It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life! Just ask LESLI KAY (Molly)! The ATWT actress has everything a girl could hope for - the perfect man (her former co-star, Keith Coulouris [David]), an adorable baby boy and a great job. CBS.com chatted with Lesli over the phone about all of the great things going on in her life - including Molly’s fresh start and new romance!

CBS.com: A belated congratulations on your new baby! How is motherhood?
LESLI KAY: Oh, [my son Jackson] is so wonderful! Thank you. I love it! It’s great. I can’t think of anything better in the world. People tell you that, “You’re not going to believe it.” But it’s true. Plus, it’s easy because he’s just so happy. He laughs all the time.

CBS.com: What is the biggest difference in your life now that you’re a mom?
LESLI KAY: It’s not about you anymore - which I love. I love just the focus being taken off of myself. My priorities are different. It’s a different way of life. Little boy still gets up at 6:00 a.m. We don’t have babysitters yet.

CBS.com: Do you bring Jackson to the set with you?
LESLI KAY: He comes to the set with me and Keith watches him a lot. I do have this one woman that comes with me, but just like two days a week. She doesn’t come to the house, and she has sons of her own, so she doesn’t work at night. So really, it’s just him and us. Unless Keith’s mom comes to visit and then we get to go to a movie or something. I guess my own personal life is no longer my own personal life.

CBS.com: Does Jackson play with any of the other ATWT babies that have been born in the past year?
LESLI KAY: My mommy friend, my new best friend, is Laurie Park, Michael’s (Jack) wife. Sometimes we spend the night at the Parks’ house and it’s great. Their son Christopher, who’s four, loves Jackson - loves him. [Their baby daughter] Kathleen and Jackson have a little courtship going. We put them in the crib together and he eats her face. And he’s about twice the size of her. She’s a week older, but she’s a petite little girl.

CBS.com: Is Keith a good dad?
LESLI KAY: He’s amazing. I thank God that this was the man I had a baby with. I guess it’s no big secret I was married before. Thank God I’m living this fairytale now. I’m with the most perfect man, I got the perfect baby and I’ve got a great job. What a nice life! Keith’s amazing, though. [Jackson] just gets up once in the middle of the night. Keith [takes care of him at night] and then I get up in the morning. We really share the duties of Jackson 50/50. He insists upon it. I’m the first one to say, “Honey, go downstairs, get a good night’s sleep.” But he won’t do it.

CBS.com: That’s great. You’re very lucky!
LESLI KAY: All my girlfriends tell me that I’m really lucky. Not to mention that he just wrote a song for me. I said, “No one’s ever done that for me in my life before.”

CBS.com: How nice! Is he working on putting a CD out?
LESLI KAY: I’m hoping. He’s really amazing, and I didn’t know just how amazing until for Father’s Day I bought him an eight track recorder. I knew he wanted to record himself playing, but I didn’t know he had such a writing ability. Within a week, he had written two songs and had them recorded. So, joking around I said, we should put it on eBay and call it “Stenbeck: Songs from Jail.” But he said he didn’t want his songs affiliated with David Stenbeck. [Laughs] I’m pushing him to get a CD done so we can start marketing it around. Between him and Kristina [Sisco, Abigail]…Keith inspired her to start [working on her music]. So she brought up her guitar from home and she wrote four songs in one week. She’s got an amazing little voice. I told them they should have her sing on the show because she sings all about not having a boyfriend, and Abigail doesn’t have one, either. [Laughs] She’s very cute. I’m completely musically inept - I just enjoy them. Too bad David Stenbeck wasn’t the sort of character who could sing on the show because he really should.

CBS.com: Maybe Molly should have a dream sequence where David turns romantic!
LESLI KAY: Oh my God! That is hilarious - that would be great! We were thinking of stuff for Jackson for Halloween. We were going to get a little orange jumpsuit and put a beard and mustache and wig on him and make him “Son of Stenbeck.” Little Mini-Me. That would be funny.

CBS.com: Do you plan to have any more kids down the line?
LESLI KAY: [Keith] says no at this point. He’s so sleep-deprived. [Laughs] He really is used to having a good night’s sleep. I never was a good sleeper, so it’s not that big of a deal to me, but it really bums him out. He says no at this point, but I think probably. I can’t imagine not [having any more kids]. I’ve got the incredible growing son. He just turned five months and he’s twenty pounds. He’s enormous and really tall, like Keith’s family. So, I’m already putting away all of his baby clothes. He’s in year old clothes now. I said to Keith, “Oh, we have to have another one!” It makes me so sad that his little shoes don’t fit. So, we’ll see…maybe in a couple of years. Actually, in like a year it’d be kind of cute. You know, Jake lost his twins, so if Molly got pregnant with his baby that would be kind of cute. We’ll see.

