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Femme fertile
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July 20, 2009
 By Debashine Thangevelo
If I were to say that Arianne Zuker has an unmistakable warmth and wittiness about her, you might be inclined to believe I was bribed, such is the nasty reputation of her character since joining Days of Our Lives in 1998.
"I believe they did an extensive search all over the US looking for a model- type actress, which isn't always easy. I auditioned in October '97," she recalls.
Eleven years later, Zuker's character is firmly rooted in the soap. And she found true love along the way: she married her then co-star Kyle Lowder (now starring as Rick Forrester in The Bold and the Beautiful), who played Brady Black, and they are looking forward to the birth of their first child in December.
"I am loving being pregnant," Zuker smiles. "I am one of those people who are constantly on the move - I always have some schedule. Being pregnant, you can't do much of that, especially in the first trimester."
The writers, however, will not incorporate the happy event into Zuker's storyline. And given the soap's baby boom (Belle, Mimi and Hope's pregnancies), it would be overkill.
That Zuker bagged the Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villainess in 2004 attests to her character's pull. After all, Nicole has earned her menacing stripes over the years; she married Lucas for $5-million (about R40-million) before ditching him for Victor, whom she later tried to kill. And let's not get into her trying to sink her claws in Victor's grandson, Brady.
"As an actor, I don't see my character as malicious - I have to connect with her in some way. Her choices are just out of survival. She comes across as a gold-digger and vindictive, but she is good at heart," she points out.
On whether she shares any similarities with her character, Zuker chuckles: "I think it is the other way around. Sometimes, I put a bit of logic into my character. I have to justify a lot of what she does and love her. I definitely won't do anything she does. I think she needs true love."
As for what she misses about not working alongside her husband anymore, she says: "I loved working with him. Truth is, as a couple it is nice to be apart. We had a blast at the beginning of our relationship - we would wake up together, work together, come home together … it is just nice to have two different places to go to. I do miss his personality during the day - he is funny."
And Zuker acknowledges that they haven't been spared from the economic recession.
"I can't really speak for the powers that be, but I can for the actors. The situation has made us work a little faster and harder. We have proven, pressure or no pressure, we have done a great job collectively. And the set is a second home," she discloses.
"I came in as a green actor and had an amazing chance to grow on the show. We have probably one of the closest sets. We go out to dinner, embrace anyone new on the set. There is a lot of trust as well."
Zuker was tightlipped about the upcoming storyline but reckons "it's more interesting for us as well when we get the script".
Interestingly enough, she recently completed shooting for her first horror film, The Last Resort.
"I believe it comes out in October. I play Jessica, who goes to Mexico with her friends for a bachelorette party that goes awry. We shot it in the Mojave Desert. It was a great experience and the nice thing about it is that you don't shoot as many pages a day. I would love to do another film," she adds.
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