A “Rose” By Any Other Name…
Now, that we’ve finally seen the mysterious and often-talked about Rose (the mystery woman from Neil’s past) on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS, here’s a little more background direct from her portrayer, Leslie Stevens!
“Rose is a good person, who’s managing a lot of stress,” says Stevens. “You may not agree with the choices she’s making, but they’re not out of malice. Rose’s vulnerability shows through even though she tries to be tough.”
There’s conflict between the two characters, but working with Neil’s portrayer, Kristoff St. John, has been a dream. “You never know what it’s going to be like when you come in as a guest,” Stevens notes. “But I couldn’t have made up a scenario that was more fun. “[Kristoff is] extremely handsome, charming and gracious. He was like, ‘Hey, how are you?’ I felt so included.”
Having supportive co-stars is nothing new to Stevens. When she played Justine on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW in 1985, she received some great advice from the legendary Mary Stuart (Jo). “She leaned over to me one day and said, ‘There are always three things on a soap opera one: something happens, two: you take it in and three: you respond. You like to skip number two, and you shouldn’t!’ I said ‘Thank you!’ Even while she was giving me a lesson, she was so gracious.”
This weekend, Stevens can be seen in a production of Chicago at The Hollywood Bowl. (Click here for tickets!) “I play June, one of the women in the ‘Cellblock Tango’ number. My character’s husband ran into her knife 10 times!”
Y&R’s being mum on the length of Stevens’ stay, but it’ll be at least a handful of episodes. “If I’m lucky, I’ll get to go back and play some more,” the actress says with a smile.