CBS.com: The fans would love it. They love Jake and Molly together.
LESLI KAY: Do they? Oh, I’m so glad. That makes me so happy. You know, Tommy [Eplin, Jake] and I knew each other before. This is a funny story - three and a half years ago when we met at the Procter & Gamble Christmas party, he came up and was razzing me about being from Charleston, West Virginia. And I thought he was making fun of me being a redneck, so I basically told him to [buzz] off. [Laughs] And he’s like, “No, no, no, you don’t understand - I’m from there!” We cracked up because after talking more and more, we found out his dad was in my mom’s class at Charleston High School. His dad thought my mom was hot, and he laughs because my mom didn’t know who his dad was! He goes, “That’s typical!” So, I guess we’re both rednecks. It’s just so ironic that we get to work together now. It’s great.

CBS.com: I think most fans are excited about Jake finally having a romance.
LESLI KAY: I’m so glad they’re accepting it, because so many people were adamant that if it wasn’t Vicky, it could be no one. Which makes me feel thrilled. If they’re accepting it, it must mean that it’s good. Tommy told me that Jensen [Buchanan, ex-Vicky, Another World] called him the other day and said, “Well, I see you don’t need me anymore!” [Laughs]

CBS.com: The banter between Jake and Molly has been fun.
LESLI KAY: You never know what’s going to happen with Eplin. You never know what’s going to happen when you’re doing a scene with him, which makes it fun for me. I had so much fun when I used to work with Liz Hubbard [Lucinda] for that very reason. So, I have a ton of fun working with Tommy. Keith jokes around with me all the time and says, “Yeah, so, you two have great chemistry. That’s great!” [Laughs] But it really is good, and I’m so glad the fans like it because I want to keep on going. I think it’s about time that Molly has a true love.

CBS.com: Keith recently aired in the David/Molly jail scenes. Are there any plans for David to come back to ATWT permanently?
LESLI KAY: No, I don’t think so. [Executive Producer] Chris Goutman told me that they did pitch a David storyline - not a main storyline, but just a story for a little while - and I know that they nixed it. I think he’s going to do his part, this bit that was brought in for Emily’s sake, and stir up some stuff between Molly and Jake. It’s a good catalyst for a lot of things, and he’s enjoying it, but I don’t think there’s going to be any long-term deal for him. I know that there is more stuff with David. There’s got to be some backlash. He warned Emily and I that we’re never going to be free of him, so something’s got to happen.

CBS.com: Do you think Jake will be the man to “tame” Molly?
LESLI KAY: You know, from what I’ve heard from the fans, because I didn’t really watch Another World - I didn’t have time to watch anything else when I was on As the World Turns - Jake has a similar past to Molly’s. He’s been in jail before. So I think he’s one person that finally is an equal to her, and he doesn’t look down upon her like Andy did. He’s very willing for her to have a clean slate. [It’s] funny because back before I went on maternity leave, back before I knew anything about them doing a Jake/Molly story, I was nine months pregnant, and I was talking to [P&G Executive-In-Charge of Production] Mickey Dwyer-Dobbin. I said, “You know, when I come back, I think you should put Molly with Jake because it’s the only person in town that would have her.” I think they already had it planned, but I think it’s pretty funny because it’s the truth. I think in a sense that he is the one. They had a scene the other day, which I was really happy about. [After] I find out that Emily’s staying with him, there was a scene with me and Jake at Al’s Diner. And he said to wait around, that he’ll call me when she’s gone and it’s over. The old Molly would have been like, “Screw you! I’m not waiting for anybody,” and stormed out. But she said, “Well, I’ll be holding you to it, McKinnon.” And I thought that was a good change for her. She’s realizing this good thing is worth the wait, and I think she’s finally realizing her mistakes. I think Jake’s great for her.

CBS.com: It seems like it’s the maturest relationship Molly has ever had.
LESLI KAY: Yeah, and I think they’re going to play it that way. Instead of making the problems come within them, I think it’s going to be outside [forces] causing them problems. Like Emily….

CBS.com: Do you think Emily and Molly will compete for Jake’s affection?
LESLI KAY: Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know if they’re going to do that or not, but it seems the obvious route, so I kind of hope they don’t do it.

