Acclaimed actress Alley Mills chatted about her 2023 Daytime Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series” for “General Hospital.”
American philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” Alley Mills is a woman and performer that epitomizes this thought-provoking quote by Emerson.
Mills is best known for her role as Norma Arnold, the mother in the popular coming-of-age series “The Wonder Years,” and her role as Pamela Douglas, the sister of the late Forrester matriarch Stephanie Forrester (Susan Flannery), on the CBS daytime drama “The Bold and the Beautiful.”
Presently, she plays Heather Webber on the ABC soap opera “General Hospital.”
Playing Heather Webber on ‘General Hospital’
Mills is nominated for an Emmy for her work on the ABC daytime drama “General Hospital” for playing Heather Webber.
“What I mostly love about Heather is that there is no way that I would be doing what Heather is doing and that is hooking people,” she said. “The way she does things is so dark and brutal.”
“I created this thing in my mind where Heather had to play above the fray and into the light even though she is doing terrible things, and that kept me so full of energy. Heather was always one step ahead of everybody. Heather is always scheming and that is really fun to play. That was fun and I loved doing that,” Mills elaborated.
“Avery Kristen Pohl is amazing to work with as my onscreen daughter Esme on the show,” she said. “I have nothing but great things to say about Avery, she is such a talent, and Jon Lindstrom is incredible as well.”
The digital age
On being an actress in the digital age, Mills noted that technology has its advantages to it but it’s also isolating, it’s a “double edged sword.” “I worry about the kids in this digital age, it’s a weird time,” she said.
“I love live theater better than television, I grew up with it,” she said, noting that there is nothing else like it. “Live theater is more fun, and more in the moment,” she added.
Dialogue-heavy
When asked how she handles being dialogue-heavy, Mills said, “I asked my granddaughter to work with me and I hired her. She moved into my guesthouse and I just drilled those scripts so that I could be free again. Heather is so crazy, I wanted to have the freedom to do whatever I wanted to do. I literally had to do that each time I worked in order to feel free. I had no personal life for all that time, but I loved it. I love Frank Valentini, the executive producer of ‘General Hospital’.”
Virtual fan event
This past March, Mills and her “General Hospital” co-star Avery Kristen Pohl were a part of a Coastal Entertainment virtual fan event, where they were able to Zoom with their loyal fans. “That Zoom was so wonderful. Avery and I had a great time interacting with the fans,” Mills said.
Advice for young and aspiring actors
For young and aspiring actors, Mills said, “It’s really tough. Never give up if you love it. I’m still going at it at 72, it’s amazing. Remember that you really need to love what you do, and that keeps you going.”
Stage of her life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, Mills said, “I’ll Never Stop Seeking.”
Mills also shared that raising mental health awareness is a huge passion of hers.
‘The Bold and The Beautiful’
Mills is known for playing the role of Pamela Douglas on the hit CBS soap opera “The Bold and The Beautiful,” a character she has played for well over 13 years, who is the sister of the late beloved matriarch Stephanie Forrester (played by three-time Emmy winner Susan Flannery).
On working with Susan Flannery Mills said, “Was I lucky or what? ‘The Bold and The Beautiful’ was my first introduction to soap operas, and the role of Pam was only supposed to be for 10 days. I thought Susan was a brilliant actress on that show, and we became really good friends. We developed a dynamic as sisters, and we never lost it. I loved working with her, she was one of my favorite people to work with.”
“Alley Mills is one of my favorite people in the world,” said actor Thorsten Kaye, who plays Ridge Forrester on the show. “Alley is so cool and she is just fantastic,” he added.
Success
On her definition of the word success, Mills said, “Success is when you have discovered what happiness is, and you can live in that realm of what contentment is to you.”
“Success is doing the things that give us joy and the things that make us happy. It is hard to be successful, you have to fight for success,” she said.
Fans
For her fans, Mills remarked, “My fans are multigenerational, and it’s so funny, especially from ‘General Hospital’ fans to ‘The Bold and The Beautiful’ fans to ‘The Wonder Years’ fans, it’s a really interesting mixture. Pam and Heather attract the same people, I sort of know my crowd, and these fans like it when things get shaken up.”
