Soap Opera Digest: How have you enjoyed your time on GH so far?
Catherine Wadkins: I'm having the best time, and I'm learning so much.

Digest: What were you doing before you landed the role of Mary?
Wadkins: I just moved to Los Angeles last September from New York and was doing theater there. When I moved out here, I did a miniseries called HELTER SKELTER, which is coming out in May [on CBS], and then I just auditioned for pilot season.

Digest: How did the part on GH come about?
Wadkins: Well, the first time I heard about it was the beginning of February and started that month with a series of auditions and callbacks. It was one of those scripts that you read that just hits you somewhere. I really connected to Mary, just the little bit that I got from the scene. I kept coming back and the more information [Casting Director] Mark Teschner gave me about her, the more connected I felt to her. It just clicked. Finally, the end of February was the screen test. After that, I found out I got the part.

Digest: Did you ever plan to try daytime?
Wadkins: For me, it came up and I was game. It depends on the scripts; they have to appeal to me. I don't care if it's a movie or if it's TV or if it's a soap or if it's a voice for a cartoon. If I read a scene and it hits me in a certain place, it's a gut reaction.

Digest: What do you think of the genre so far?
Wadkins: Oh, my gosh! It's so much more challenging than I ever expected. It's an amazing place for me personally to grow, and I know it's exactly where I should be right now.

Digest: How is this different from theater?
Wadkins: I often tend to be like, "I am preparing for a play now, and I can read the script 100 times and figure out what's going on with the character." At GENERAL HOSPITAL, it's sort of fly by the seat of my pants. It really allows me to create in the moment.

Digest: How do you like working with Tyler Christopher (Nikolas)?
Wadkins: He's wonderful. He is so present and demands that I stay present, which is the best gift that I could ever ask for.

Digest: Did you know that your storyline would touch on the war in Iraq?
Wadkins: Yes, that was a part of the story from the moment that I read Mary. For me, it was something that was already inherent in the script and something that the writers came up with.

Digest: Were you nervous about the sensitivity of the story?
Wadkins: It is a sensitive issue. I turn on the TV and read magazine and newspaper articles, and I see what's really happening there. I don't for a second want to feel like we're exploiting the truth about that situation just for a storyline. As an actor, what I recognize is the fact that this woman has had profound loss and I find what connects myself to that. More than anything, especially with a story that's based on so much reality, I definitely want to be as truthful as possible.

Digest: You say Mary has experienced such profound loss. Does that make her sympathetic even though she's pretending that Nikolas is her deceased husband?
Wadkins: I don't think of her as evil [laughs]. I think of her as in profound pain and loneliness and someone who makes a huge mistake. She's very human; she is starting to feel the weight of this lie. You know what they say: Oh, what a wicked web we weave.... In a way, Mary is trapped in her own web and she can't get out. She is developing an understanding of where Emily is coming from. Sometimes, I even have a hard time walking into those scenes. I have to split myself in two. On the one hand, Mary is confused and feels guilty about what she's doing. But on the other hand, she is so devastated that she'd do just about anything.

Digest: You sure did get thrown into a heavy storyline for your first soap gig!
Wadkins: Yeah, it is. I feel like internally, there are definitely a lot of complexities. Once again, to be able to work on that and work with those circumstances is a gift. It's challenging and it gives me so much to play with.

Digest: Although you have predominantly worked with Tyler and Natalia Livingston (Emily), have you met the rest of the cast?
Wadkins: I've worked mainly just with them, but I have gotten to know the cast. Everyone is awesome! I have definitely stepped into an ensemble that is totally committed and forces me to step up to the plate. Otherwise, I would feel like a jerk because everyone is so great. I couldn't have stepped into a more welcoming environment.