Chat Transcripts: McKenzie Westmore
Soap Opera Digest Online Chat with McKenzie Westmore!
Things heat up in Harmony this week as Sheridan and Luis share a kiss, and Les works even harder to make sure that Ms. Crane bites the dust (or, more
literally, the bullet). For McKenzie Westmore (Sheridan), being pursued by gorgeous men and would-be killers is all in a day's work. Here, the actress
fills in Digest Online on her character's refusal to make whoopee with her well-built bodyguard, as well as Sheridan's facility with Spanish dancing. (Hint: It involves getting the guy.)
Digest Online: I know that Luis and Sheridan are going to kiss this week. Are we going to see them making excuses for this kiss?
Westmore: Yes, they do make excuses for it. They blame it on the dance [they're doing] and the heat of the moment and the romance of the music. It is really -- no pun intended -- a passionate dance, and so they kind brush off the kiss as having happened as a result of that. Luis also makes the point that it was wrong of him to do, seeing as he is her bodyguard.
Digest Online: Why do you think Sheridan is so reluctant to admit that she has such strong feelings for Luis?
Westmore: It's funny, because everybody seems to forget about this, but Sheridan did overhear Luis say horrible, horrible things about her -- things
that would crush any girl or anybody's heart. Sheridan's been burned in every single relationship, so she has this horrible, horrible track record. And
here she had started to give her heart to another man, and he's doing the exact same thing that Jean-Luc did, and God knows how many other guys. So that's what it really stems from: She really wants him to admit to having said these horrible things, because then at least there could be some kind of closure for that upset. If Sheridan hadn't heard him say those things on the wharf, she would be totally open to being loved. She really does love Luis, deep down inside -- and he really loves her. But because there's that hurt and fear of being proven wrong -- that maybe he meant all those things that he said all night -- she's very torn.
Digest Online: Can you set up the scene surrounding the kiss?
Westmore: Luis wants to learn a particular dance for his mother's birthday; it's a dance that his mother has always loved and always dreamed of dancing
with Martin Fitzgerald in Spain. It's called the paso doble. And basically the whole idea behind it is that the man is the matador and the woman is to be his cape. It's a very sensuous, romantic dance, and Luis, not knowing how to do this dance, is trying to find a teacher. It just so happens that Sheridan is an expert paso doble dancer! [Laughs] She offers to teach him and he accepts.
Digest Online: Aren't we all experts at that?
Westmore: When it comes to Luis you are! Even if you have to lie! [Laughs] The great thing with this dance in comparison with the other dances that we've done is that it's really done in the style of student-teacher. Instead of them both being pros at it, you kind of see Luis back down on his macho behavior; he allows himself to be taught be a woman. And Sheridan is very
patient with him and is just loving teaching him.
Digest Online: And at this point, how shocked would Sheridan be if she were to discover that Hank is really her worst nightmare? I mean, he's trying to
kill her!
Westmore: I think she'd be pretty shocked! Again, another guy that she puts her trust in -- even though she doesn't necessarily have the feelings or
emotions that she's had with other guys and with Luis -- and he's just trying to hurt her. I think she'd be very crushed. You know, somebody that you considered a close friend and somebody that you may have considered having feelings for turns out to be your worst nightmare. It would just be horrifying to have to realize something like that.
Digest Online: Are you having too much fun playing the constant bickering to want Sheridan and Luis to be together right now?
Westmore: No, I want them together! I'm kind of done with the bickering. [Laughs] Some of the arguments, especially in the beginning of the show, were
a lot of fun. But now it's gotten to the point where they've both basically admitted to having feelings, and it would be nice to see it progress beyond
that and see what's going to happen with Julian and Alistair if Sheridan and Luis get together. Are they going to disown her? Are Sheridan and Luis
going to run away together? Are Julian and Alistair going to try to kill him? Im just so curious to see where that's taken.
Digest Online: Would you like to see Sheridan save herself, as opposed to having someone else come to her rescue?
Westmore: Yes and no. Yes, just to see that independent side and that strong woman in her show itself again, cause really, that's been sidetracked. It has been a lot of damsel-in-distress, but at the same time, that's the romance of it: the man in her life saving her.
Digest Online: Does Sheridan know at this point how far Alistair is willing to go to keep her and Luis apart?
Westmore: No, not at all. She just thinks that he's Daddy and she just wishes that he showed more love. That's why every time she talks to him and he talks
about loving her, she breaks down. If she found out [that he was threatening to have Julian imprisoned if he didn't break Sheridan and Luis up], I think
she'd be very, very, very upset, because she is the kind of person who absolutely hates to be told what to do, how to do it and when to do it. That's somebody controlling her life, and that's her biggest pet peeve.
