Snow Business

By Melissa Scardaville

Article from Soap Opera Digest
© Soap Opera Digest

On the day of this interview, taping was going fine for Brittany Snow (Susan) - GUIDING LIGHT'S youngest teen rebel and Harley's biological daughter. That is, until her boss, Executive Producer Paul Rauch, pulled her aside for a talk. "He asked me is I was okay," she sighs. "I apologized. I'm really tired today. I have no idea why." When it's pointed out to Snow that her exhausting schedule - a weekly commute between her home in Florida and the GL studios in New York, in addition to balancing her freshman year of high school with learning lines - would wear anybody down. Snow smiles shyly. She doesn't want to brag about juggling so much with such finesse.

Unlike Susan, "I've looked at a lot of what Susan does to be really stupid," shares Snow. "In real life, I wouldn't do those things because I've already played the consequences. Actually, I'm pretty dull when I get home."

In fact, most of Snow's peers back in Florida don't even know that she's on a soap. "I try to keep my life [in New York] and my life there seperate. I want to experience what everyone else does without any favoritism or butt-kissing. A lot of people know that there's a girl at school who's on GL, but they don't know it's me. So, I'm always like, 'Wow, that's really cool ... for her.' "

Away from the wagging tongues of high school gossips, Snow admits how happy she is that she snagged such a juicy soap role. "When I was little, I always told my mom, 'I want to be on TV!' My mom thought, 'Oh, what the heck! Let's get her an agent!' ", laughs Snow. "So, she got me one, and my mom and I would commute to Orlando for auditions." Snow's talent and Mom's patience paid off. By age 8, Snow was booking a commercial - from Disney to Wheat Thins to National Car Rental - almost every week.

Three years later, the phone stopped ringing. "I was going through my ugly stage then," chuckles Snow. During the dry spell, Snow's parents asked the then-preteen if she wanted to give New York a shot. She was game, so that family flew to the Big Apple and hired an agent, who quickly scheduled Snow's first audition: GUIDING LIGHT. "I didn't want to try out," she admits. "My friend, Lauren [C. Mayhew, ex-Marah], was already on, and I thought it would be a one-in-a-billion chance that I could be on the show, too. But then my mom said, 'They'll never call you again if you don't try.'"

With the deadline just hours away, Snow quickly made an audition video and sent it off to New York. A week later, she learned that she got the job. "My mom cried; I cried. Then we both were like, "What are we going to do?' This was my dream - acting is what I want to do - but I was crying for all the things I had to give up: my friends, my dance classes, my school."

Snow decided that she could have the best of both worlds is she and her family didn't relocate to New York - a decision her parents supported. To manage the commute, Dad retired as the president of an insurance company, while Mom cut back on her hours as a textbook salesperson. "I can't thank them enough for helping me," gushes Snow, "My mom says, 'This is your sport, Brittany. We'd give you the same amount of time and attention if you were in soccer or track.' Of course, those are as expensive as acting, so I am really grateful."

Now, Snow calls GL her second family. "I've never met such wonderful people," blushes the teen. "I've learned so much from everybody there about sticking up for myself as well as being focused and strong." Those lessons came in handy when Snow's on-screen dad, Anthony Addabbo (ex-Jim), was let go last year. "I'm really sad, but I guess it will be good for him," she says. "I'm sure he'll get this big role and be rich, famous and happy, and I will visit him in Los Angeles."

As for her own future, Snow is less certain. "I better decide soon because I have no idea what I want to do!", she grins. Snow can't imagine quitting acting ("I would get so bored") and in a few years, higher education may be the way to go. ("My whole family has gone to college, and I love watching FELICITY.")

Right now, though, Snow's content to watch her high school football team from the sidelines and stand in front of the cameras a few days a week in New York. And if she's sure of one thing, it's that she chose the right road by joining GL. "This experience changed my life," Snow marvels. "Yeah, I was really scared at the time, but I am so glad I did it."

Reality TV

While Snow's feet are planted firmly on the ground, others have a harder time separating fact from fiction. "So many people will come up to me and be like, 'Why did you have to do such-and-such?' And I'm like, 'It wasn't me!' " relates Snow. Fortunately, those close to the teen also help to set the record straight. Says Snow, "My good friend's mom was talking to this lady who told her, 'You shouldn't let your daughter hang out with that Brittany Snow girl. She's bad news. She's getting into all this trouble.' My friend's mom tried not to break out hysterically laughing and said, 'Brittany is really nice. She's not like Susan.' "