Here Comes Lizzie

2007 was an eventful year for Lizzie Spaulding. CBS.com caught up with her portrayer, MARCY RYLAN, at a recent photo shoot to find out what is in store for Lizzie in the new year.

Adult Storyline
I started on the show and did the whole baby storyline and the Jonathan/Tammy/Lizzie triangle. I lost my baby. Honestly, I thought something would happen to the baby. Because it's a soap opera! We do all these adult storylines--who wants a crying baby around the set? I was nervous after the baby died that [the producers] would jump right into a love interest. Sometimes you see that a baby is born and then next week you tune in and it's like the baby didn't happen. The Jonathan/Tammy/Sarah storyline was a really big deal, from the way they left the show and Tammy's death which was heart-wrenching. When we were shooting all those scenes all the actors doing it were sad because, yes, the characters were dying but, we were also losing the actors.

Transition Period
Lizzie was also a bad guy in the whole baby story; she really had a lot to do with Tammy's death. So the fans really didn't like Lizzie back then. On top of all the things Lizzie had done wrong, as an actor, I didn't want anyone to just tune in and the next day she was back to her normal self. I felt like there was very little redemption with the fans and that this was the end of Lizzie. So the writers took five months--Lizzie has really been grieving and I was so happy because it has felt very realistic. Now Lizzie is being paired with Bill (Daniel Cosgrove) and she needs an older man to really guide her. I really love the way they've transitioned her to mom, losing a baby, getting a job, getting back on her feet, and finally [finding] a guy. It's going really well.

A New Love
Bill--Lizzie loves him. He's a big jerk. Well, he's sleeping with everyone in town and I'm trying to ruin his career while he's trying to ruin mine! We are definitely falling in love. It's a match made in heaven.

Working with Jokester Danny Cosgrove
He's freakin hilarious. He's so much fun. I get really nervous around him. As much as I wanted Lizzie to get a love interest, I, not Lizzie, get nervous about love interest stuff because I'm shy in real life when it comes to relationships. I was nervous because I didn't know Danny. [On] his first day we were going at it and that was very nerve-wrecking. Oh my gosh, on his first day he mooned me. I saw his bare butt! All those scenes I shot that first day my face was bright red the whole time. He rocked me. Everyone that was on the set was like, "What's going on? Get yourself together." Here's what happened. We met that morning and he's very nice, but we start working and he leans in and whispers "I didn't know you looked so good." That's when the sweat and blushing started. It's gotten better, thank God. I realized that was the first time Lizzie has really been pursued. I've always been the bad girl or scheming. It was weird because that was the first time acting-wise someone was flirting with me. I was really glad our love scene was on the second day because I was on a mission. I ripped out all my scenes and learned my lines back and forth, so I was like "Take that Danny Cosgrove! Try and mess me up."

Return of Jonathan
I've been waiting for something to happen with Jonathan and Sarah. Bill has been a horrible love interest for Lizzie. Girls want to be swept off their feet but Bill just treats Lizzie horribly. I think Lizzie always thinks in the back of her mind that Jonathan was the one that could have loved her.

Lizzie's Reaction to Jonathan
When Lizzie finally sees him, I would hope that she would scream at him; I would. She's been crying over him and Sarah for over a year and he's alive. That's horrible. If I was writing the scene I'd be smashing things and screaming.

Lizzie's Evolution
No question that Jonathan and Sarah's death has changed Lizzie for the better. She would have never been able to stand up to Alan. If Jonathan had gone away for a few weeks I think Lizzie could have been a better mother, I don't think that she would have worked out her issues with Alan if he had returned. In the past few months, Alan has still been saying horrible things to Lizzie about Sarah and Jonathan and it's taken this long for Lizzie to stand up to him. Now she has a job, she's independent. Lizzie needed this. She's much stronger.

Lizzie=Marcy
I love this character. I think it's because as soon as I came on, Lizzie got pregnant and I was pregnant for 9 months. I worked 12 hours a day, 5 day weeks and really became Lizzie. It changed me as a person. When I was done with that storyline I felt more grown up. It was really great.

Pregnant Bump
One time, I forgot I was wearing it and I ran to the bank. I got hit on more than I have ever been hit on in this city. No joke; it was insane. Being pregnant makes you a man magnet. I came back to the studio and said, single ladies, borrow this.

Home Life
[Marcy lives with GL's Mandy Bruno (Marina) and former ATWT actress Alexandra Chando (ex-Maddie) ]
We are three single women in our twenties in NYC. It's great because you always have someone to go out with. We have one and a half bathrooms, but it's never an issue. We are actors; we never do our hair and makeup. And if we are off, I almost never doing my hair and makeup. We have parties. It's fun. We had some tension and then we realized we needed a housekeeper every couple weeks. The best part is that we have girls night and just hang out with one another.

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