Daytime Dial, Summer 2003


David Andrew Macdonald Sets The Record Straight

David Andrew MacDonald, who plays Edmund Winslow on "Guiding Light," says reports that Cassie (Laura Wright) will redeem the scoundrel we love to hate may be "totally unfounded or, at most, premature."

MacDonald reminds us that "Cassie was one of the people Edmund hated most in the world, and no one is more startled than he is to find himself being romantically attracted to this once-despised woman."

As "GL" fans know, Cassie was married to Edmund's late brother, Richard. It was a marriage Edmund opposed from the start and tried to destroy, even if it meant destroying Cassie herself.

"This woman came into our lives when we were both still members of royalty," MacDonald says, "and Edmund saw her as totally unfit to be Prince Richard's wife, let alone Prince Edmund's sister-in-law."

But times and events sometimes change even the most adamantly unregenerate snobs and villains, and there are those who say that all it takes is the love of a good woman to make the metamorphosis from Mr. Mean to Mr. Clean happen.

MacDonald laughs: "I'm not sure if Cassie can actually do that. But what I find in Edmund is that here's a man who has never had to bother about developing a moral center. He has always been ready and able to do whatever it took to get what he wanted, regardless of whom he hurt. But, to his surprise, when he's around Cassie, he appears to experience something close to a moral sense."

A moral sense that may be put to the test by the arrival of Jeffrey in Cassie's life. Jeffrey is played by Bradley Cole, who portrayed Cassie's presumably late husband, Richard. Some fans believe Jeffrey is really Richard, who, in the tradition of soap storytelling, didn't really die when we all thought he had. Others suggest he might be a long-lost member of the Winslow family.

All that being said, Edmund has never flinched from trying to "dispose" of obstacles to his ambitions — including his own brother when he wanted to take over his power and wealth. So if Edmund were to see Jeffrey as a potential rival for Cassie, would he try to get rid of him as well?

"All I can say is whatever Edmund decides to do (about the Jeffrey factor), is up to the writers," MacDonald replies.

"As for the reference to trying to kill Richard, that never happened. A lot of people think it did. But that wouldn't have suited Edmund's plans. He wanted to hurt his brother in any way he could, and for that he needed him to be alive, so he could experience Edmund's power to do all these things to him."

Overall, what has been the worst and the best that has happened to Edmund Winslow since we first met him in the late 1990s?

"The worst, of course, is losing his royal position, his wealth and his power," MacDonald says. "That had to hurt.

"And the best may be yet to come. We still don't know where his relationship with Cassie will lead. But so far, I'd say one of the plusses that has evolved has been in his wardrobe. He got rid of all those royal uniforms with the medals and the braid. And he doesn't wear all those expensively tailored suits any more. It's all been pretty much replaced by a more casual way of dressing."

Pause. Laughter. Then, "Well, maybe that hasn't meant much to Edmund, but I certainly appreciate how much more comfortable I am in Edmund's new clothes."