"Brenda is a lot of fun to play," she continues. "She has great humor and an edge that makes her unique I've made her a little more vulnerable than (GH) planned. But I think it's really important when you are playing something of a vixen to have areas where people see the character's vulnerability. That way they have the opportunity to care about them a little bit."

Aside from Brenda being young, manipulative and somewhat misunderstood, Marcil views the character as someone searching for love. "That is the one thing she thinks she doesn't have," she explains. "She has her sister, but because of their father Brenda has a lot of resentment toward her. Because of that, she is mad at the world and takes it out in a lot of devious ways. Brenda is not really a true vixen, but more the teen-ager crying out for help."

Marcil admits that portraying a teen in turmoil hasn't proved difficult; in fact, she and Brenda share a common bond. "We have the same kind of father," she says openly, "very wealthy and successful, who thinks he knows everything and can create the perfect daughter. My teen-age years were a lot like Brenda's. I was a troublemaker, really rebellious. I was especially rebellious about the way our family was -- the status. My father was well-known in Palm Springs, and I would do things to publicly embarrass him -- ditch school, get bad grades -- trying to get his attention."

Consequently, Marcil's relationship with her father suffered (she remains close to her sisters and mother), and although there are no bitter feelings on her part, Marcil says their relationship is "Basically nonexistent. I don't really have a relationship with my father," she says quietly. "But I am not angry with him; I used to be, but now I just let it go. That's the difference between Brenda and myself. Brenda is very angry, and everything she does runs off of her anger and hurt. If she could learn to let that go, she could be a lot happier."

Marcil herself has learned that lesson well. Knowledge and maturity, however, were slow in coming. On a whim, she married actor Corey Feldman -- an act she kept hidden from her parents for almost a year. "We were kids," she says, explaining the situation rather than trying to justify it. "I was 18, it was puppy love, and we thought it would be fun to fly to Las Vegas at 3 o'clock in the morning and get married.

"Corey was going through his little teen-heartthrob period," she continues. (Feldman starred in several teen-oriented movies, including Stand By Me, The Lost Boys, Dream a Little Dream and License to Drive.) "His publicist and agent didn't want anyone to know about [the marriage]. We were legally married for about three years, but it wasn't a conventional marriage. We never moved in together or really did any of the married stuff. Really, how much of a marriage can you have at 18?" she laughs.