| Soap Opera Weekly - Do you like the cancer storyline?
Kim Zimmer - It's an out-of-the-park home run every day. I mean, I get a clunker every so often; someone who obviously hasn't had firsthand experience with the story. Jordan and I had some stuff today that killed me. Billy can't give Reva the bone marrow because of the alcoholism. The last time I have is, "I'm dead." He apologizes and starts weeping. I was like "Oh, my God!" Part of it was Jordan talking to Kim, too. There's been a lot of that with Jordan and me in this story. I've gone to bat for him in life many times. This has been powerful. SPW - You once said you got completely lost in the character during the infamous fountain scene. Has that happened in this story? KZ - I'm close. Sometimes when that happens it's embarrassing, because you realize you've been so vulnerable. That's why I laughed after the fountain scene. When they said "Cut," I laughed out of pure embarrassment. It was the first time the crew had ever applauded a scene. That threw me. I thought I was onstage. It's like doing a live theater piece. SPW - Do you bring it home? KZ - No. Well, I go home with frustrations that happen in the big picture, like the fact that Reva doesn't tell Josh. That, for Kim, is frustrating because Kim would never do that. But I understand it for Reva, because Reva thinks she's doing the right thing. I know there will be people who say "Oh, f---king bitch," but I can totally understand Reva's choice in this. I would not have the strength not to tell A.C. It's taken Reva a lot of strength not to tell Josh. SPW - Compared to other stories you have played, how engrossed are you in this? KZ - I'm not, really. SPW - Protective? KZ - I'm protective of the material. People ask me, "Have you done a lot of research?" No. I want to be surprised by the story. The only book I read was Breast Cancer for Dummies. So I knew what a lumpectomy was and how an arm feels after you've had a lumpectomy. Then I'd read a script and they'd have me jumping rope (laughs). There's only so much you can do to prepare for a story like this. The writers are going to write the story however they're going to write it. My job as an actor is to present the material the best possible way I can. That's what I'm doing. SPW - Is your family watching? KZ - A.C. can't watch. Max has been watching. Max has never been interested in the show, ever. He's become my biggest fan. It's so bizarre. Jake is in bed until noon. He does what he does best; sleep. SPW - Did they ask you to shave your head? KZ - They didn't ask me, but they said "It would be a lot easier for you and for everyone if you shaved your head." I said "I'm an actress playing a part. I'm not a cancer victim." I didn't think it was right to shave my head. I have a family. I have kids. My kids have friends. Already people have said to friends of mine, "Is she okay?" or "Is she doing this story because she's going through it?" I give Lesli Kay a lot of credit for doing it but she didn't lose all her hair follicles. She was not bald from chemo. So there you are. That's my feeling about that. What else do you want to know? SPW - If you didn't re-sign, would Reva have died? KZ - I think she would have. SPW - Were you prepared to say good-bye to the character? KZ - Yes, I was ready to do something else. But I'm an actor - the story was good. I didn't want to not play the story. If I was going to stay I wasn't just going to give them an extension on my contract. I wanted to stay. But I was prepared to say good-bye to her. I don't know if I was prepared for her to die but it would have been a great story. SPW - Are you exhausted? KZ - No, oddly enough. When the day is good, I'm energized. When the day is bad, I hold onto it for a while, not because of the story but because someone dropped the ball. It could be me as easily as it could be wardrobe, or it could be something goes wrong with a light and you're in the middle of a scene and you have to stop for technical reasons. Someone will be walking around with change in their pockets. It's little things like that that can set me off. I've never been such a bitch in my life as I have been with this story. SPW - You must be so vulnerable. KZ - I am. It's also the way we're shooting. We're doing so much in one day. Last Thursday I had scenes from two full shows and then scenes from three other episodes. They were trying to bank shows for when I'm gone. I felt so sorry for the girl that did the schedule for that day. Every bone in my body aches from this and she just looked at me and said "If you think Thursday was bad, wait until next Monday. I'm sorry..." SPW - What do you do after a day like that? KZ - I made my husband go out and buy me an elliptical machine. I'll get on it and turn on SOAPnet for an hour and watch my buddies on One Life to Live. SPW - What kind of response are you getting from this story? KZ - People in Montclair who normally say "Hey" will now stop me and say "You know, my sister or my mom or my grandma..." Or "I know what you're going through, I've been through it myself." I'm always afraid they're going to say something like "How could you not share it with your family?" But instead they're grateful that not only are we telling the story but that it's with Reva, because it can happen to anyone. It's a woman you never thought it would happen to. She was stupid. She didn't go for her yearly mammogram. SPW - Is it tough not working with Robert Newman? KZ - It's weird seeing him play the scenes with Nicole. One day I actually had to go down to the set when they were running lines and say "Oh, my God, you guys are hot together." I was like, "They should be a couple." He's good with her. I hate to say it. His life would be so much easier with her! SPW - Have you asked what's going to happen when you get back? KZ - No, I don't want to know. SPW - Have you met and talked to cancer survivors? KZ - We've had a lot on the show, which was a little weird because no one informed me. My way to process the drama is to laugh my way through rehearsals. SPW - Do you ask them questions? KZ - No, because it would be aggravating. The writers have already written the story. When I get the script they are already two months ahead. Everybody's symptoms are different. Everybody's response to chemo is different. Everybody's size of the incision from lumpectomies is different. Every way people deal with cancer is different. That sounds like an excuse for the problems with the story, but it isn't. SPW - You've got a point. KZ - Who knows what anybody would do? Whatever story we're telling is the right story for Reva and the right story for GL. If you want a real story about a real cancer patient, watch a documentary - because this is still a soap opera. |