Recently I had the pleasure to sit down with Guiding Light’s Jessica Leccia to discuss her character Natalia Rivera and the burgeoning same-sex love story energizing daytime TV. The stunning Leccia alongside sexy soap siren Crystal Chappell (Olivia Spencer) are throwing caution to the wind and raising some eyebrows on Guiding Light with their latest angst filled plot twist gradually revealing the unlikely love story between the two friends while trying to raise Olivia’s eight year old daughter Emma (Jacqueline Tsirkin) in a loving, stable home. You wont find any mention of labels or jumping on the bandwagon of what’s hot and controversial. There’s no fanfare or press conference bragging to the audience or mainstream America, “Hey look at us, we’re ground breaking!”
What you will find is the portrayal of a beautiful, loving family who, like most families, make school lunches in the morning and build class projects together at the kitchen table. More importantly there’s a true-to-life story that has been carefully crafted over the course of a year. Yes, I said a year! It’s not contrived or salacious, though the on-screen chemistry between Leccia and Chappell will melt your TV. It’s playful, intense, passionate, sexy and funny and has everybody glued to the edge of their seats, begging for more!
But at its heart, there is a love story in the truest possible sense. Brilliant writing from Ellen Wheeler (executive producer) and Jill Lorie Hurst (co-head writer) paired with two talented actresses, Jessica Leccia and Crystal Chappell, have not only struck a cord with daytime fans but are also paving the way for a positive change.
A very pregnant and incredibly busy Jessica Leccia graciously took some time out of her day to chat with me. Here’s what she had to say:
No Comments