ATWT's LESLI KAY HEADS WEST TO GENERAL HOSPITAL

After seven years and an Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy for her daytime debut role as As the World Turns Molly McKinnon, it took Lesli Kay - along with her husband, Keith Coulouris (ex-Keith, One Life to Live; ex-Reid/David, ATWT) and their 4-year-old son, Jackson - less than a month to pack up their Brooklyn home and move cross-country for a new job, as General Hospital's Brooklyn-bred Lois Cerullo.  Now, with Molly still facing trouble on-screen in Oakdale, Kay reports on her arrival in Port Charles.

Digest: How were your first days?
Lesli: It's been really wonderful.  The cast is great and [Executive Producer] Jill Farren Phelps is very supportive.  Yesterday, my first day, I had like 40 pages, and I had to slap Wally [Kurth, Ned].  It was crazy.  We had flashbacks and it was first up in the morning at 7a.m.  But it just felt like a good fit.  When you've been in daytime seven years, there are a lot of people in common from show to show, so it doesn't feel completely strange and foreign like when I first started [at ATWT].

Digest: Did you know any actors?
Lesli: None of the actors except for Wally, who I screen-tested with.  But one of my best friends from ATWT, Lisa Kaseff, who used to be a P.A., she A.D.'s at General Hospital.  The crew, the camera guys have been great.  Immediately, I know their names because they're the guys to know.  They're the ones who make you look good!  I haven't gotten to know tons of the crew yet because I've been really focused on knowing my lines.  We're in the middle of moving, selling a house, renting a house, buying a second car, and starting a job and leaving a job all in the same week, so it's been a little insane.

Digest: How is it different from ATWT?
Lesli: For one, they bring your wardrobe to your room.  That's huge.  That's a little spoiling.  I thought I had to put it on a hanger and bring it back and they told me, "No, we come get it"... The studio itself feels very much at home. [Casting Director] Mark Teschner and I go back 15 years.  I don't know Jill very well yet, but we certainly have a lot of people in common.  And being on a set is comfortable because it's not like I've had any time not being on a set.  I was working on ATWT last week, so just being on a set with really good actors, it's all the same, because we had really good actors at ATWT.

Digest: Do you know Rena Sofer (ex-Lois)?
Lesli: No, I don't.  I at behind her in temple once when I used to live in L.A.

Digest: Did you watch her scenes?
Lesli: Definitely not.  Here's the thing: I feel that when a character comes in and it's been either a long enough time or the character wasn't popular, you can really have a lot of freedom.  In this case, it has been a lot of time, but she was very popular.  I'm not going to impersonate her, but a friend of mine who used to work at General Hospital had a tape at her house from a Christmas show, and I just watched two minutes, literally.  I wanted to hear how thick the accent was.  I've lived in Brooklyn for four years, and I know how Brooklyn people talk, but sometimes when they have you do an accent, it's a caricature of an accent, and I certainly didn't want to do that.  And I'm not saying Rena did.  I'm just saying that my take on it is that there's a lot of vulnerability as well as strength.  She's not the sympathetic, crying character that I've played.  She's very strong, she's very tough.  She has grown up liking herself, whereas Molly did not.  So it's kind of nice to be in a position where a character loves herself.  Even if she does something stupid, she doesn't care.  And her family has supported her.  So she's proud to be from Brooklyn.   She's not going to hide the accent... But when I watch the character that Rena did, the nails, to me, were very important.  The writer's felt the same way.  The character has a lot of energy, she expresses a lot with her hands; it's an Italian thing.  As much as she might have changed, when someone has a fixation with having nails, you're not all of a sudden going to cut them and not use your hands.

Digest: Do you have any advice for Christina Chambers (soon-to-be Molly)?
Lesli: I don't want to give advice; I think it's nice when someone can put their own spin on something, and I think people should welcome the fact that a character they love is still on-air.  Whenever I hear people saying anything about a recast, I think, "Put yourself in the other person's shoes for one minute and realize how difficult it is."  Especially in her position, because literally, one day it's me, the next day, it's her.  It's only in daytime that you hear, "The part of Molly is now being played by..."  That doesn't happen on Friends.  So audience, be kind.  Give her a chance.

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