Daytime fans would love to see Susan Lucci step back into the stilettos of her beloved All My Children alter ego, Erica Kane, and it's not a wish that's completely out of this stratosphere. In a recent interview, the actress was asked about her future prospects as Erica, and her answer is as fun as a giant Enchanted Cosmetics beauty bag.
"I'm somebody who doesn't like to talk about something until I'm on the set, actually doing it, but it was leaked that there is a show in the works called Pine Valley that Kelly Ripa [ex-Hayley Santos] and Mark Consuelos [ex-Mateo Santos] will be producing," Lucci said during an episode of the podcast Behind the Velvet Rope. "And that sounds really interesting because it's very, very cleverly done, and it takes into account the characters who the audience loves, and it puts some new characters in there that keeps it very fresh. So, I'm excited to see if that really goes... They tell me yes. And I told them, yes, I'm interested."
But the powers that be better hurry and sign Lucci into a Pine Valley deal, because she's a hot commodity -- and they might find that she's busy with other projects if they don't act fast. For instance, when asked if she would appear in one of The Real Housewives series like soap alums Lisa Rinna (ex-Billie Reed, Days of our Lives) and Eileen Davidson (Ashley Abbott, The Young and the Restless; ex-Kristen DiMera, DAYS), Lucci said she would -- if only for her good friend, the franchise's producer, Andy Cohen.
"I would work for Andy any time, any place, I would," she shares. "I never thought about being a housewife of anywhere, but I would give it a whirl for Andy. Of course, I would give it a whirl."
Funny enough, that was her attitude when the powers that be at AMC told her that Erica was going to fight a grizzly bear -- and win!
"I would try anything in rehearsal. I always will, always do," she states. But she also admits that she was a little bit hesitant, especially when she arrived to do the scene in a forest in Canada and came face to face with the beast.
"It was a very hot and humid July day, and there was the bear and his trainer, and I said to Jackie [Babbin, then-executive producer], 'So, I'm going to fight this grizzly bear and win?' And she said, 'Yeah, just try it.' And I said, 'Don't you think we've gone too far this time?!'" she recalls with a laugh. "But I said, 'Of course, okay, I'll try it.' Anyway, the bear was being kept cool in a stream and then the trainer got the bear out and he was groaning -- he did not want to work -- and I'm thinking, 'Oh, great! How am I going to win this?!' [Laughs] Anyway, I tried it, that was it, we did the scene, and it turned out to be a classic for the fans' delight level. They really loved it."
For more from Lucci, including many behind-the-scenes memories of her time in Pine Valley and who she thinks could play her in a film about her life, listen to the actress' full Velvet Rope episode here.
On a scale of one to ten, how excited would you be to see Susan Lucci reprise her role of Erica Kane for an All My Children reboot? (Our answer: one million! But you do you, of course...) Would you be interested in seeing her be a part of The Real Housewives franchise? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
