Exclusive Interview with Barbara Niven
 by Lucy, The Llanview Banner - Nov. 19, 2002 

Niven: I am living my dream.  I want to be an example that “If I can do it, so can you!”

Daytime Star: Barbara Niven
Daytime Role: Liz Reynolds, OLTL
Other Soap Roles:  Recurring on “Bold & Beautiful” and “Pacific Palisades”  

Non Soap Roles: Played Kate on “Pensacola: Wings of Gold,” Marilyn Monroe in “The Rat Pack”

Birthday: Feb. 26, 1953

Hometown/Birthplace:  Portland, Oregon

Official Website: www.barbaraniven.com

LLANVIEW BANNER: When did you become interested in acting?  What was your first role?

BARBARA NIVEN:  I can’t remember ever not wanting to be an actress – even when I was a little girl.  The family joke was that when I was about five years old, my family would go on trips to the beach or to a park and I would suddenly disappear.  My parents would find me in front of total strangers posing for their camera in their family photos.  How embarrassing – a lot of people probably got their pictures back and wondered who the strange little girl was.  I’ve always had this thing for a camera!  And for being in front of people, putting on a show. 

NIVEN: I didn’t start acting till I was almost thirty though.  I spent a lot of years being practical and “settling” in my life.  My first good part in a movie was opposite James Garner and James Woods in Hallmark's “Promise”…which won the emmy for best TV movie of the year.  I actually got to make out with James Garner.  My mom was so jealous.  It was also the first time I ever had a dressing room with my name on the door.  I’ll never forget it.

BANNER: What would you be doing if you weren't acting?
NIVEN:  More writing.  Plus I absolutely love web design.  I also would love to have a ranch in Montana someday, with horses.  When I first moved to Los Angeles from Oregon with Jessica I rented a house with horse stalls in the back and got us two horses.  I wanted to make sure she grew up “normal” shoveling horse manure.  I still love doing the manual work myself – nothing like the smell of horse poop. 

BANNER: Have you ever done a soap opera before?
NIVEN:  Just recurring on Bold & Beautiful, playing a madam.  It’s fun to play “bad”.  ;)

BANNER: How does Daytime differ from Primetime?

NIVEN: It’s a lot faster, sort of like riding a speeding train!  We shoot over 130 pages a day, while a film for instance is around 110 pages.  Primetime takes a week to shoot one episode.  Very luxurious.  Gee, what did we need all that time for?  I like getting in and getting it done, then moving on to the next thing.

BANNER: Which do you prefer - Primetime or Daytime?
NIVEN:  They have different energies and I like them both. But I think I like Daytime better, simply because my “rush” is learning lines and working out scene dynamics, getting them in one take, and then moving on to the next day.  I love playing one character over time, because there’s time to discover and “live” in the character.  Really get inside her head and figure her out.

BANNER: During your sabbatical between jobs, what was your life like?

NIVEN:  I just love to act!  So whenever I am not working, even now on OLTL, I am still in class, stretching, finding out what I can do.  I studied with Milton Katselas in Los Angeles three days a week til I moved here.  Besides that, I’m really athletic, and did Tae Bo with Billy Blanks about five times a week.  I mountain bike ride and hike whenever and wherever with my dog Lucy.  I love to travel – have been all over the world.  Especially love to shoot on location and live in a new place for a couple months at a time.  Did that in Sardenia and Greece both.  I’m quick at learning languages, love practicing every chance I get.

BANNER: What was it like for you starting out on OLTL and what excited you most?

NIVEN:  I screen tested in NY on a Tuesday, then got called Wednesday night on my way to the airport back to L.A., saying that I got the job. But I had to move to NY by Sunday to start work on Monday.  That’s exciting, but crazy!  I was excited to do the work, but I was terrified of living in NY.  My favorite comedy of all time is “The Out-of-towners” with Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis.  All about a couple from Ohio visiting NYC for the first time and they have a nightmare trip, including getting mugged in Central Park.  That’s what I thought it would be like.  That I would be in shark-infested waters.  But I have found the opposite to be true.  I love NY and New Yorkers!   They definitely have a bad rap.

BANNER: What surprised you most when you first started on OLTL?

NIVEN:  How many pages of dialogue that I had to learn!   Oh my God!  I couldn’t sleep for weeks because I kept waking up in a panic and working on my lines in the middle of the night.  The cast was great, the other actors told me it would get easier, and thank God it has.  I guess it’s like a muscle you train. 

BANNER: Where did you relocate from, and do you enjoy living in New York City?

