The Scarlet Seductress of Melrose Place

Laura Leighton knows her place — it’s a little street in Hollywood known as Melrose. She was here once before, and now it’s like déjà vu all over again. This month, “Melrose Place” goes for round two on the CW. Hey, it worked with “90210” so why not? Leighton is back portraying Sydney Andrews, now overseer of the notorious apartment complex and home to up-and­coming beautiful people in Los Angeles. Before this new crop of pretty faces came to town, Sydney ruled the Melrose roost — when she wasn’t being committed, jailed, or run over. That would be enough to get any­one down, but not our Sydney — she is one tenacious bitch!

As usual, everyone at “MP” is trying to get a break. Jonah (the delicious Michael Rady) is an aspiring filmmaker, who has just pro­posed to his girlfriend Riley (Jessica Lucas), who all but barely accepts, (aka, trouble ahead). David (smoldering Shaun Sipos) is an aspiring cat burglar, full-time trust-fund kid, and — get ready — son of Sydney’s former brother-in-law/lover/husband, Dr. Michael Mancini (Thomas Calabro, another returning cast member from the original series). Then for a dash of spice, throw in Ella (Katie Cas­sidy), an out for blood and exposure bisexual publicist. So basically, everyone is aspiring to something, be it good or bad, or in Sydney’s case, a little of both. Despite not having any scenes together (at least, not yet) co-star Michael Rady was enamored with Leighton from the start. “I must admit that I have a huge crush on her so anything I say in regard to her will be biased and unbalanced,” notes the actor with a chuckle. “That being said, I must say how lucky we are to have such a classy, sweet, and beautiful actress be a part of this redux. She’s always willing and enthu­siastic to share what it was like being on a hit show with lots of attention; wading through the frenzy and swirling waters that come along with that kind of phenomenon. And when it comes to the press for the show, we let her (be the one to) answer all the ques­tions; she’s sensational to watch.”

Leighton hails from Iowa City, Iowa, and her parents never encouraged her to be an actress…in fact it was the other way around. But that didn’t stop the determined Leighton from taking on Hollywood. Her big break came in 1992, when, at the age of 23, Darren Star cast her for a two episode stint on the original “Melrose Place.” Her character was such a hit, she became a season regular. She left the show in 1997, and went on to “Bever­ly Hills, 90210” under the tutelage of the late Aaron Spelling. After “90210” she worked on numerous primetime shows including “Boston Legal,” “Law & Order,” and “Shark.” In between rounds one and two of “Melrose Place,” one of her more important roles was becoming wife and mother. She married her co-star Doug Savant (formerly “MP” and now “Desperate Housewives”) and together they have four children.

Here the lovely Ms. Leighton talks and laughs about the joys of playing her most famous character, her family, and that tony address we’ve become so smitten with, once again.

Venice: I’ve only seen the pilot, but please tell me this is going to be the Sydney we know and love.

Laura Leighton: [laughs] Definitely — and it’s going to continue down that road in a big way. She’s still at it, and still paying for some of her past mistakes. She doesn’t know any other way to deal with her life; she resorts to desperate and dramatic mea­sures because she’s willing to go there.

Don’t you think that while she’s an extremist and drama queen, Sydney’s pulling off everything we secretly want to do?

Totally. She’s just doing it in an over-the­top, to-the-hilt fashion that most of us only fantasize about.

Apparently Sydney really has nine lives from what I can tell.

Well, at least two…so far.

What were your initial thoughts when you got the script?

Up until I had gotten it, I was hesitant about signing up... but when I saw what the producers had done with my character this time around, well, I knew they were going to do right by Sydney!

I know it’s a retelling of the original show — with mostly new characters and a few of the old ones coming back… obviously we have a different sensibility with this new cast, but I feel like the essence is still the same. Don’t you think so?

Absolutely, I think you’re right. The essence is there but it’s an accurate reflec­tion of society today and then put into the context of heightened drama, with what twenty-somethings do and what they’re aware of, which is very different from what we had and what we were in the ’90s.

I think it’s a pretty accurate depiction of Los Angeles too, as far as the jobs the characters have been placed in…I love the fact that Katie Cassidy’s character is a publicist, sort of taking over the Heather Locklear role, even though she was in the ad biz.

For sure! [laughs] She nails it. She’s per­fect and that role for her couldn’t be more fun to play.

What did Doug say when you were asked to join in this version of the show?

He weighed in for sure. Even though he participated in the first version of “Melrose Place,” he had some objectivity on my char­acter. He thought this new crop of people would be very interested to experience Syd­ney. [laughs] He was very encouraging.

How is it working with these new show creators? I mean, you lived the character before under the tutelage and direction of Darren Star.

I do have knowledge of that character, but these guys (producers Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer) have a very specific vision. They are quite well-versed in the characters from the old generation and they’re very good at finding Sydney’s voice.

I kind of go with the flow; I think they’ve really got my character down, especially at this point.

Is TV better for you considering you’re now a family of six? It must really be the way to go.

Yes, it definitely works for us. And I love the family aspect of a television show; I know everyone so well now, from the crew to the cast — it’s almost like having a sec­ond family.

Do you feel weird playing a char­acter again years later? Or do you feel like you have a better under­standing?

I am perfectly comfortable with my age and at my age, and I’m very comfortable with who I am at this age. I’m much more comfortable now than I was in my twenties, and I feel like I know who I am, and where I’m going. I have a better understanding of what is important now, and what makes me tick and that’s a good feel­ing. Even directors and produc­ers and casting directors are all younger. There’s still a bit of a journey to be had between those years between your 20s and your 40s.

The majority of your cast falls into the young end of that spectrum.

Yeah, they’re all just sort of starting their lives and figuring things out.

Do they come to you for advice?

When you’re in your 20s, you don’t think you need any advice. Nobody comes to me for advice, nor do I think I’m really entitled to offer it. They just need to do their own thing, and figure it out for themselves like I did. Back then I didn’t have it figured out and now I do.

I saw that Davis Guggenheim directed the first episode. That seems so different than his last film, An Inconvenient Truth, though I know he’s directed a lot of television prior to that.

It’s more about his style…he’s got a really cool edge and set a great tone for the look of the show, the feel of the show, and setting the stage for going forward.

Are you going to let your kids watch the show? My teenagers (she is step mother to Savant’s two older children from a previ­ous marriage) are officially old enough and officially interested. [laughs] Their friends are excited about the show; they have never really been old enough for some of the shows that Doug and I have done in the past. As long as my presence on the show doesn’t com­pletely ruin it for them [laughs] because I’m sure that’s kind of a weird thing.

They just know you as Mom and Dad.

Well, they did see the pilot and they were shocked and horrified. They said, “Mom, your character is such a bitch!” But that was who Sydney always was, a knock­down, straight-up bitch. [laughs]

Do your two older kids want to go into business as well?

I don’t think so, and we’ve always dis­couraged it. [laughs] It’s not an easy career to embark upon. But it’s their choice, and so far they don’t want to do it. Our own parents didn’t want us to go into the business and tried to talk us out of it; but we were both driven and really want­ed it. That’s the kind of drive you have to have to overcome all the obstacles this business can put in your path and I think we turned out alright. ▼

“Melrose Place” premieres Tuesday, September 8th at 9pm on the CW.