Arianna may have had a horrible time in Port Charles, but
her exiting portrayer, Opal Anchel, is thanking her lucky stars
During her five-month stint on PORT CHARLES, Opal Anchel's Middle
Eastern character (Arianna) lived a lifetime of experiences. On the run from
her influential family who wanted to kill their tainted daughter (who'd
been raped) to restore the family honor, Arianna struck Eve with her car, was
arrested, suffered a miscarriage, got married, fought the INS, was brutally
stabbed by her brother, hospitalized three times and underwent a liver
transplant! Still, while Arianna's storyline came to a screeching halt when,
having been restored to health, she gave husband Ian his freedom, Anchel
would love to have been able to stick around longer. "I made some great
friends, had some incredible experiences and gained a lot of knowledge and
more confidence in myself." she offers.
LASTING EFFECTS
Perhaps the most challenging time for Anchel was when the storyline called
for Arianna to relive being raped by a family friend. "It started off with me
beating on this poor little fisherman," she recalls. "My God! I put
everything into it! I went home swollen and black and blue."
Then she had to take Arianna and herself, through the mental trauma
of the abuse. "It was really scary," she offers, noting that the process had
a lasting effect on her. "You can't go down that path without worrying how
you're going to come out on the other side of it."
Arianna may have come out stronger because of her trials, but Anchel
says she was left with some residual fears. "When I park my car in the garage
and go upstairs at night, I lock my doors now. I'm very nervous, holding my
key out in front of me." she admits.
Still, as traumatic and emotionally charged as some of Arianna's scenes
were, Anchel wouldn't trade her daytime adventure, or her groundbreaking
honor-killing storyline, for the world. "I learned a lot more about my
capabilities as an actress and about myself: how much I can bear and how much
I can take home with me before I break apart," she remarks, adding, "They
don't touch on [honor killing] in daytime, and I'm so proud to have been the
one to do that.
ADDING TO HER RESUMÉ
What's next for Anchel, now that her stay in PC has concluded? Having just
returned from a whirlwind trip to Ireland, she's already working on a short
film. It's called I Am My Resumé. "It's a very passionate script, so I'm
excited about it." the actress enthuses. "It's about the acting industry in
Los Angeles. The story winds between several women, each of whom is in a
different stage of their experience in the city. I play one of the actresses
in the middle stage."
While Anchel wasn't at liberty to reveal who else was attached to the
film, she hints that it will definitely be worth seeing. "It's so well
written, the director will be brilliant, and there's some great names
involved in the cast as well."
Despite looking forward to her future, Anchel couldn't help waxing a
little melancholic about saying goodbye to PC. "I learned to respect the
whole daytime business more," she offers. "People put their heart and souls
into it, especially on this show. I loved working with them, and I would
definitely like to come back."
