2024 might be just starting out, but it's already been a banner year for Daytime Emmy-winning Kristen Alderson (ex-Kiki Jerome, General Hospital; ex-Starr Manning, One Life to Live, GH), who has some exciting news to share. Not only did she and her fiancé Taylor Crousore, recently welcome their first child, a baby girl they named Kiera, on January 29, but she also has a new movie -- her first role in nine years -- that she's eager for fans to see. On Sunday, February 18, the thriller Man in the Guest House premiered on Lifetime Network. It will continue to stream on Monday, February 19.
In the thriller, Alderson plays Ashley Burke who -- along with husband of ten years Brandon Burke played by Ignacyo Matynia -- convert their garage into a living space that they rent out for a little extra income. Everything goes according to plan when they find the seemingly ideal renter, but they soon discover that looks can be deceiving because their new tenant is far more than they bargained for. Rounding out the cast are Allen Williamson, Ren Ashton, and James Hyde, who played Jeremy Stark on The Young and the Restless from November 2022 until exiting the role in April 2023.
Recently, Alderson spoke to Michael Fairman TV about motherhood, her new movie, OLTL, and the heartbreaking losses of two daytime co-stars. Things kicked off with Alderson recounting the wonder and joy of welcoming her first child, and the roller-coaster ride to get there. After being in labor for two days, it was decided that Alderson would deliver her daughter by cesarean section.
Alderson had been scared, but the nurses and staff made all the difference. "They were the nicest. We had a very fun C-section. It sounds so weird, but we had the best time," the actress shared. Alderson's fiancé was at her side when she gave birth, while both her parents and her brother Eddie Alderson (Matthew Buchanan, OLTL) had been close by, eagerly waiting to welcome the newest family member to the world. Alderson confessed that she'd grown emotionally attached to all the nurses, and she didn't want to see them leave because it meant that a new nurse would be arriving. "But then I would be like, 'Oh, wait, I love you too.'," the actress said with a laugh.
Alderson credited Crousore with talking to her and keeping her distracted as they gave her an epidural and prepared her for the C-section. The actress was certain that she would be too excited to cry when she first laid eyes on her daughter, but she hadn't been prepared for how emotional the moment would be when she and Crousore first heard their newborn daughter's cry. It immediately brought the new parents to tears. "We are just so in love with her," she gushed.
It was during the filming of the Lifetime movie that Alderson learned that she was pregnant. The movie is filled with all kinds of twists and turns. "Bad things happen to everybody and very strange things happen too," the actress teases. Allen Williamson plays the renter, whom Alderson describes as good-looking and unassuming; someone no one would suspect of being a bad guy. However, Alderson warns that her character is not as she seems, either. "We think I'm a good girl," she explains.
As for Alderson's co-star, she had nothing but praise for Matynia. She revealed that they had met up a day or two before they began to work together. She worried about their chemistry because they had to portray a married couple, but luckily, things worked out. "We clicked because our personalities were so fun and goofy together," Alderson said. She also confessed that she'd gotten nervous the first time she and Matynia ran a scene together because she realized that he was an "amazing" actor, which had made her question if she was good enough to be in scenes with him. She was eager to watch the movie because she looked forward to seeing the chemistry that they had created.
Alderson acknowledged that working on a soap opera and being on the set of a Lifetime thriller had stark differences. She had to get used to filming the same scene repeatedly, depending on how big the scene was. On top of that, scenes weren't shot in sequence, which made acting out some scenes a bit more challenging. She gives Lifetime actors a lot of credit because -- like with soap operas the pace of filming is quick. "It's the soap operas of movies," the actress suggested.
Next, Alderson opened up about her OLTL family and the passing of two of her co-stars. In December, Kamar de los Reyes died at 56 after a battle with cancer. Alderson had known him for years. She described him as always being sweet, despite the big age difference between the two actors and them not sharing a lot of scenes together. The actress explained that everyone at OLTL had been family, and they would hang out together in the hair and makeup room. She recalled having an opportunity to catch up with de los Reyes during a little OLTL reunion in Los Angeles about seven years ago. "He sat and talked with my mom the entire time," she fondly remembered.
Alderson was equally devastated to learn about the tragic passing of Amanda Davies, who died at the age of 42 on January 29. Davies had once played a young Viki in flashback scenes. Alderson had been friends with Davies on Facebook, and she shared that Davies had always been insanely proud of Slezak. "I was just so sad. She was so young," Alderson said of Davies.
Alderson also had kind words to say about Trevor St. John (ex-Todd Manning/Victor Lord Jr, OLTL; Tucker McCall, Y&R) and his performance in the film A Good Enough Day, describing St. John as talented and always one of her absolute favorite people to work with. She recalled how much she had enjoyed never knowing what he would do during filming at OLTL, but it was one of the reasons that they had worked so well together. She also shared that St. John was one of the funniest people she had ever met and that he would often crack her up during their scenes together. "I got in trouble so many times because he would just make me laugh," she admitted.
Alderson revealed that one of the most profound moments in the film was when St. John's character -- who is terminally ill -- called his sister because it hooked the viewer in. It turned out that the sister was played by Lisa Fuller, wife of Dan Gauthier (Kevin Buchanan, OLTL). Fuller and Gauthier's son Cole had been Alderson's best friend growing up. "I knew that she was an actress, but it was just an incredible performance just over a phone call," Alderson said of Fuller's role in the St. John movie.
Finally, Alderson ended things with a tantalizing teaser about Man in the Guest House, sharing that there was a fun twist at the end, so viewers should be prepared. "I love a good twist at the end of a movie," she added.
Are you a Lifetime movie fan? Did you catch Kristen Alderson's latest project? 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.
