THE PERILS OF PAULINA

AW's Judi Evans Will Take Angst Over Tears Anyday

by Bill Lieberman SOAP OPERA UPDATE: 1992 This month marks one year since Judi Evans stepped into ANOTHER WORLD to fill Paulina Cory's shoes. Not that the actress who preceded her in the role was any great shakes, but the initial presence of Judi -- who had won a Daytime Emmy as Beth on GUIDING LIGHT and created an afternoon sensation as DAYS OF OUR LIVES' Adrienne -- surprisingly caused neither a critical nor fan fanfare. Well as the song goes, "everything changes when you love someone," and not only has Jake McKinnon changed his tune about the sultry and brash Paulina, but fans and the press alike are praising what seems to be a case of an actress warming up to a role and then setting it ablaze with a powerhouse performance, with many feeling that she was unfairly omitted for Emmy consideration last month. There are those who wonder if maybe the longlasting memory of Adrienne was too strong to allow the transition to Paulina the chance to have its fullest effect. "When Adrienne first came to DAYS," Judi remembers, "she was kind of tough. And then they softened her up...which was unfortunate because I really wanted something different to play. And now I'm playing tough, but it was scary because I'd never done anything like that. And I didn't know if I could. And it was exciting but scary. Paulina is much sexier, harder, tougher, but she's got some soft spots too." That may be the case at the moment, but let's face it -- and Judi will agree -- there was a time, despite NBC promos offering a Judi Evans much different than the whimpering, sensitive one on DAYS, that Paulina was fast becoming an Adrienne wanna-be. "It was around the time that she confessed to everybody of her family background that the character was getting away from how it was originally presented to me," Judi recalls. "It was good in a way, because I didn't know if I still could do that. You know, it had been a while. 'I wonder if I can cry again?' One of the directors came up to me -- Susan Strickler, she's great! -- and goes, 'We know you can cry. Try to find something new to do.' Because I had fallen right into that. So they don't want to see that either. I think that the purpose of writing her that way was to make the audience not think that she was such a bitch. You have to redeem a character occasionally, and that was her redemption, I think." So a year has gone by, and now the character has come into her own. The popularity of Jake and Paulina is quite miraculous when you consider the storyline obstacles and the protest over Judi being cast. And now they're talking supercouple, Emmy, frontburner, you name it. "That's really nice to hear," the 28-year-old actress exclaims. "It feels good that people like what I'm doing. And I thank the producers for that. They said to me, 'Play it your way. What would - you do?' And they gave me absolute freedom, which I never totally had on any show. I don't think I've ever heard on this show in a year, 'The character would never do that, or do it that way.' It's cool. Cause there's a real tomboy image and there' s a real tough edge to Judi. For a lot of years, I had a hard time standing up for myself, and this character has kind of given me the courage to do that." Without going into any details, Judi's past consists of events that would tend to make anyone an insecure, emotional roller coaster . Despite claiming that her life' s experiences have made her a better actress, on the flip side, her soap experience has had an interesting impact on her own being. "When you first do soaps," Judi explains, "you're like, 'Oh this would never happen!' And then it does...to you or someone. I have friends who have had really bizarre experiences, or I've done things that I never thought I'd do...in my real life, since I've been on ANOTHER WORLD. And it's funny some of the 'psychoest' things that I've done have been since I started playing Paulina. All of a sudden, I find myself in some situations doing terribly Paulina things. But you do become more open to possibilities. After all, who shoots a guy, then marries him, then divorces him, and then falls in love with him? But it happened!" And it would have happened to another actress if DAYS OF OUR LIVES had taken her back, as they promised they would when she originally left. "I did ask to go back to DAYS," Judi states, "and they told me that they had too big a cast. That was their response. And that was within a couple of months of leaving, when they said, 'Anytime you want to come back...' I said, 'Look, this role is coming up and I want to know.' I didn't know if I was going to get Paulina or whatever, but I wanted to give DAYS a chance. Wally (Kurth, ex-Justin, DAYS and now Ned, GH) and I were willing to come back, just before he got GENERAL HOSPITAL. I'm happy now, and I can't really blame them -- they probably didn't know what to do with Justin and Adrienne. Besides, there are all those changes going on at DAYS right now. ANOTHER WORLD is so stable, and I like that." And while the throng of Justin and Adrienne fans are incensed to have read that just now, any Judi Evans fan will tell you -- we'll take her anyway we can get her! # Return to Press Index