Lover in a Dangerous Time- An Interview with Lisa Rinna

Mar 07 2012, 12:06 AM by Christine Montgomery

First things first- Lisa Rinna has no idea what will be in store for Billie Reed following her much anticipated return to Salem, which airs March 8th. "It's sort of like life", Rinna explains, "we don't really know what's going to happen from day to day". And would Rinna, who's making her third return as a cast member on Days of Our Lives to play one of the program's most beloved characters, have it any other way?

For Rinna returning to Days of Our Lives is all about the thrill of going into work not knowing what will be in store for her. It's about rekindling old friendships with co-stars like Patrick Muldoon (plays Austin Reed) and Lauren Koslow (plays Kate Roberts). It's about paying homage to the soap opera, in a era when timeless soaps are becoming increasingly out of favor with viewers who seek the thrills of reality television. In a time when our most cherished soap operas run as perilous of a risk of vanishing as a character who's luck has fallen on the wrong side of the coin, Rinna will be making a return to Days of Our Lives hitting the ground running.

Of course she wouldn't have it any other way.

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What is it about the character Billie that you love and has you back for more? 

She’s one of those great characters. There’s just never a dull moment. There’s always something going on. I mean, she’s that underdog, she’s that fighter, she’s that survivor. She, messes up and you want to root for her and you want to help her. One of the reasons why I wanted to go back and play her again is there’s so many places to take her.

Coming back on the show, how do you look at where Billie is now in her life? Is that where you would’ve wanted to take her? 

I like where they brought her. Billie’s grown, she’s evolved, she’s matured hopefully...I like the way the show has written her back in, I think the audience will too. And then we’ll see where that develops and evolves.

Can you preview what Billie’s first scenes are going to be? How and why does she arrive in Salem? 

Well let’s see. What I can tell you from what I remember - we do film quite far in advance. I do come back to do something with my mother. That I can tell you.

As far as having a new love interest- of course the rumor is it’s going to be Dr. Daniel who’s made the rounds through half of the women in Salem? 

And my mother and my daughter included!

So how are you going to kind of rise about that challenge that he has romanced your mother and your daughter on the show? 

Well that’s a really darn good question. You know, feelings are very powerful. And I think complete conflict would definitely be in the mix. But again, you know, when you’re passionate about somebody it can override many, many things.

So we’ll see. I love that there’s that kind of obstacle - kind of obstacle, huge obstacle. I love that, you know, so it’s not, you know, it’s never easy in a soap. Certainly it’s either going to be the person I hate and that hates me. Or somebody that has, you know, major obstacles to overcome, and that’s what we love about soaps, isn’t it? Or one of the things we love.

Our fans are dying to know if you’re going to be coming between Bo and Hope again or is that a been there, done that? 

From what I’m seeing -- that is going to be a been there, done that. And I have a child with Bo, obviously, but we are in a platonic relationship.

Is your return this time to Days more of a short-term story arc, or if you have plans to stay long-term? 

I don’t know if I can talk about it exactly...as long as we’re all having fun we’re going to keep doing it. We’ll see...But I think it’s not super short-term, no.

Days of Our Lives is such an iconic show that television really cherishes. What do you think it is that continues to captivate viewers? 

I think it’s great story and great characters and it’s generational. It's something that you can share with your family. You know, everybody can watch it and it brings families together and keeps them together. And I think it’s that. I think it’s just good story telling.

Do you have a few secrets of how you have not changed your look since you appeared on Days of Our Lives for the first time? What are your tips? 

I think that if I have any secret -- and it sounds so cliché -- but it's really living a blessed life and being happy.

And I'm so busy and I think all of us women -- as mothers and working moms and wives -- we tend not to put ourselves first. And we really need to because we have a lot of work to do. It's really busy. And so I'm really always just doing it not necessarily for how I look, but how I feel. Because I really think it starts with if you feel good everything else goes much better and then you tend to look good too.

Is Billie coming back with any secrets? 

Yes! Billie always has - everyone has secrets on a soap opera, come on now.

By: Christine Montgomery

 

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Lisa Rinna's return to Days of Our Lives airs Thursday at 1.00 et/pt.

 

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