#TBT - Gina Tognoni - Soap Opera Digest

This interview originally appeared in the May 1, 2000 issue of Soap Opera Digest.

“When I was a little girl,” says Gina Tognoni (Kelly, ONE LIFE TO LIVE), leaning forward over her split pea soup as if sharing a secret with a close friend, “I used to sit in my room and pretend I was a newscaster. I would write copy and stick it to my closet and act like I was reading off a TelePrompTer. I would be the anchor, I would be the cameraman, I would be the audience. And my parents would walk in on me and see me playing, just creating my own world.”

These days, Tognoni continues to create her own world, working a little harder to sustain the element of fun she experienced as a child. Lately, however, the decisions she’s faced have been of a more adult nature: Opt out of the soap job she’s been in since 1994? Keep the manager she’s had since 1993? Go public with her low-key (in the media, anyway) relationship with co-star Don Jeffcoat (Joey)?

Although she answered those questions with succinct “No,” “No” and “Sort of,” the aftermath of her decisions shook up her well-ordered universe and got her thinking about Being An Adult. Much like her character, Kelly, the 26-year-old Tognoni has realized that the blithe teenage years are behind her: “The 20s are hard. You’re just starting to understand the world and learning how it works. You think you know everything at 18. At 25, you still don’t, but you increasingly find out that this world is a big, bad place, and you have to learn how to get through it. 1999 was a year I made some big-girl decisions.”

Starting with her career. Having sacked her long-time management team, Tognoni bought a computer, a fax and became her own agent. When the two-year option of her three-year contract with OLTL came up last year, she seriously considered leaving. “I was planning to leave,” she reveals. “I went to Los Angeles, I interviewed with agents, and it was very easy. I would totally walk out and go to L.A. and set up shop.”

Instead, she decided to stick it out. “I have listened to people who have left soaps, who go out to do bigger and better things, and say there’s really no difference.” So for at least another year, she’s putting less emphasis on escaping daytime. “This was my first [acting] gig,” Tognoni explains. “I’m excited to go on and do other things, but I have an affinity for ONE LIFE, and I don’t know how long I’ll stay. At the end of the year, I’ll probably look and see what’s out there. But certain things happened.”

Things have been happening for Tognoni practically since she put her fine-boned, doe-eyed beauty into the public eye. When she was 18, she represented her adopted home state of Rhode Island in the Miss Teen USA pageant, then won first runner-up in the Miss Teen All-American beauty pageant. A judge there (who also worked as an agent) convinced her to sign on with him, and suddenly there she was, an actress in Los Angeles — but not a working one, at least until OLTL came along in 1994. Which is where she has remained to this day, happy, content … but growing a little restless.

For one thing, she regrets ever having never gone to college. “There are days I ask myself, ‘What am I doing in this business?’ ” says Tognoni. “And I wish I had an alternative. I would love to teach.” For now, she’s stretching her acting muscles with a class. “It allows me to get a different feel for acting, playing other parts than Kelly.”

Call it serendipitous writing on the part of the OLTL scribes, but Tognoni says she’s noticed a restiveness in Kelly that mirrors her own life. This past year, Kelly had a wild fling with Mr. Wrong, Max, then dove back into safety with long-time love Joey — but immediately sabotaged that relationship by cozying up to Kevin (under the guise of helping him through his grief over Grace’s death, of course). “Kelly’s got to change the way she looks at things and learn from her mistakes,” says Tognoni. “She’s 24, 25, and she’s going to have to really become accountable now.” She pauses and grins. “It’s almost like what’s going on in Gina’s life!”

As for those things that “happened” recently, there’s little doubt that they had some impact on her choice to play out her contract with the show. She hedges on the details, but doesn’t mind confirming that yes, she and Jeffcoat are dating and have been for some time. “First and foremost, we’re best friends,” she emphasizes. “I cherish him. It’s been a joy, how close we’ve become over the last year. He’s been a wonderful support mechanism.”

And that is that. Watching Tognoni in action is exhilarating, her hands fluttering as she describes her plans for the future. Her enthusiasm is infectious. Although it would be a shame to lose her from soaps, there’s no doubt that once she’s ready, nothing will stop Tognoni in the big, bad world, where she’s just figuring out how to get a toehold.

“There are lots of things in this world that are overwhelming,” muses Tognoni, pushing her soup to the side, “and you have to be courageous enough to know when you need to get out of a particular situation. I’m nearly ready to spread my wings, look for opportunities … soon. When a person applies herself to anything, it really is amazing what you can accomplish.”

Just The Facts

Birthday: November 28

Favorite Movie, Last Year: Run, Lola, Run

Favorite ’80s Music Video: “Freeze Frame,” by The J. Giles Band. “My brother and I were glued to MTV! We used to jam along with the songs.”

Cast Her In: “Something between FELICITY and FRIENDS. I’d love to play the happy-go-lucky girl or the mean girl.”

Millennium Moments: “I love New York, but the city makes me nervous when I’m here during the week — the last place I wanted to be for the millennium was in the city. So we went to the Midwest, where it was tranquil and quiet.”

Filed Under:

http://ift.tt/2BnLBVX

Best Product Soap
Defense Soap Bar 4 Oz (5 Pack) All Natural Antibacterial Antifungal Therapeutic

Kirk's Original Coco Castile Bar Soap, 4 Oz, 3 Count

Raw African BLACK SOAP Organic From GHANA Pure Premium Quality CHOOSE

Dial White Antibacterial Deodorant Soap, 4 Oz, 10 Count