Digest Online: The dance scenes are so much fun to watch. Do you have a dance background?
Westmore: I do. I'm trained in jazz, ballet, tap, hip-hop, a little bit of swing. I don't think Galen [Gering; Luis] has a background. This was actually, I think, the first time he had to learn a dance. It was very challenging for him in the beginning, but he picked it up so fast! I was just so impressed; he did a great job. Theresa's a lot of joking around [on set]
those days, but there can be a lot of tension, too. It gets a little nerve-wracking -- it's like having to rub your tummy and pat your head at the same time.
That's actually what got challenging with this: I had to talk during some of the dancing, and you don't realize how hard it is to say your lines right while
dancing!
Digest Online: And you want to be Sheridan dancing; you don't want to be McKenzie trying to learn the dance.
Westmore: Exactly. No matter what, I'm trying to look like a pro!
MCKENZIE ON FRIENDS
This week, soap star McKenzie Westmore (Sheridan) stretches her acting wings by appearing on Friends in the role of… a soap star. "The episode is titled 'The One with Joey's Award,'" Westmore explains. "Joey (Matt LeBlanc) is up for a soap award and I'm the presenter who comes out on stage and is announces his category, which is Favorite Returning Male Character. It was quite a stretch after having presented at the Soap Opera Digest Awards!" As a longtime Friends fan, Westmore was thrilled when NBC tapped her and Days' Alison Sweeney (Sami) to appear on the show. "I have watched Friends religiously since the day it started, so it really felt like a dream. Even when I was done taping, I was like, 'What just happened?' I woke up the next morning and thought, 'That really happened? I was on the set of Friends?'"
Though the actress was "sooo nervous" when she showed up for rehearsal, a fortuitous fan encounter helped calm her nerves. "I'm walking in, and there was a tour of about 15 people who were being shown around the studio. Well, all of a sudden I hear one of the tourists go, 'Oh my God! It's Sheridan Crane!' The whole tour got off the little bus and came running over to me. I thought, 'OK, I feel so much better now.' It was so hilarious being on a whole other lot [from where Passions tapes] and still getting recognized. Passions fans have great timing." Her good luck continued on the set, where "everybody – cast, crew – were so nice and so accepting and so incredible to us." Westmore particularly enjoyed working in front of a live audience. "Having that response right there, which we don't get over on our show, gave it a whole different energy. It was like doing live theater again, which I absolutely love doing and have missed. And getting to do the curtain call at the end was a lot of fun – we don't get to do that on Passions either!"
Catching Up with McKenzie Westmore (Sheridan)
'Passions' Online recently dished with McKenzie about
her guest spot on 'Friends,' being buried alive, and
chatting online with fans.
Oh, and you just might find out what it's like doing
those steamy love scenes with sexy Galen Gering!
Luis and Sheridan are finally happy! Are you enjoying
playing the happiness and romance between them?
It's so much fun! It's nice to have a little bit of a
change and play this, although I do miss some of the
bickering and some of the
fights. Those are always fun to play. But I definitely
love the romance. It's like a fairy tale.
Were you happy that Luis and Sheridan finally made
love?
Yes! It was definitely time. We all waited long
enough.
What was it like to do all those love scenes?
Oh, it was such hard work…yeah right! It was funny
though, because it really was hours of doing these
scenes one after the other.
And after I while, it was like, "Okay, can we put some
clothes on now?" It's funny because it's not what
people would think-it's not
romantic in any way. Everybody is standing around and
the director is coming out between scenes or is
sitting there at the edge of
the bed telling us what to do. It's really not all
that romantic! Thank God Galen and I have so much fun
together. We laugh a lot and
that's what gets us through it.
What do you think accounts for the great chemistry
between you and Galen?
I think it has a lot to do with us having so much fun
together. Neither one of us takes things too
seriously. We
really enjoy each other's company and we're always
laughing. We have the same sense of humor so that
helps
a lot. In between takes, we both find the same things
humorous and poke fun at that. We just get along so
well
and that's what we bring into our characters.
What would you like to see happen to Sheridan
next?
I would like to see some of the adventures come back.
I love the recent stuff with going into the vault and
trying to find the diaries. I
love that stuff. That's what's been so enjoyable about
Sheridan and Luis-their adventures. They were always
in some kind of trouble,
or she was in trouble and he was getting her out of
it. They're like the dynamic duo.
