dr.Murphy while still married to Jack.But you're right,and that's what I love most about Matt,he cares about the history,the story and about what the fans think and feel.He really respects us and that's something you don't see often.

[fluffysmom]

I liked the article and look forward to seeing what happens with Jack's return.

[jaysdelina]

It's not soon enough for me,lol.

[ghoulgirl]

and much too soon for me. Anything sooner then never, ever again is too soon.

[DancingDays]

Boo GG!!!