Stacy Haiduk

From LoveToKnow Soap-Operas

Stacy Haiduk took time out from her busy shooting schedule at Young and the Restless to answer some questions about Mary Jane Benson, her stay in Genoa City and more. Haiduk began her professional career playing Lana Lang on the Superboy show in the 80s. Since then, the actress’s rich resume includes All My Children, Another World, Brimstone, Burn Notice, Kindred the Embraced, Seaquest DSV and much more.

Stacy Haiduk brings a class act to Genoa City as Mary Jane.

Getting to Know Stacy Haiduk

The fans are really on Mary Jane's side and Mary Jane is spending some of her time going head to head with Phyllis, whose sanity has certainly been questioned before. Young and the Restless does a fantastic job of reforming their psychopaths from Phyllis to Michael to Kevin

Did you have any idea of how involved the fans would be with your character?

I actually didn’t. You do the work and hope that people will respond to it. At the beginning I was just playing. She has been an absolute blessing. Incredibly.

Patty Williams has a lot of history on Young and the Restless, how familiar with that history were you when you started playing the role? Did they let you in on the idea that Mary Jane and Patty would be one and the same?

When I auditioned, the character was not even named Mary Jane at the time. I took a peek when signing my contracts and it said PW. I didn’t know anything about it. I got to audition with Peter (Bergman, Jack Abbott) which was really great. They told me this is your character; she is someone from the past.

Do you think they'll have to go far to 'reform' Mary Jane or is it that her awareness is a lot deeper than the rest of the characters?

I don’t mind being bad for a while – I am trying to play a human character. I am looking for a deeper sense to Mary Jane. She has a past history, I hope people appreciate it. That first love – so in love with them, you get angry and jealous – you love them and hate them and can only play it and hope that camera picks it up. (Editor’s Note: Jack Abbott was Patty Williams’ first love and their relationship ended on a painful note which included her shooting him).

How is it playing with the kitty?

The cat is sweet. The kitty creeps some people out. Some people love her. I love kitty.

You work with some of the biggest names on Y&R, did you have any trouble finding the chemistry to play off Eric Braeden, Peter Bergman or Michelle Stafford?

I love actors. I feel blessed to get to work with them. I love working with Peter, we get to run lines. Sometimes when we don’t get scenes for a while, I’ll see him in the hallway and say “ I miss you, I miss you.”

It’s great to do what I love. I am so blessed, thank you God.

About Stacy Haiduk the Woman

Stacy Haiduk has been earning fans for years, dating back to her days on Superboy and later SeaQuest DSV. Her eyes are often commented on by critics and fans alike as being so remarkable and memorable. Ms. Haiduk enjoys great guest spots, a busy career, good actors and a great time. She appears to really enjoy her job.

Tell us about Stacy Haiduk. Did you always want to be an actress? What got you started?

I always wanted to be an actress. I used to watch old movies on Sunday afternoons. I never had the confidence. I was a dancer for a long time. I moved to New York and took acting classes. I’m a very emotional person, so I like it when I get words to use to express how I feel.

Sometimes I wish I had a good comeback lines for some things. My husband is a writer and he comes up with great one liners. I am blessed with the writers who give me such great dialogue!

On All My Children, you had this really fast role as Hannah Nichols

That was something – my manager called and said they were offering the part – it was 2 months in New York. I thought about it and thought it could be a good experience to be on a soap. A lot of dialogue. I did Another World way back when, but it was just a bit part. I was younger and it was a harder time.

Is it hard to create chemistry with actors in a short time?

It was a lot harder when I was younger, but it’s easier now with my experience to generate the chemistry. I throw myself into filming a show a day and it was hard at first, so much dialogue to learn, so much. Peter (Bergman) told me to give it six months, I’d get used to the rhythm.

Should Sharon watch her back?

Ms. Haiduk laughed and will only say: "you’ll just have to tune in to find out."

Love To Know Soap Operas would like to thank Stacy Haiduk for taking the time to speak to us and wish her continued success on The Young and the Restless and all future endeavors.