What have been some of your favorite
scenes to play since you've been on the show?
Of course when they sent me to
Paris-I loved that! The first tango, the mud slide,
all the stuff when we were in
Paris running from the drug
dealers-flying through the window, hiding in the
vents. Those were some of my
favorites. Some of the stuff we just
recently taped was so off-the wall and so funny. It
doesn't get crazier than
that, so everyone will just have to
tune in. That's what's so special about this
show…there are no limits!
Speaking of no limits, how did you
feel about the "buried alive" story?
The thing I liked the most about the story was the
attention it got and the attention the character got.
It was so great to see the
support of the fans. It was great to see all the
letters I got in support of keeping Sheridan around.
Taping it was a little tough on some
days. Just having to be closed in a coffin wasn't too
much fun. When it was open it wasn't too bad though,
because I just had to lie
there and keep my eyes shut-I accidentally fell asleep
one time! And when it was over, it was really nice to
have scenes with people
again! But I really loved the attention it got-that
was the best part.
Was it hard keeping the secret that Sheridan wasn't
really dead?
It really was hard…especially keeping it from my
family and friends. Even at FanFest, I had to play it
off like I didn't know. And in all
reality, we really didn't know. At one point, we
didn't know where it was going to go. It was like an
acting job outside of an acting job!
You're known as being very accessible to fans-such as
through on-line message boards and chats. Is
that important to you?
It's very important to me. The fans are so gracious
and nice, and they're the reason I continue to be
where I am
and have a popular character. It's the least that I
can do to thank them for their support-to do the
chats, and
write on the message boards, and do signings. My
brother set it up on my chat room where I can go in
there
with my own name. It's passworded so the fans all know
it's really me. Every now and then, I'll go in and do
a
surprise chat. And all of a sudden I see the room
growing bigger. They all have their buddy lists going!
What have been some of your most memorable
interactions with fans?
One time a woman told me she was naming her baby
McKenzie. And another time, I was at Universal
Citywalk and I had this girl
jump on me! It was really cute-she kept saying, "I
love you!" And then she pulled back and said, "I'm so
glad you're alive!" She was
just so adorable. I don't care how crazy or
enthusiastic the fans get-I love when they come up to
me. They're always so sweet.
In 'Hidden Passions,' it's revealed that Luis and
Sheridan were involved in past lives. What do you
think of that?
I think it's so awesome! The thing that was so cool is
that I remember one scene between Ethan and Sheridan.
She was looking out
at the ocean and she told Ethan this story of Sarah. I
remember this from quite a while ago. She basically
recounted this fairy tale to
Ethan. When I read it in the book, I couldn't believe
it! It was so cool how they brought it all together.
You do a lot of charity work. Are
there any particular charities that are especially
important to you?
The last charity I worked with was
Make A Wish and that was wonderful. Ronald McDonald
house is another
one that I really enjoyed working
with. I hope to do more work with them in the future.
I'm a sucker for anything
that helps kids and animals!
You recently did a guest spot on
'Friends.' What was that like?
It was so cool and so much fun.
Everyone was so nice. Matt LeBlanc and Jennifer
Aniston, who I worked with,
were incredibly nice. It was an amazing
experience-everyone from the PA's to the director, to
the stars, to the writers were so nice. It
was interesting because they operate completely
different from how we operate. They basically rehearse
all during the week and then
tape in one day. I went in on a Thursday and rehearsed
for about an hour and was done for the day. On Friday,
I got there at 10am
and did hair and makeup. It was a very relaxed
environment. They said they start taping at five
o'clock but if we didn't start at five, it
was no big deal! I wasn't used to that. I'm used to
being called to set at 6am! In the episode, I play a
presenter at a soap awards
show. Joey is up for 'Favorite Returning Male
Character.'
Would you like to do more projects outside of
'Passions?'
I'd love to. I'd love to do more sitcoms, and
eventually do bit roles in movies. I'd love to do
theater. I would eventually love to follow in
Susan Lucci's footsteps and take a couple of months to
do a Broadway show.
How has your life changed since you've been on
'Passions?'
It really hasn't changed a whole heck of a lot. I
don't have as much time anymore for my cat! The only
thing that did change was that I
got a new car.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I pray to God that 'Passions' continues on for ten
plus years. I'd like to continue playing Sheridan, as
well as branching out and doing
movies and theater.
What are you most proud of in your life?
I'm proud of continuing on in my spirituality. I'm
proud to have that in my life. That's what keeps me
going and makes me strong. And
my family.
