She’s mistress of the angry slap, maestro of the meaningful stare. For 21 fabulous, sudsy years Susan Flannery has starred as stop-at-nothing Stephanie Douglas Forrester on super soap The Bold and the Beautiful.
The multi-award-winning actress — four Daytime Emmys and a Golden Globe, plus many more nominations — is also a director, producer, licenced pilot, all-round adventurer, gourmet cook and mother-of-one.
Her “sassy” daughter Blaise, 21, has lived in Australia for a little over two years with her boyfriend, who’s a Sydney sportswriter. That’s why 64-year-old Susan — whose melodramatic B&B adventures screen in more than 110 countries — recently flew Down Under for the first time.
Thankfully, in real life she’s nothing like strong-willed, manipulative matriarch Stephanie, as Woman’s Day discovered on an exclusive visit with mother and daughter…
How does your real life compare with The Bold and the Beautiful?
(Chuckles) Not at all! I lead a dull, quiet life in Santa Barbara and I like it like that.
And what about motherhood? Are you a tigress like Stephanie?
Blaise is an only child, but she’s a handful, more than enough! She fell into my life and for me she’s been a gift from the gods. I’m here to enroll her at university in Sydney. I met her boyfriend’s family the other day and they’re lovely people but they’re all psychologists — so I was very careful what I said. I didn’t want to be analysed!
Have you ever counted how many people you’ve slapped on the show?
I think it would be such a great promo if they just did clips of all the slaps, and then I turned around and gave a wink to camera. I always tell new cast members, “Stay at arm’s length; that’s my best advice.” They wait for the slap and look forward to it now. They call the writer and ask, “Is Stephanie going to slap me?” Sometimes it’s not even in the script and I say, “Get over here for a slapping!”
Is there anyone you itch to slap off screen?
George Bush; I’d like to slap him silly, and Dick Cheney as well. They’re two nincompoops. Thank God we won’t have them any more after this election. I just hope they won’t do anything terrible to the world before they go. Actually I am a Republican and have been one my whole life until Bush and Cheney. It’s sad.
Is there anything of your character in Stephanie?
I like to think she’s just a great creation between the writers and myself. She’s a very typical American woman. No, honestly! A lot of American women are very strong and kind of controlling in a way, which Stephanie is. A lot of them are working, running a family business, taking care of the farm, things like that, and there’s a strong “get on with it” mentality. That’s a generalization, and all are false, but I do think Stephanie is a wholly American character.
Are you controlling like Stephanie?
I’m very decisive. I don’t know if I’m bossy, but directing is very enjoyable to me. It’s nice to see all the elements come together, and because I have acted with all the other actors in the show they trust me, which is nice. They know I will never do something that would injure their character or their performance for the sake of getting a shot.
What’s the worst thing Stephanie has ever done?
I don’t think the rape story was a great idea. Originally the writers had the idea that Stephanie deliberately placed Brooke in a position to be raped, and I said, “We can’t do that, the audience would never forgive her.” Also I didn’t like the idea of making a victim out of Brooke because that’s one of the great things about her — she has never been a victim. I thought it would damage both characters, so we changed the end of the story. It doesn’t happen very often.
If you could invent your own exit, what would it be?
I wouldn’t even begin to think about it, because William J. Bell, the creator, will come up with something inventive and great.
**Read more of this interview in Woman’s Day (on-sale March 3, 2008)
The Bold and the Beautiful screens on Network Ten weekdays at 4.30pm
** By Jenny Brown
Photos by Grant Turner
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