By: Tom Stacy

Soaptown USA: Tease us about your role as Madeleine Stowe’s mother, Marion, on Sunday night’s episode of REVENGE entitled, “Lineage.”
Adrienne Barbeau: Well, at long last, the audience might understand how Victoria got to be the way she is [laughs].

Soaptown: In keeping with the holiday spirit, we understand that the episode flashbacks to Thanksgiving of 2006.
Barbeau: Yes. Victoria and her mother’s story takes place on Thanksgiving Day, but there are other memories of other Thanksgivings past that are even more tumultuous that come up, if you can believe that!

Soaptown: Were you already familiar with the show?
Barbeau: I was not. When they called me in to audition, I immediately raced to the Internet and I caught the recap show that covered the entire first season.

Soaptown: How would you rate your experience?
Barbeau:  I have to tell you, it was a wonderful.  Madeleine couldn’t have been more gracious and more welcoming. The entire crew was that way. The director was fantastic. I had such a good time.

Soaptown: Is there a possibility we might see your character again?
Barbeau: Well, I certainly would be up for it. I have since become a fan of REVENGE. In fact, I went out and got the DVD and I’ve been watching five episodes at a time. And, you know as well as I do that people get killed on that show and then they pop up two weeks later.

Soaptown: That’s true! James Morrison, “the white-haired man,” a.k.a. Gordon Murphy, was killed weeks ago and still appears in episodes.
Barbeau:  It’s funny you mentioned that. I had so looked forward to being on the set with him — although we weren’t. James and I did an episode of a short-lived series called MONSTERS [in 1989]. Well, I watched the episode [where his character was killed] and I thought, “Oh, shoot. He won’t be on the set,” and the next week, there he was. He showed up again, so you never know. As for my character, I suppose some of it will depend on how the audience responds to the storyline and if they want to see more.

Soaptown: You recently attended the HorrorHound Weekend in Indianapolis, which featured a reunion of 1980 classic, The Fog.
Barbeau:  Yes. Jamie Lee Curtis agreed to do this event, and all of the money she made posing for pictures and signing autographs went to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and they used it as a lynchpin to bring in the rest of The Fog actors: Tom Atkins, the boy who played my son, Ty Mitchell and Charles Cyphers who played the weatherman. It was a great chance for all of us to catch up and have a good time together. We also went in and did commentary for the new Blu-ray version, which will be coming out next year from Scream Factory.

Soaptown: Are you surprised by that film’s longevity?
Barbeau:  The thing about those films, which came up during the Q&A with the audience, was the horror was all in your imagination. There’s a big difference between those films and what has become more predominant these days, which are the gory slasher movies out there.  I don’t think they have the same type of repeat business.

Soaptown:  Horror fans are often compared to soap fans because of their loyalty. Do GENERAL HOSPITAL fans ever approach calling you Suzanne?
Barbeau:  They do! They still do.

Soaptown:  You know, GH turns 50 next year.
Barbeau:  Wow!  Isn’t that amazing.  It’s the longest running soap now, isn’t it?

Soaptown: It is. Would you be up for another visit if they brought back Vanessa Marcil (ex-Brenda) and ignited that baby mystery story?
Barbeau:  Sure. I know it’s a whole new group of people over there now, but yes, absolutely. I heard from a fan at that autograph signing that Steve Burton (ex-Jason) recently left the show. When fans do come up and say, “I enjoyed you on General Hospital,” I always ask, “How are you enjoying it now?” and “What’s going on?  What do you think?”  They’re all loving it right now.

Soaptown: Besides Revenge, you can also be seen on the big screen in Argo. Tell us about that.
Barbeau:  Well, if you blink, you’ll miss me [laughs].  It was just a cameo but I’m so proud to be associated with that film.  Ben [Affleck, the director] did a brilliant job.  It’s a film that everyone should
see.  I’ll tell you a little trivia story about my role in Argo.  My scenes take place in 1979 and I’m playing an actress who is playing a part in a sci-fi film, so all the background actors were dressed in sci-fi costumes from that era.  I walked on the set and there was this woman, an extra, wearing my jumpsuit from Cannonball Run!  I went home and pulled out an 8-by-10 from that film and I took it to the wardrobe designer the next day and I said, “Is it possible that she is wearing this exact costume?” And she said, “Oh, yes.  That’s where I got it from … but I had to put her in high white boots to cover up her ankles because it was way too short on her.”  So, look for the girl in the Cannonball Run jumpsuit [laughs].  In fact, I’ve got to go back and see the film again because I was so busy watching what I was doing that I didn’t look at what was going on behind me [laughs].

Soaptown: So, you’re on TV this week, in theaters now and you just did
voice work on the video game, Halo 4.  What’s next for Adrienne Barbeau?
Barbeau:  Well, I have jury duty next week — that’s about it for now
[laughs].


Look for Adrienne Barbeau in Revenge on ABC on Sunday night at 9 p.m. or on-line at:  abc.go.com