Abigail Spencer.
Cindy Elavsky, Contributor
ON ALL My Children, Abigail Spencer played Pine Valley's resident sweetheart, Becca Tyree. When she left in 2001, she took away more than just an acting credit for her résumé.
"Soap-opera work is the hardest. It's like boot camp," Abigail explained. "Now, everything else I do seems OK." After learning the value of discipline and hard work, Abigail is more than ready for her 'graduation' to prime time as the title character in Lifetime Television's new series Angela's Eyes, which premieres on July 16.
Abigail's character, Angela Henson, is an FBI agent whose speciality is figuring out when both suspects and victims are lying. "It is her job, but it also defines her. She is trying to not let it define her too much, but when you are in the FBI, it is all-consuming. It's hard to keep a personal life."
Angela was able to hone her gift for detecting liars because her parents lied to her for the first 14 years of her life. They lived secret double lives as CIA agents who are now suspected of treason. She is trying to right the wrongs of her parents, while also trying to come to grips with what they did.
"Angela is so interesting to play because I can't really figure her out - she is very complex. I learn something new every day. It is invigorating to play this woman; she is not the norm, and she is proud of it." But it's also hard for Angela to just live her life, being so suspicious of everyone. "We all have a certain amount of suspicion," Abigail explained, "and we can turn it on and off. Angela can't. And when she gets emotionally involved with someone, her lie-detecting ability goes a little haywire."
Aside from having characters with exciting story lines, Angela's Eyes has another bonus attached to it: It comes from the producers of the Oscar-winning movie Crash. Tom Nunan and Cathy Schulman didn't just plop their names on to the project and let it coast on from there. They are very involved in the project and "are normal, hard working visionaries. Tom is very hands-on with the show."
FAN OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
In her spare time, Abigail has ample opportunity to keep active. "Toronto (where Angela's Eyes is filmed) is a great biking city, so I get a good workout that way." And it's a good thing that Abigail is a fan of physical activity, because things can get pretty physical on the set. "I remember when we were filming the first episode, my character had to sprint down the street. We had to do about 20 takes -that was fun."
For Abigail, the biggest difference between daytime television and night time drama is time. "Since we take longer, instead of only one day, to film an episode, you get more time to explore and search stuff out." But the biggest thing she has taken away from starring in her own series is that "I really have to learn to take care of myself. I don't have to do it all. I have so many people around me. I've learned to collaborate and communicate with others." And when dealing with conflict, should it arise? "You deal with it being respectful of one another."
Like Angela, Abigail is loyal, she says what she thinks and is passionate about life, the people she loves and about her job. And Abigail, like Angela, is a strong and versatile woman who is more than ready to tackle whatever life may throw her way.