CBS.com: A lot of people seem to be writing in saying, “I like Jake and Emily’s friendship, but I don’t want to see it get romantic because I like him with Molly.”
LESLI KAY: Yeah, and honestly, I think that’s the way Kelley [Menighan Hensley, Emily] wants it, too. Instead of doing the typical both women going after the guy, I think it would be more interesting to show them building a friendship, but that’s it. I don’t know. I mean, we’ll see what they do. We’ll see what [Head Writer] Hogan [Sheffer] has in store. I bumped into Hogan the other day and he told me that he likes Molly and Jake together, and I said, “Oh, thank God!” I’m really glad. Maybe it’s because Molly’s not messing with anyone from Oakdale, and maybe it’s because when you come back from maternity leave people have new respect for you or something, but the fans seem to be really giving Molly a great shot right now. I’m glad. I remember way back when the whole Molly/Holden/Lily thing was going down around Christmas time and everyone from all the magazines was coming up to me and saying, “So when’s your last day?” [Laughs] Even the crew! It was like, well, obviously you have to leave. I’m like, “I have a three year contract, and I’ve only been here less than a year. I don’t think I’m going anywhere.” I had a long talk with Eileen Fulton [Lisa], because I knew she used to play a bad girl, you know? And she was so cute. She just sat me down and she said, “Honey, I know you’ve got vulnerability in there, I’ve seen it. Pull out all the stops.” So we went over the scenes for the wedding, and she went over it with me, and said, “Just make sure you keep it real and keep it vulnerable and people will be rooting for you.” And sure enough, they did! I remember after those scenes were shot, [Former ATWT Executive Producer] Felicia Minei Behr said, “Well, you had us all in tears!” [Laughs] “We did not expect that!” I think it’s cool. I’m just so happy that I’ve seen how Molly’s grown. I think it’s a joint effort [between the writers and myself]. But I’m really glad.

CBS.com: Do you agree with Molly’s decision to fake amnesia?
LESLI KAY: At first no, but it’s worked out damn well, hasn’t it? The only person that’s had to know is Jake. No really bad things have happened from it, and I got to start over in the hearts of many. So, I think it’s been great. Henry knows, but I’ve got something over him. I was kind of hoping for some more Molly/Henry [scenes], but they’ve kind of put that on hold. I guess it’s all going to come out when Katie comes out. And the second Katie gets found out, so does Rose.

CBS.com: Would you like for Molly to be involved in bringing Katie down?
LESLI KAY: Yes and no. I was thinking about it, and Jon [Hensley, Holden] and I were talking about it. It’d almost be more interesting to go against the obvious and not have me do it. Have Rose do it. Instead of getting her back, in the eyes of Holden and everyone, it would look like I was the bigger one to not do anything about it and to go about my life and let her blow herself up. I would like that. Personally, I think that would be a better choice, but I think the audience really wants to see me get her. [Laughs] Either way it would be great. The scenes would be great for me to do it, but it also would be just as strong a choice for me not to do it.

CBS.com: Did you think Henry and Molly would get romantic?
LESLI KAY: No. Only if Molly needed something.

CBS.com: Do you think Molly still has feelings for David?
LESLI KAY: Oh, yeah. It was funny, when they wrote these scenes, Keith was a little upset, and I agree with him. I mean, it’s soap opera. They seem to do it so fast. For [David] to trust [Molly] again after what I did to him, you would think it would take longer than a day. I mean, in one visit to him, I get him to tell me that he did something bad? In that respect, I said to him, “Well, let’s think about this, let’s talk about it, let’s try to make it work.” In reading it and in doing it with him, he made me feel so bad. I mean, as Molly, I just felt like dirt for betraying him again. Just less than a year ago, I was willing to run away with him again. So, I don’t think you can turn that completely off. [Jackson shouting and laughing in the background] Jackson’s screaming at his feet. [Laughs] I think deep down inside, that as much as Molly hates him, there are still those feelings for him as well.

CBS.com: Do you think Molly and Chris will ever cross paths again?
LESLI KAY: I hope so. He was fun! [Laughs] I have a half-sister who’s twenty, and the other day she said to me, “Whenever you had to kiss that Chris guy, I was so jealous. I wanted it to be me!” Very cute. I doubt it, just because I think Molly looks at that as a really big mistake. The whole thing with David, and cheating on Andy, and not really wanting to hurt Andy, led me into that whole bad time. I think now, Molly really sees the good in herself and in Jake. I really don’t think she’d go there.