NIVEN:  I relocated from Los Angeles, where I lived for about twelve years after moving from my hometown of Portland, Oregon.  I am so shocked to say how much I love New York!  I never want to move back or live anywhere else!

BANNER: You mentioned your new apartment in a recent chat - What's it like, and are you settled yet?

NIVEN:  You can see my new place (and boxes!) in an upcoming interview on Soap Center that I did with Mimi Torchin for Soap Net.  I found this incredible old brownstone, built in 1890, and I have been working on making it feel like home.  Feels great to have my pictures up on the wall, that’s what I usually do first.  NY apartments are way smaller than Los Angeles though, so I’m downsizing.  In fact, the movers couldn’t get my couch and piano through my narrow front door, so they’re in storage.  I’m using my old wicker patio set til I figure it out.  Boxes are still stacked everywhere - I have way too much stuff!  This is my third move in two years, and I am so over moving.  I’m giving myself til New Year’s Day to be completely settled in and throw a party. 

BANNER: How do you commute to work?

NIVEN:  I usually take the subway to work in the morning and then walk home after.  Great exercise.  I am so loving riding subways everywhere in New York!  The only problem is, I keep getting on the wrong train and going UPTOWN instead of DOWNTOWN or visa versa.  I finally realize it about three stops later.  Can’t believe I keep doing that!  ACCKKK!  (Being blonde really is a handicap sometimes.)  J

Personal Stuff

BANNER: What would people be surprised to know about you?

NIVEN:  That I have always been a tomboy.  Grew up hunting and fishing in Oregon, and teaching duck calling.  Used to hunt deer and elk and all kinds of birds, even taught my dog to hunt with me off hand signals.  Wow.  Can’t believe I did that – I could never hunt again now.  But that’s what we ate, how we lived.  The freezer was always full.

NIVEN: I also was a chubby little kid and always had my head in a book.  My mom would discipline me by making me go outside to play.  I was like that obsessive little girl Holly Hunter played in “Broadcast News”.  In third grade I did so much extra credit work my whole report card was filled with A++++.  I was getting migraine headaches even.  Finally my teacher, the principal and my parents all got together and grounded me from doing homework the rest of the year.  I was devastated.  So I set up a typewriter on the kitchen table and wrote my first novel, about a baby elephant.  I also took organ lessons for twelve years, and used to play in shopping malls when I could barely reach the pedals.  I was definitely a weird little kid.

BANNER: You have a little Yorkie Terrier named "Lucy." Every pet has a unique personality - How would you describe Lucy?

NIVEN:  Lucy is a 4-1/2 pound bundle of energy.  She has a small size tennis ball, and it’s her JOB.  She sleeps curled up next to me, and when she wakes up, she kisses my face all over, then runs to get her ball immediately.  Oh, and she thinks she’s huge.  We go on walks in the park and she barks at all the other dogs, the bigger the better.  Then looks up at me and smiles, like she’s saying “Ain’t this great?!”

BANNER: Do you have any other pets?

NIVEN: I also have a cat named Bammer.  He thinks he’s a dog, truly.   He’s so social,  so I take him with Lucy to “Doggy Daycare” when I’m working.   He’s the only cat there, and loves it!  He and Lucy sleep cuddled together in bed with me, and he grooms Lucy all over, a full body massage.  Leaves her hair sticking straight up like she’s got pomade in it.  They do it every night when we go to bed.  It’s like I’m a voyeur watching them.

BANNER: Do you have any children?

NIVEN:  One daughter, Jessica, who is the light of my life.  She’s 23 and getting her master’s degree in Environmental Engineering.  She’s my best friend.

BANNER: What's new in your life off the set?

NIVEN:  Everything!  J

BANNER: What do you do for fun?

NIVEN:  Exploring New York, and going to as much theater as I can.

BANNER: What type of music do you listen to, and who is your favorite artist?

NIVEN:  Country – The Dixie Chicks!

BANNER: You are a self-professed computer Geek, having constructed your own fabulous website. What perked your interest in computers, and how did you learn?

NIVEN:  My first computer was a MAC, so it was easy to teach myself.  Then I switched to a PC and set up a video editing system and built my website.  I’ve taken a couple classes in web design, but mostly it’s trial and error.  I absolutely love it!  It’s been a great way to interact with fans.  I am on my website every day.

BANNER: You've impressed a lot of OLTL fans with your visits to different websites, and with your live chats.  What prompts you to get close and personal with viewers?

