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Emmy-award winning actress and activist Leigh Taylor-Young recently debuted on "Passions." Leigh took on the role of Sheridan and Julian's mother, Katherine Crane, a woman we've heard much about but have always believed to be dead! Of course, now that Leigh has come aboard "Passions," it's clear Katherine is alive and well. Read on to find out what Leigh thinks of her character, what she hopes to get out of this experience and why she'd love to take on Alistair Crane!

How did the role come about for you?
It was very simple. I got a call about the show and that they were interested in making me an offer. I still had to test because they still had to see if I fit the part.

Are you excited to play a character so steeped in history?
I think it's absolutely thrilling. And now that I'm more into it, the stakes have gotten higher. Richard (Steinmetz, Martin) and I try to play this as a very healthy love-a love that's willing to look at reality. We look at it as a love that's been bliss but we are now realizing how hard it's been on our children. And there is also a secret-something more than Katherine having been deeply abused. I don't know what it is yet, but I know it has something to do with protecting our children.

Are you enjoying learning more about the character as you go along?
Since the first week I feel like I've been thrown into the spin cycle of a washing machine! Everything went so fast. I hadn't had the chance to return any phone calls. I got a call from a dear friend, the head of a corporation, who then called me back since she hadn't heard from me. She asked what I've been doing and I said I had news-I had just stared a show. She asked what show and I told her "Passions." There was this huge intake of breath and she started whispering. She made me promise not to tell anyone and told me that she's watched "Passions" for five years. She said if she doesn't have a business lunch then she's in her office with the door closed watching "Passions." So I started asking her all kinds of questions about who all the characters are and how they are related. She gave me the entire history! I just loved that! She was thrilled that I was going to be on the show. She was dying to know who I was but I said I couldn't tell her! But once the news broke in TV Guide I told her whom I was and she couldn't believe it.

Sheridan is such a popular character. Are you worried about fans not accepting Katherine because she left Sheridan behind?
Life is filled with so many choices. I had a scene with Paloma where I said sometimes parents do something that's the last thing you'd expect them to do, but they have been pressured so deeply. I think that's true of real life. I can look at my own life and in retrospect see that I've made choices that I wouldn't make now. Life is, oddly enough, strangely unpredictable in a way that "Passions" mirrors. You don't know what you'll choose when the stakes are high. What are the decisions you'll make when the pressure is on and they have to be immediate decisions? As for Sheridan, I think Katherine loves this girl so much and really felt she'd done the right thing and that things would be okay. As evil as Alistair was, Katherine could never conceive that he'd hurt his own child. But to find out that all along he's punished their children at this level-that's the pressure that will eventually force Martin and Katherine back to Harmony because they are decent, loving people. And once that happens, it will bring up a whole lot of passions for everyone involved!

Once Katherine returns to Harmony, are there any characters you are particularly looking forward to interacting with?
I'd love to take Alistair on. Katherine was broken before and victimized like a broken bird. I'd love to see her come back knowing what he's done to her children and fight like a wolf for them. I'd love for her to be the energy he has to answer to. How do you checkmate that kind of person with no conscience? I think that'd be very fascinating.

How has it been getting back into the swing of daytime?
It's been 6 or 7 years! I remember when I did "Sunset Beach," the first week I cried every night. In my mind, I had no ability to do it. I didn't mind the challenge of the work but I hadn't worked with four cameras before and I had not worked at that speed. In my eyes, my performance standard could never be met and that made me very distraught. Gary Tomlin, who was producing "Sunset Beach" at the time and is now a director here, told me some days you wipe egg off your face going home-you just can't expect yourself to hit the groove every day. But there is always the next day. I am beginning to forgive myself and do the best I canto not give up my standards but give myself a break.

Has everyone at "Passions" been welcoming?
The cast and crew have been excellent-so welcoming. I just like everybody-it's such a good group. I can see why you can start getting a sense of family. You are all in it together and the focus is to just get the thing on the air. You are bonded by a common goal.

You were previously friends with Kathleen Noone (Mrs. Wallace). Did she give you any advice?
She was on her way to take a vacation when I started, but we shared big hugs and she's so excited I'm here. I honor her and delight in her, like everybody does. We play very different characters though! When she told me about her character, I laughed so hard and I said nobody could do it better than her.

What do you hope to get from this experience?
Daytime is a very mass audience and I love the fact that I will somehow be sharing myself with millions of people around the globe. I get a lot of joy thinking that I'm doing this here everyday and that there are people in Africa watching. I am a very global person. I've traveled all over the world and I worked for the U.N. for eight years. I consider it an honor to be seen by people I'll never meet. This touches my global spirit. I'm also very much involved with issues with the environment and with natural, alternative medicine. My biggest passion is the whole body, mind, and spirit idea. I like the idea that I might be able to talk about these issues. One of my goals is to be a spokesperson so I can speak to what I do know and who I really am.