Katherine Kelly Lang - The Exclusive WLS Interview, Part One
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: It is so wonderful to get this opportunity to speak with you! While preparing for our interview, I came across some clips from the film Skatetown, USA. Katherine Kelly Lang: Oh my gosh. That seemed like another lifetime ago.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Do you still roller skate? Katherine Kelly Lang: No! That was the fad back then, and that’s what helped me get that part. I was a rollerskating a lot and there was a lot of rollerskating in that movie. That was my first movie.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: How did the role of Brooke Logan come about for you? Katherine Kelly Lang: I had been acting for awhile. I grew up in the film business with my parents and had been doing some commercials and some TV and movies. My grandfather was a great cinematographer. He had 18 nominations and won an Academy Award. I had been doing commercials since I was three-years-old. Then when I graduated from high school I got Skatetown and decided not to go to college. And then I kept working, I did night time spots. I had turned down some soaps before THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL came along. When that one came along I thought, "Well, it’s a brand new show, it’s a half hour.” I thought it would be interesting to create my own character. So I went in, I kept meeting with producers, I screen tested, and then I got the part.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: How was Brooke Logan described to you in the beginning? Katherine Kelly Lang: There was a scene I had to do that wasn’t Brooke, it was a Caroline scene. That’s what they had for me to read. I screen tested with John McCook and he was so easy to work with. He made it really easy and comfortable. Brooke was the girl from the wrong side of the tracks. She was sweet and naive, she grew up poor. She was drawn into all the good things in life.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Did you say auditioned for the role of Caroline? Katherine Kelly Lang: No, all they had for me to read at the time were lines from Caroline’s scenes. I wasn’t auditioning for her, she had already been hired.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: What other soaps had you considered? Katherine Kelly Lang: New York soaps mostly. I did work on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS as a summer character when I was 18. I don’t remember which soaps I had turned down. I was nervous about being an L.A. girl in New York, and also they weren’t offering enough money to actually live there. It didn’t make sense to me.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: You mentioned starting in commercials at three years old. Were there any other careers you had considered pursuing? Katherine Kelly Lang: Becoming a horse trainer. I wanted to do something with horses. My mother had me on a horse when I was a baby. I just remember riding little ponies when I was little, getting dumped, and then getting back on. I didn’t care, I just wanted to ride.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Speaking of getting dumped and then getting back on, I have admired how Brooke Logan continually fights back even after getting "dumped” constantly on this show. Katherine Kelly Lang: I think she has learned a lot from the lessons she has gone through. She does keep persevering.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: The Forresters have been abusing and punishing Brooke every which way for over 23 years. Why does she keep coming back for more? Katherine Kelly Lang: Well, it’s her family. They are more her family than the Logans now. Her mother, Beth Logan, died. And then there’s her dad, but her dad never really comes around anymore. And then she has her sisters, but the Forresters are really her family.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: What has Brooke learned over the years? Katherine Kelly Lang: To not make the same mistake twice. She used to just follow her heart wherever it took her. But she takes a second look at that now. She tries to stay grounded and she tries to be there for her kids so they don’t make the same mistakes.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: I admire how she has used BeLieF and her bedroom line so stand up for herself, often in very public ways.
Katherine Kelly Lang: She has done a lot of great things, I think. She has made a lot of brilliant business moves. She created BeLieF, and she has been hanging in there and fighting Stephanie all these years. That’s pretty good!
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: How do you relate to Brooke? Katherine Kelly Lang: She’s taken on a life of her own. I walk into the building and I’m Brooke. Then I leave and I’m myself again. I just morph into this other person.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: What do you see as Brooke’s main appeal to viewers? Katherine Kelly Lang: I think Brad [Bell] writes for her to walk a fine line between good and bad. She makes mistakes but then she is so apologetic. You can tell she’s not maliciously trying to hurt anybody. People side with her, and she can get away with things. But it’s a fine line. I have to be really careful how I play things. I will sometimes have discussions with Brad because I’m concerned about her. I don’t want people to hate my character. But it’s much more exciting to play a character that can go either way.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: Has she ever done anything that had you saying, "How am I going to do this?!” Katherine Kelly Lang: Yes. That story line with my daughter’s husband [Deacon] was pretty terrible. People were pretty upset about that. That was not a good example of being a good person. My daughter, Hope, came out of that. That was not a great story for Brooke, That really pushed the envelope.
WE LOVE SOAPS TV: What kind of response do you tend to get from fans? Katherine Kelly Lang: They always want to know if I’m staying with Ridge. They always want to know about who I’m with at the time. They are tired of Brooke and Ridge or they want me to stay with Ridge. I get that a lot.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Come back for Part Two in which we discuss lessons learned from playing Brooke, and how Brooke Logan could positively influence gay youth!