NIVEN:  Fans are really important to me – if they take the time to write or interact with me, it’s the least I can do.  Without them I don’t have a job.  Plus, I want people to know that I’m a real person.  And that I am living my dream.  I want to be an example that “If I can do it, so can you!”

BANNER: What is your take on the negative energy that is commonly found on Internet message boards?

NIVEN:  I love when people air opinions, that’s great, that’s what makes for a good debate and it can be good feedback for TPTB to see if a storyline is working or not.  But….oh boy, I’ve been to some of those boards and can’t believe how negative people are, and I’m not really sure why they feel the need to cut people down so much.  People can be pretty lethal to both the actors and the other posters.  I don’t like negativity, it’s not constructive.  It’s hard not to take it personally, because we put so much of ourselves into what we do.   Hey, we are actors, not our characters.  And we’re doing the best we can, and we hope you like it.  That’s all we can do.

NIVEN: I’m not coming down on just the soap boards either.  It’s all over the internet.  Maybe because people are anonymous, they feel they can say things they wouldn’t to your face.  But why wallow in that negative energy?  I’d rather be around positive energy!  That’s why I created my own message boards on my website – it’s such a great gang, and we’ve been going strong for about three years now.  You can practically feel the positive buzz coming off your keyboard!  Not corny positive, but the real deal.  They inspire me and make me laugh every day.

BANNER: How did you come up with your trademark signature, "Make sure you are living your Dreams! Don't settle for less than wonderful... and don't give up five minutes before your Miracle."

NIVEN:  I am truly living my dream, and I’m living proof that it’s possible!  I study with an amazing acting coach, Milton Katselas of the Beverly Hills Playhouse, and he wrote a book called, “Dreams Into Action! – Getting what you want!”   This man and this book changed my life, and part of my dream is to help inspire other people to go after their dreams too.  That’s why I started my Dreamers Network.  Check it out on my website at www.barbaraniven.com under “Live Your Dreams!”

BANNER: You mentioned having an Eating Disorders/Cutters board, because you've been there yourself.  Would you care to elaborate on that?

NIVEN:  I tell my story on my website, and I included a poem called “Perfect” that I wrote in one of my blackest times.   After almost thirty years of hiding my “secret”, I finally got therapy and have learned to keep it mostly under control.  I created my message board as a way for others to reach out and start getting help.  I hope that by sharing my story, I can help someone else.

BANNER: What has been your greatest accomplishment?

NIVEN:  My daughter, Jessica!  Nothing is better than being her mother.

Storyline Opinions

BANNER: Your current surrogate storyline seems to have raised a bit of controversy among some viewers.  What are your thoughts about it?

NIVEN:  It’s a tough one, because there’s a certain “ick” factor about it.  But isn’t controversy what the soaps are about?  If it were like everyday life it would be too boring.  I don’t know how the writers do what they do, how they can turn out so many pages of dialogue day after day.  I couldn’t do it, could you?   I give them so much credit for coming up with new ideas that keep the show going for decades.  Not every storyline is going to be a homerun.

BANNER: If you could write the script, what direction would you would you take your character or storyline?

NIVEN:  I want to go into RJ and Liz’s past, and find out what happened between them.  See the fireworks and passion that got them together in the first place, despite all odds, and then discover what tore them apart.  On the other side of incredible hate is incredible love.  That’s what makes their conflict so fiery – nobody wants to give in first.  Is that passion still there, and will they act on it?   Can they get past all the baggage?  And then there is Hank, who has stood by her all those years.   He’s safe, the perfect man.  Liz and Hank definitely have a history and a deep friendship and love.  Who is the better choice for a relationship?

BANNER: Are we going to get more into Liz's past? We know a bit of her family history, but we don't know anything about her personal life. 

NIVEN:  I would love to explore Liz, and the issues facing her.  I’d love to have her deal with aging, maybe an eating disorder, things I’ve dealt with in my life.  All those secrets she’s been holding must be taking an awful toll on her.  When and how is she going to break?

BANNER: Where do you see Liz and RJ heading in their relationship?

NIVEN:  He’s her first love, and you never get over that!  She’s surprised that she still has so much passion for him, that he still makes her body and feelings go crazy.  She hates that he can affect her this way!  Yet nobody has ever excited her like he does.  Every time they’re together they set each other off again.   I can’t wait to see what happens!

Click here for Part II of Barbara's interview, and read what "Life on the Set" of OLTL is like!

Click here for Interview Archives of past interviews with other OLTL stars!