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Fan Question: If you were starring in your own movie, which daytime star would you choose as your co-star, and why? "If I were starring in my own movie, I would most definitely choose Roark Critchlow as my co-star. His recent storyline on DAYS has demonstrated his outstanding acting skills and talent. I also had the good fortune to see Roark at DAYS Fest and Fanfare in Salem, Ill. He was a genuine pleasure to listen to. I would want an actor of his caliber, who realizes people like to see someone who takes pride in portraying a good, decent man like Roark's character, Mike Horton. Lastly, he's quite a hunk!" - Linda Topolovec, Hanover Park, Ill. "I would choose Roark Critchlow. His portray of Mike moves me, his range of emotions from the caring son, to the concerned friend, to the compassionate doctor or the guy in love trying to conceal his own feelings. Who can forget his scenes with Carrie building a sand castle or dancing by the car. Every time I hear that song, I remember them. I under stand he is a lot like (his character) in real life. So if I were starring in a movie, I'd want someone with his range of abilities. He would make me look good." - Shirley Jewett, San Jose, Calif. DAYS' Hottest Week - Smart, Sexy and Strong Christie Clark, Kristian Alfonso, and Stephanie Cameron CHRISTIE CLARK "Carrie was just a teenager when she fell in love with Austin. Now Mike has turned her into a woman with different needs." "Carrie is smart, but sometimes not too smart," laughs Clark. "I can't imagine that Carrie doesn't see how much Mike cares about her. And she doesn't really want to look at why she's been thinking and dreaming about Mike. She pushed any feelings aside because she's a married woman. Mike is older and has always been a family friend, someone Carrie can talk to about anything and get good advice. With Austin, it's all about sex." And what of her insidious sibling, Sami? Upon learning that Sami had been in Rome, "(Carrie) got to call Sami a b****!" says Clark with a big grin. "Now that Carrie realizes Sami planted so many suggestions after reading Carrie's diary, it's easier for her to push feelings for Mike aside." What are Carrie's strongest points, aside from her newfound ability to go head to head with Sami? "Certainly Austin, and her work," says Clark. "And around Will, too, her love and caring is strong." DAYS executive producer Tom Langan agrees. "Her love for her family in general is her greatest strength. She's a consistent family-focused individual." Mike, however, presents something of a skew to Carrie's otherwise seamless ability to manage her relationships. "She's ready to start her married life with Austin now, but when she's with Mike, he brings something out in her that Austin cannot. It's a different passion for life," Clark says. Even though DAYS fans know that Carrie is, as Langan puts it, "all-American apple pie," he stresses "there's something else going on inside her, which we'll see coming to the surface because Sami is not totally wrong about Carrie's attraction to Mike. As Carrie matures, she'll recognize that more and more." Finally, after several roller-coaster years, after all that undeserved treachery and deception, Carrie was able to walk down the aisle with her first true-love, Austin. All well and good, but as Clark herself points out, "She was really just a teenager when she fell in love with Austin. Now Mike has turned her into a woman, with different needs." In her own life, Clark has matured into an alluring woman with dual careers: one as an Emmy-nominated actress and the other as an entrepreneur with her clothing line, MonkeyWench. Is it difficult to be sexy, smart and strong without coming across as tough? "I think it's find to come across tough," says Clark, "especially now in the '90's. Being that strong is sexy and smart. Even if a person isn't necessarily physically attractive, if he or she is productive and passionate about life overall, that person can be very appealing. I feel sexy when I'm busy and passionate about life." What is also very appealing is the absence of narcissism and self-absorption. By that reckoning, the refreshingly modest Clark is even more attractive than the surface suggests. Mindful of the parallels between herself and Carrie, Clark admits she feels particularly strong when at work and particularly sexy at home, "with (her) man." In recent months, however, there's been plenty of passion at work, too. Austin and Carrie's honeymoon was very sexy. The actress admits she was feeling atypically "sassy" when she tweaked Austin's nipple in a bed scene. "I was surprised I got away with it," she says, grinning from ear to ear. Only in the last year has Clark shed her "little girlie" look familiar to DAYS viewers who have watched her since she was a preteen. "Carrie is now more of a woman but has a way to go."