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NEW YORK, July 8 (UPI) — General Hospital and Knots Landing legend Donna Mills reveals that her performance as Lillian Cutler, the wealthy and manipulative matriarch in Lifetime’s new limited series, V.C. Andrews’ Dawn, benefited from the rich source material provided by the best-selling Dawn Cutler gothic novels.
The multi-generational drama, which premieres on Saturday, is based on Andrews’ books Dawn, Secrets of the Morning, Twilight’s Child, and Midnight Whispers.
Brec Bassinger portrays Dawn Longchamp, Lillian’s granddaughter who returns to the mysterious Cutler family as a teenager after allegedly being kidnapped as an infant. Jesse Metcalfe plays Ormand Longchamp, the man whom Dawn believes is her father. Khobe Clarke takes on the role of Jimmy, Dawn’s brother and love interest. Joey McIntyre portrays Michael Sutton, Dawn’s teacher, and Fran Drescher plays Agnes Morris, Dawn’s confidante.
“Lillian is a complex character. I found it extremely helpful to have the background from the prequel book, Darkest Hour, which explores Lillian’s life and provides insights into the reasons behind her hardness and lack of forgiveness,” Mills shared during a recent virtual press conference. “The experiences she went through during her childhood and her journey into womanhood shaped her character. She is not a happy person.”
This marks the first time Mills had an entire book to base her performance on. “I’ve played villains before, which I love. But generally, you don’t have that [resource]. You work with what’s in the script and create your own backstory. Having an actual blueprint was a big advantage for me,” she explained. Mills also expressed her enjoyment in being part of a twisted tale filled with secrets and lies.
“V.C. Andrews is a master storyteller. As an actor, it’s a pleasure to work with such great material, and it keeps the audience engaged and wanting more,” Mills added. “It’s intriguing to see what will happen to poor Brec.”
Bassinger, known for her role in Stargirl, loved the opportunity to play Dawn across multiple decades. “The story arc was challenging but rewarding,” she said. Clarke, an actor from Firefly Lane, concurred, noting the interesting adjustments made to play the characters as they age throughout the series.
Metcalfe, known for his roles in Desperate Housewives and John Tucker Must Die, was drawn to the Dawn series because it allowed him to portray a father figure for the first time. “Playing those emotions and diving into a period piece set in the early ’60s was enjoyable,” Metcalfe shared.
New Kids on the Block singer McIntyre, who joins the story in the 1970s, mentioned the thrill of disappearing into a role, even though his character is not the nicest person. McIntyre admitted accepting the role before reading the script, but later faced the challenge of portraying an inappropriate relationship with his student.
“As an actor, it’s important to do what’s right for the story. I had to set aside personal judgments and focus on portraying the character truthfully,” McIntyre explained. “Despite his flaws, I wanted the audience to somewhat empathize with him. There’s a lot of suspense, and it was a challenging role that required deep exploration.”
