| When Kim Zimmer made her debut-as one-woman hurricane Reva Shayne, in 1983, the character was wearing a towel, glistening, wet with massage oil, and grinning from ear to ear. She was the ultimate good-time girl, on the prowl even when she was lying still, for fast money and men who had it. Viewers didn't so much check out the novelty actress as drink her in; she went down easier than Jell-O shots, and packed a bigger wallop. In turn, her peers handed her three Daytime Emmy Awards. Then, in 1990, she turned her back on Reva. She packed up her trophies and headed West, intent on jump-starting her career in prime-time and movies. But Hollywood turned out not to be a land of opportunity. So, faster than you could say oops! she headed back East, back to Reva. Unfortunately, in her absence, the guard at GL had changed, and as a result, Reva had been watered down. Now, as GL emerges from the ashes, things are looking up for both Kim Zimmer and her character. Here, the oft-proclaimed Queen of Daytime holds court, riffing on all things Reva, from not being allowed to call Annie a bitch to taking it all off for five million people. SID: We all enjoyed your strip-tease during the sex fest last month. KZ: It was so complicated. There was so much to it. SID: Were you embarrassed? KZ: No, it was my idea. SID: So it wasn't written in the script? KZ: It was written that she vamps it up, but flashing him, as you saw, was a shock to Robert Newman (Josh). SID: When we heard that GL was throwing an orgy, we figured it would be all of the younger studs going at it... KZ: It was all the old farts! SID: What does that say? KZ: It says we've got a couple of fabulous writers who aren't going to let the older characters just disappear. They know what they've got in the characters who have been around for a while. SID: What about Reva? Do you feel like she's lost her edge? KZ: I'm at the point now where the reality of the situation has hit: I'm 42, but for some reason, I can't be the Reva I used to be because I'm older and wiser. I don't agree with that. They have seven different actresses playing the old Reva --- Cynthia Watros (Annie) and Laura Wright, who will be playing my sister, Cassie, and they've got Beth Ehlers (Harley) back. You have three different generations of what took one person to do in the past. So it's a little frustrating. But I get fan mail from people who say that it's refreshing to see me settle into a more mature role. I mean, I hated hearing that, but I certainly understand. SID: Are you pressuring the writers to keep Reva interesting? KZ: For the longest time, I was so lost in what had been done to the character that I had forgotten who she really was. I don't think anyone could blame me either, because we really had lost sight of who she was. So what I kept pushing them to do is to focus on Reva's backbone, because it's there, and not to let her be so easily manipulated. I still don't think she has sought the proper revenge for all the things that Annie has done to her, and I'm hoping that they'll still pursue that. I think they will. I think Cynthia and I are joined at the hip for the rest of our lives. Some said that we're like Viki and Dorian on ONE LIFE TO LIVE and I certainly don't want to be Viki! SID: Are you speaking up for Reva in a way that you didn't before? KZ: I'm finally realizing that I could lose her so easily right now, especially with the Cassie character coming on. She's just so similar to Reva. So yes, I'm fighting more now than I ever have. And now I can relate to all the women over 40 who have had to do that. I remember seeing Beverlee McKinsey (ex-Alex) go through that when I came on. SID: So will you be telling Laura Wright what she can look forward to? KZ: No. She has many years before she hits that spot. Cynthia, too. She's all freaked out with Laura coming on the show because I guess they're the same age. I'm like, "Don't start worrying now. You're way too young." SID: We heard that you were considering plastic surgery. True or false? KZ: It was tongue-in-cheek. I don't know whether I could ever do that. The only thing I would ever think about doing would be my jowls, I think they call them. But I would never get rid of any of the lines around my eyes because those have been worth it. SID: Is it important to you to win another Daytime Emmy? KZ: No. (pauses) Sure, I would love to know that I had the material to win another one. And if I thought that I did, I'd be very hurt not to be nominated. But I don't think that I've had Emmy-worthy material unless you want to talk about consistency. I should win an Emmy for having to put up with a lot of s**t, for having to do the most ridiculous stories in daytime. I'm really hoping that Cynthia is acknowledged for her work this year because I think she really deserves it. It'll kill me if she doesn't get nominated. SID: What don't people know about you? KZ: I don't think people are really aware of just how much my husband really means to me. I'm going to start crying. He's totally uprooted his life to go with my crazy whims. The decision to move to L.A. and try and break into that whole scene at 35 years old. He was totally behind me. And then the decision to move back. He's just been my rock. SID: What did you learn from your move to L.A.? KZ: Never to do it again. SID: Do you regret it? KZ: Yes and no. I lost a lot of ground with Reva when I left. But I'm really glad that I did it in that I had five really great years with my kids before getting back into the grind of doing a soap on a daily basis. It was also worth it in that I realized that daytime is really my number one love. I'm serious when I say that I would love to do GL for the rest of my life. |