Passions may not have stocked its cast with many daytime veterans, but it's erroneous to say that it hired only "unknowns." Dana Sparks, who plays Grace Bennett and, until recently, did double duty as her twin, Faith Standish, had plenty of prime-time credits on her resume before venturing into daytime. She's best known for her two-year run as Vicki Gioberti on Falcon Crest, and her other credits include Cover Up, Melrose Place, thirtysomething, Baywatch, and L.A. Law. Sparks hasn't said sayonara to prime time, though. The Berkeley, CA, native recurs on JAG as Lt. Comm. Carolyn Imes. Sparks recently sat down with TV Guide Online at the CBS/Radford commissary to chat about soaps, the supernatural and teeing off with the sexiest man alive.— Michael J. Maloney Had you ever considered doing a daytime show before Passions made an offer? No. I'd always been busy doing prime time. Part of why I didn't venture into daytime was that everyone said it was such hard work. People told me that you work all the time and there's never a hiatus. [Laughs] And it's true! It's a lot of work. The twin thing was a surprise. I didn't know that Grace had a twin. I joked to my agents after I got the part that now that I'm on a soap, I'll be getting an evil twin. Then [executive producer] Lisa Hesser called me up and said, "By the way, you're going to be playing twins." So I didn't just stick my toe into daytime. I jumped all the way in. Did the fact that Passions is a brand-new show appeal to you? Yes. Getting onto a show that was already established wouldn't be the big buzz that getting on one that was just starting up would be. It really piqued my interest. I think one of the hardest things to do on daytime is to come in and assume a role for someone else. It was hard enough on Falcon Crest when I took over the role of Vicki from Jamie Rose. People said, "You don't look like Jamie Rose." I used to think, "Well, it's been six years since she played the part. I don't think Jamie Rose looks like Jamie Rose." So it's nice to have a brand-new character and come in fresh. Did the show's supernatural element surprise you? I was actually excited about that. I hadn't watched many soaps except Ryan's Hope in high school. I did see some of the Marlena possession storyline [on Days of Our Lives] and that was just huge. I was excited to learn that Passions is created and written by James Reilly, the same writer who wrote that storyline. Our characters have gone through so much so quickly and we've only been on the air since July. There are so many stories going on at the same time. I really bow to James Reilly and the other writers. I could not keep track of it. I wonder what they're going to come up with next. There's been some criticism leveled at the show over the fact that Grace and Faith looked so similar — down to their hair — which would be unlikely in real-life. We made a few subtle alterations with hair and make up, but no, there weren't any extreme changes. But I think that we've all heard about stories where twins were separated and then they get back together and they really do look the same. They wear rings on the same fingers. Their husbands might even look the same. They dress the same. It just happens. It's very weird. I have a brother who's actually married to a twin. I read an article about twin brothers who had heart attacks on the same day while they were both mowing their lawns. Were the workdays long in the beginning? Yes. We had 12-to-14-hour-days. And then I'd be back at 7 am the next day. In the beginning, I worked almost every day. In the first three months, I think I had five days off. The levitation bit was fun. A guy who works for some famous magicians came on to help us with that. I had no idea that they'd be making it that I was actually levitating so high and actually go out the window. I watched the tape and said, "Wow, I went out the window." Faith's body wasn't found. Would you be up for doing double-duty again? I would love to have Faith come back. I'm sure that if and or when she does, she'll have gone through some changes. The battle between Faith and Tabitha was one of my favorite parts of the show. I don't think it could just end. Someone's got to fight Tabitha. Who knows? Maybe Grace is actually part of a set of triplets? Do your TV daughters come to you for advice? Molly [Stanton, who plays Charity] was kind of thrown into the whole situation. I met her one morning when we were all on location. She told me she was supposed to be taking finals that day. She was very calm on the outside, but inside I could tell she was a little nervous. I took her under my wing and played big sister. But Taylor Anne [Mountz, who plays Kay] and Mary [Elizabeth Winstead, who plays Jessica] both had their moms on set so they were taken care of in that respect. What keeps you busy away from the set? I garden and golf. My husband [an investment banker] is a big golfer. I reluctantly took it up when he said Sean [Connery] and he were playing golf one weekend. My husband said, "Sean's wife wants to play, too, so will you?" That kind of got me going. I like it a lot. What was it like working on Falcon Crest with heavy hitters like Jane Wyman and the late Cesar Romero (ex-Angela and ex-Peter)? I loved Cesar. He'd sit around and tell stories about old Hollywood and places like The Brown Derby. It was really priceless and wonderful working with him. Jane was sweet, too. Every once in a while someone would prompt her on [her ex-husband and then President Ronald] Reagan and she'd tell her stories, too. I learned a lot on that show. Prior to playing Vicki, I'd only done one series, Cover Up, which didn't require a lot of me. I'd been a model and was playing a model. Cover Up starred Jennifer O'Neill and the late Jon-Erik Hexum. They were secret agents who pretended to be a photographer and a model. Did your character, Ashley, ever come to the forefront? Yes. In one episode Ashley was kidnapped after pretending to be a couple's granddaughter. I got to be rescued by Jon-Erik's character. He was a nice guy and it was such a huge loss when he died. He was really a marvelous person, very down-to-earth. People had no idea that he was just this guy who could have been a big star. He was fabulous. Are you getting recognized more often in public these days? Yes. My first thought when someone looks at me is "Do I have something between my teeth?" I was at a taping of 3rd Rock From the Sun with a girlfriend and a lot of people asked for my autograph. She was excited for me. People say to me, "You're Grace!" And I say, "Yes, and I'm also Faith, too." And some of them have said, "Really...?" [Laughs] I know sometimes the credits only [air] once a week, but I take it as a compliment that people think it's actually different actresses. |