Terri Conn Fansite - 2006 articles

Terri Colombino has been crying a lot lately. It's Katie's fault, of course, for messing up her life so badly that her portrayer is often in tears at AS THE WORLD TURNS all day, but all of that devastation takes its toll. "I'm such an emotional, empathetic person, and I was taking on, in real life, what was going on with Katie. I couldn't leave it at the studio. I was kind of depressed and anxious. It was just too much for me," says the actress, whose character is in the process of destroying both of the popular romances that have defined her for the last five years to facilitate the exits of her leading men, Mark Collier (Mike) and Paul Leyden (Simon), at basically the same time. On-screen, Katie takes the blame; off-screen, Colombino has to answer for her.

She's been thinking about this a lot lately, especially after Katie's self-destructive actions - and Colombino's perceived thoughts about them - caused a handful of "Matie" fans to fire off some scathing e-mails to express their disappointment in Colombino, as a person. She takes that kind of thing to heart, so much so that she searched through all of her recent interviews for the offensive comments - surely a misquote, she figured - and came up empty. "I guess it's the way they're reading into it or maybe just the fact that Katie and Simon get more press. Simon in general gets more press than anyone on our show, so they're usually asking me about him and it comes across that I'm favoring him," she shrugs, still smarting. "But I don't write these stories; I play them. The reporters ask, 'What is Katie doing this week?' I'm just saying what I filmed. Katie deciding to sleep with Simon wasn't my idea. It wasn't because I like working with Paul better than I like working with Mark - that's ridiculous. But because I'm such a sensitive person, it affects me, and I get really hurt. I love them both, and there are beautiful things about each relationship that I love. If Mark had left and was thinking about coming back, of course I would encourage him to do it, too."

Like the storyline, the fact that both men are leaving is obviously out of her control. "It's not really my place to tell them what to do; I can just support them." she notes. "Selfishly, I would like them both to stay, but I know that it's better for them to leave. Neither of them have families, they're still young and hot and amazing actors, so why not go and see what else is out there? During those scenes, I think the reason I got so emotional and let it affect me outside the studio is because it is kind of real, in a way. I know it's coming. And it's not just that I'm playing that onscreen; these two guys that I have great friendships with are going to be gone at once. So it's a bummer for Katie and for me, but I do have great relationships with so many people on the show. It's not like I'm losing my only friends."

It's that feeling of family and stability at ATWT that led her to re-sign her contract two-and-a-half years ago - daughter Julia had just been born - and is what makes her inclined to stay now, even as she weighs her other options. "I feel like I'm on the best show for me. And the best one in general, I might as well say it. The show has always been so good to me and I love it there, so it wasn't really that I wanted to leave anyway," she reasons. "However, I also look at the fact that Julia's young enough to where if I did get something else and had to live in L.A. for a while, it would be okay. Two years ago, I wasn't in the mood to do that, but now, I get excited when my agents call and say I have an audition. I just go with my gut instinct and see what else is out there before I get - I hate to say it - too old to have those opportunities anymore."

So she is auditioning, mostly for sitcoms, ideally based in New York. "Which isn't very likely, but I'm not really looking forward to moving to L.A. I love my life here, But I would love to do a sitcom. I just enjoy going to work and laughing. But I wouldn't want to leave unless it's something really, really good, I get to act great storylines every day where I am. So I understand what I have," she emphasizes. But while she's at it, she'd love for Katie to grow up and get her sense of humor back. "I've always loved that they've given me that comedy [at ATWT]," she says. "Because I'd rather be the goofy one that makes you laugh rather than the one you cry along with."

SAD SONGS SAY SO MUCH

Colombino uses her ipod for two purposes: working and working out. In the gym, it's all about hip-hop and Metallica. "It's from growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico," she laughs, "but Mark [Collier, Mike] is very proud of me for being a Metallica fan. It helps me work out because it's so angry. At work, I listen to sad songs right before I do a scene. Music is so powerful in that it can dictate your emotions. Ask any of the crew members: there's Mark and I listening to our ipods right before we go on, and then we throw them on the set and go." She gets many of the tunes (from bands including Lifehouse and 3 Doors Down) from watching fan-made videos with Collier. "I can't use the same one too many times because it loses its potency, so I'm always asking people, 'What's the saddest song you've ever heard?' I always need new ones! But one that I always go back to, which is hysterical, is Celine Dion's 'A New Day Has Come.' It's about her little boy, and it always touches me because it makes me think about Julia."

Caption: And baby makes three: Husband Artie and daughter Julia keep Colombino's home life happy.

Just The Facts
Birthday: January 28
She Watches: Not much TV, but PROJECT RUNWAY is can't miss.
She Subscribes To: Us Weekly. "When I do have time to relax, I want to be entertained. It's kind of embarrassing, but I would much rather hear about [celebrity news] than all the God-awful things that are happening in the world right now. The funny thing is, I am kind of on the other side of it, too, in that things get said about me in magazines, and I get upset if it's not true."
Cooking Specialty: "I'm more of a baker. I do really good pecan pie, my dad's Southern recipe. And lemon bars."
Meet The Parents: "When it comes to 2 1/2-year-old daughter Julia, Colombino is more of a disciplinarian; husband Artie is a softie. "It's so funny because we're the opposite in everything else. Any time the phone company needs to be yelled at, he's the one to do it. I hate confrontation!"
Her Life Right Now, In A Word: "Evolving. Because it is changing so much, but moving so quickly."