Often as a journalist, particularly with online pieces, you discover that your writing has been archived or has vanished completely. Thus, I thought it might be fun to, occasionally, revisit some of my favorite work that was done for other publications. The below interview with Catherine Mary Stewart was conducted at a Horror Hound event in the spring of 2010. Originally running on Horror Society’s site, this blast from the past seems as freshly contemporary to me as Stewart, herself.
As an actress, Catherine Mary Stewart has faced down juiced out zombies (Night of the Comet), sexy serial killers (Psychic) and intruders from space, both friendly (The Last Starfighter) and not so friendly (Nightflyers). But her professional beginnings as an actress on soap opera Days of Our Lives were just as scary – and there were no worlds gone wild or dead men named Bernie hanging around either!
“An hour show a day is difficult. My very first day on the set was humiliating. It’s my very first scene as Nurse Kayla Brady and I had to name every single character. I got everybody’s name wrong! Everyone was like, No – I’m Maggie and this is Hope!”
As for the most exciting thing that happened during her short tenure (1982-83) on the beloved soap?
(Laughing) “I lost my virginity to my brother! Josh Taylor was playing Chris Kositchek at the time and I lost my virginity to him. Now he’s back on the soap, playing Roman Brady, Kayla’s brother. So, I lost my virginity to my brother!”
Of course, after her stint on Days, Stewart became known to many horror and science fiction fans for her exemplar, tough as nails work in films such as Dudes and in the very popular, above mentioned films.
“Night of the Comet established me as a strong woman. And, let’s face it, this business is surface and one dimensional, so I got cast as more of a tomboy after that.”
But Stewart did find herself thrown into the occasional glamorous role on such mini-series events as Sins (with Joan Collins), the legendary Hollywood Wives and on the lighthearted, early ’90s attempt at a long running series, Hearts are Wild.
“You know, while I didn’t mind the idea of a steady gig, the character on Hearts Are Wild started out a lot darker. But…it turned into a commercial Love Boat type of thing.”
Darker emotions also played into one of Stewart’s first roles after her familial based hiatus. In 2007, she appeared in a supporting capacity in the horror film based on celebrated novelist Jack Ketchum’s book, The Girl Next Door. (As many know, the central character, Ruth Chandler, tortures and abuses her young female ward.)
“The Girl Next Door gave me a lot of pause. They wanted me to read for the lead. I just couldn’t. I had to ask myself, Are you scared because it’s challenging? Finally, I decided yes, it’s challenging…but it’s just too tough. This was the movie to get back into it all and I just wanted to get the wheels turning. I did not want to play that part.”
Of course, since those tentative returning moments, Stewart, much to the delight of her ravenous fan base, has not only been working non-stop in film, but has been hitting the convention circuit and has set herself up a home base, not only on the web – http://www.catherinemarystewart.net -, but on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/catherinemarystewart -, as well. She’s also found an emotional connection with many of the viewers of her past celluloid achievements.
“So many young women have claimed I instilled a sense of power in them. I love that! I can’t tell you how much I love that!”
In closing, when asked to use one word to describe Penelope Spheeris, the, yes…powerful and acclaimed director who guided her through the rough terrain of Dudes, Stewart responds:
“Oh, man! She was just so cool! So. Cool! I so wanted to be even half as cool as her!”
Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
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