Nicole Forester talks acting career, life after Guiding Light, her dream role on Y&R/GH and so much more. Check it out here--->>
Nicole Forester, a Michigan native got her big break in acting though her first love was dancing. Soap Opera News got the chance to speak with this busy actress who took some time out to talk with us about her superb acting career, life after Guiding Light, her dream role on The Young and the Restless or General Hospital and so much more.
1. Can you share with us a bit about your background and how you got into acting?
I grew up in Michigan and my first love was dancing....ballet, jazz, modern... When I was 12, I auditioned on a whim for THE SOUND OF MUSIC at a local professional theatre, and somehow I got the part! Seemed like the right time to add singing lessons, and my interest in acting quickly followed. I got an agent in Detroit and started booking industrial films and commercials that were shot locally. I used to watch FAME on tv (it was like the GLEE of my childhood) and dreamed of singing and dancing my way through school. Then, just as I entered high school, a magnet school for the arts opened in my hometown, and I became a drama major in high school, performing in plays and musicals every chance I got. I majored in Musical Theatre Performance at Western Michigan University briefly before taking the leap and moving to LA at the age of 19 to attend The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After graduation, I got an agent in LA and started working in musical theatre, tv, film, and commercials. I spent 13 years acting in movies and television in LA before I moved to NYC, having no idea at the time that GUIDING LIGHT would soon be offering me the coveted role of "Cassie."
2. From 2005 - 2008 you played the role of Cassie Winslow on Guiding Light, can you share what your experience was like?
My experience on GUIDING LIGHT was unlike any experience I have ever had in all my years of television work. Firstly: the fans' loyalty to GUIDING LIGHT was incredible. I received so much support, so many kind emails and letters - even embraces from total strangers on the sidewalk! - that made me feel welcome in such a tight-knit community that was entirely new to me. Soap fans are still giving me double-takes and asking me, "Excuse me...but...were you on GUIDING LIGHT?" I loved playing "Cassie." I loved going to work every day, getting to see the same castmates and crew day after day for weeks and months and years on end. As an actress, it was a privilege to be on the same show for 3 solid years, in production 51 weeks a year. I still think of it as the most fun job I've ever had. It was also super challenging at times, especially when "Cassie's" storylines were heavy with emotion, like when "Tammy" died. Lots of crying for days on end!
3. What were/are your thoughts on the show's cancellation.
As the longest-running show in broadcast history, 72 years strong, the show's cancellation was a big surprise to me. They canceled about a year after I completed my contract after I had moved home to Michigan with my husband to start our family. I remember I would watch those last months of the show while nursing my newborn daughter, and I would miss my GUIDING LIGHT family so much. It was hard not to be there with all of them for the very end of the show. There will never be another show that endures the way GUIDING LIGHT did.
4. It's been a number of years, but would you ever do soaps again. If so, what show or role could you see yourself playing?
Yes, I would love to do a soap again - especially Y&R or GH, since I have friends on those shows. I would cast myself as a smart, strong, sexy, savvy character.... who's tougher than the men but who's hiding a deep wound....or keeping a scandalous secret about someone in town.... until.....(this is why I appreciate great writers!)
5. You've done soaps, films, primetime - are the experiences all different?
Yeah, I find the experience of doing soaps, film, and primetime very different. They all have different shooting styles and different pros & cons from a lifestyle perspective (hours on set, locations, etc). No matter what the genre, I always try to empathize with my character and deliver the most honest performance I can. I love to celebrate the human condition through acting. And: the better the writing, the more interesting the project is to me.
6. What has life been like since the end of Guiding Light?
My top priority since GUIDING LIGHT has been starting my family in Michigan, where there aren't as many work opportunities as in NY or LA. I've been working whenever it's possible without disrupting my kids' childhood too much. I guess you could say I've been trying to give them the wholesome midwestern childhood that I had. So I've taken lots of smaller roles in order to be away from them for shorter periods of time and while staying closer to home. Since GUIDING LIGHT I've worked with Tom Cruise (in JACK REACHER), Richard Gere (in THE DOUBLE - while I was 7 months pregnant with my son!), Kelsey Grammer (in BOSS), and with Jesse Eisenberg in BATMAN VS SUPERMAN. Now that my daughter is 11 and my son is 9, I'm considering a couple of opportunities requiring work on a full-time schedule - - that is, once the pandemic subsides!
7. Do you have any projects on the horizon that you can talk about now?
Currently, you can catch me in two Netflix original movies, THE LAST SUMMER (I play a very self-absorbed stage mother!) and ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES (I play a group counselor), and I play a doctor in the upcoming movie CHERRY with Tom Holland.
8. Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
I would recommend you catch me as a smart and savvy politician's wife on BOSS, the original Starz series I did with Kelsey Grammer (now available on Amazon Prime Video), which is like a cross between THE WEST WING and THE SOPRANOS. We did two seasons and I had a blast playing this dynamic character who, in the first handful of episodes, appears to be just the quiet, smiling politician's wife, but by episode 7 you find out what she's really made of. I also have a recurring role as "Matt Casey's" sister "Christie" on CHICAGO FIRE on NBC (I'm in seasons 1 and 3 so far). I hope you'll check them out! Oh - also - I've finally joined the world of Instagram (I know...I'm late to the party!), so I would love it if your readers would come say hello to me there @nicoleforester. I promise to reply!
Thanks so much, Nicole! So fans, would you love to see her back on soaps?
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| Nicole as a Daytime Emmy Award nominee |
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