CBS.com: Some fans still want Molly to be with Andy. Would you like to see that relationship resurrected?
LESLI KAY: I would like to see something happen with it. We had some scenes a while ago, and I recall that I was telling him to go for the baby. And then I was at [his memorial service] when he came back in the wheelchair, but that was it. I’ve never gone to see him in the hospital, which is a little strange to me because I think I would have. I think they have an understanding now. I don’t think they’d ever have a romantic relationship. Actually, now, though, with him faking [that he can’t walk], they’re a lot alike. I was watching that and I was going, “That’s a total Molly thing to do! What’s he doing?” [Laughs] Obviously, it’s soap opera, and Molly and Jake aren’t going to have some hunky-dory time and ride off into the sunset. So, at some point, if there’s heartache, if she would go to Andy, I think that would be great. If he’s hurting about Denise, I think that would be great. I don’t think they should have a romantic thing again, though.

CBS.com: You must be thrilled to have Maura [West, Carly] back.
LESLI KAY: I haven’t seen her. They always do this to us. They wait and then one day we have ten scenes or something, but Carly and Molly work so well together. I haven’t talked to Maura much, surprisingly, but yeah, I’m excited for Molly and Carly to have some stuff. It’s been a while. And I know that the fans were bummed that Molly hasn’t mentioned Carly. [A while back] the show was long, actually, and they had to cut [a scene] unfortunately. I had a scene with Abigail where she says, “What’s wrong? You miss Carly, don’t you?” And I go, “Like crazy. I just want her to come back.” We had a little scene where we talked about her, but they ended up cutting it. Well, Molly and Carly are both really into themselves, and they get caught up in their own lives. I think I was in the hospital at one point and she never came to see me. [Laughs] And then we get together and we catch up for like two hours. Which is what you know they’re going to write. I think it would be hilarious if she moved in with me. That would be the most fun on daytime, just because they’re so funny together. They can say and do things that other people just can’t say and do. They get away with murder. We used to call ourselves “Thelma and Louise.”

CBS.com: Molly’s been through so much since coming to Oakdale. What would you like to see happen next?
LESLI KAY: God, I’d love her just to be able to date Jake, not get married right away, but eventually get married and have Abigail a sister or brother. But in reality, that’d be too boring for Molly, and ultimately I wouldn’t work at all. People who are happy don’t work, right? What I’d really like to see is have her go for Jake and have it try to work, but continually have bricks thrown in the way. And I don’t know what they would be yet. I assume one brick will be Emily and one brick will be David, and Vicky’s dead…you know, it’s daytime, she could come back. That would be great for him. So anything’s possible, I guess.

CBS.com: Would you like to see her begin to focus on her career again?
LESLI KAY: She had better, or she’s going to be poor! I would like to see her go back behind the anchor chair at WOAK once the whole thing about Katie comes out. I think she should have In Your Face back. That was a good show.

CBS.com: Maybe she’ll work at the paper with Jake.
LESLI KAY: It would be fun to both work on the paper, but it might be more fun to work for him and also be at WOAK. I don’t know! She’s got to have a job though. [Laughs] I’ll be Parker’s nanny. [Pause] Keith just walked in. He’s so cute. Both of them! I have the luckiest life. It’s nice.

CBS.com: What have you been doing to get back into shape after your pregnancy?
LESLI KAY: We’re healthy eating fanatics. And we’ve been doing yoga every night.

CBS.com: Had you done yoga before you met Keith?
LESLI KAY: I had, but I hadn’t done it on a regular basis ever. Keith is big on it. I got back into yoga and started kickboxing when I was about three months pregnant. I thought, “I need to do something a little more calm.” So, I started doing yoga again, and it was great. But being pregnant, of course, I’m not going to go jump and do power yoga. I did just regular yoga. At the end of my pregnancy to get back in shape, Keith and I have been doing this power yoga tape every night, and it’s so fun to do together. As soon as we put Jackson to bed, we do it. At the end, there’s kind of a relaxation period that puts me out. And it’s great. It’s kicking me back into shape!

CBS.com: You look great.
LESLI KAY: I’m getting there! But it’s nice that we like to do these same things together.

CBS.com: What do you do in your spare time?
LESLI KAY: We watch the boy turn over, we read books to him. It’s like, who can make him laugh the most during the day?

CBS.com: He seems to laugh a lot.
LESLI KAY: Yeah, he does! Keith is winning out. He thinks Keith is hysterical. But that’s what we do for fun. We play with the boy. We take long walks on the beach. He loves being outside. He’s getting too big for his baby papoose, so Keith just went out and got him one of those jogging strollers so we can push him on the beach. We’re homebodies.

CBS.com: Sounds great. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me.
LESLI KAY: Sure. Thank you.

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