ESPRIT LIBRE // Press Archive

BREE ON TESS

Bree on the Character of Tess [2005-2006]

"Obviously, she's a part of Jessica, so I use Tess as the opposite of what Jessica is. It's a great storyline because everybody has a Tess in them or a Jessica in them, depending on what kind of person you are." (SOD 5/24/05)

"Now, playing Tess, she's all mine. I learned a lot about the profession in terms of what choices you have to make to build a character. It's really fun building my own character. There's just so much to it, like with clothes and hair and makeup and body language between the two characters -- that's something that I'm still working on. I have to stand different when I'm Tess or my movements have to be different. To be strong when I'm Jessica is different than when Tess is bitching somebody out or being strong, so those differences between characters are really, really hard." (SOD 5/24/05)

(on Tess giving birth) "There are moments where Tess is even calling for Jessica in the middle of the labor to make sure she's still there helping her. The basis of their relationship is that they need each other, and Jessica and Tess are reminded of it during the labor scenes. One can't exist without the other." (SOD 5/2/06)

(on why Tess needs Jessica's help with the baby's birth) "Because it gets painful, and when they were growing up, Jessica was the one [who] would go through all the physical pain while Tess [handled the] emotional pain." (SOD 5/9/06)

(on the differences between Tess and Jessica) "They're both very extreme. Jessica is very responsible and takes on other people's problems a lot of the time; she's very smart and driven, and Tess is the exact opposite. So I think that everybody has a bit of both of Jess and Tess in them!" (SID 8/15/06)

(on whether she prefers Tess or Jessica) "I'm biased because I walked into the role of Jessica; she had been on the show forever. Tess will always have a special place with me because she was all mine -- from the beginning till, you know, whatever!" (SID 8/15/06)

"We're kind of hitting a weird time right now, because I haven't been playing Tess for awhile. And it's sad, because it looks like there's not going to be as much of Tess." (SID 8/29/06)

(on her favorite storyline moment from 2006) "Probably the integration between Jess and Tess. The episode where it actually happened was bittersweet, because I really do miss playing Tess a whole lot." (SID 12/19/06)

(on the sexiness of Tess) "Jessica was sexy in her own right, but Tess -- you know, Tess was the one who wore the more provocative clothing and had many, many, many more partners." (TV Guide Channel 2008)

Bree on Tess's 2008-2009 Return

(on Tess and Jessica's reactions to Nash's death) "It's interesting to show how Jessica gets angry and Tess gets angry. Jessica is crying, showing emotion -- it's more of a healthy anger. And Tess is just like, 'Yeah, whatever, I'm fine,' in a murderous, kind of icy way. I love that." (SOD 7/1/08)

(on Tess's reaction to Nash's death at Jared's hands) "She's friggin' angry, like really, really angry!" (SOD 7/1/08)

(on how Tess is different after Nash's death) "She's not going to bars, punching out sleezeballs, drinking and dancing. It's a darker side of Tess. Jessica and Tess are experiencing this grief and anger differently. Jessica is more outward with her anger, Tess is icy and subtle." (SOW 7/1/08)

(on how Tess is different after Nash's death) "She's so angry, and there are constrictions on her now, being pregnant. She's not hanging out at bars with guys, but she's even more conniving and manipulative than before." (SOD 8/19/08)

(on why Tess was able to trick the family into thinking she was Jessica for months) "A lot of reasons. First, Viki is gone. When her mother was there, it was right after Nash's death. There are so many other reasons why Jessica would be acting weird or not like herself. So any Tess-like behavior, they just assumed was Jessica. That's how she got away with a lot." (SOW 8/26/08)

(on the Tess/Tina relationship) "I wouldn't say a bond has formed between Tess and Tina. There is more of an animosity. Tess actually ends up having to blackmail Tina." (SOW 8/26/08)

(on whether Tess is afraid of Todd) "Absolutely not. She is more afraid of him telling. She knows as soon as someone calls Viki and says Tess is back that she is going to be put back in the loony bin. She is afraid of getting caught, but she is not afraid of Todd at all." (SOW 8/26/08)

(on Viki and Natalie not realizing that Tess is back) "I think anything Tess-like that Viki would have noticed would have been passed off as grief or absent-mindedness. And then Natalie is just so happy that her sister has forgiven her that it just doesn't register that Jess might be Tess." (SOD 9/2/08)

(on Tess's plans for Jared and Natalie) "She's going to be successful in doing not-very-nice things to the both of them." (SOD 9/9/08)

(on the secret room Tess built as a prison for Natalie) "Two of the walls are glass, so Tess can see Natalie, and it's completely soundproof. It's actually a really nice room with a flat-screen TV, a beautiful bed and a little dresser, which makes it even creepier because it's like, 'Get comfy because you're not going anywhere.' There's even one of those drawers which Tess uses to give Natalie her breakfast, like in Silence of the Lambs for Hannibal Lecter, but without the mask!" (SOD 9/16/08)

(on Tess's scenes with David Vickers the dog) "I don't think Tess is a lover of anything if it's getting in her way. But I love that dog. I have to yell around it and I hate that." (SOD 10/14/08)

(on Tess tormenting Natalie and Jared) "Poor shmoor. They killed my husband, those bastards." (SOW 11/11/08)

(on why Tess went to the cottage when she felt the first labor pains) "Nash was the only person in the whole wide world that she could talk to, and that was their home." (SOW 11/11/08)

(on whether Tess considered the trouble she'd be in if Jared and Natalie died) "I don't think she ever really thought about the consequences. She's like a little kid in that way. I think that she was more concerned about being in deep, deep trouble with the baby rather than with Natalie and Jared's fate." (SOD 11/25/08)

(on the Todd/Tess dynamic) "What makes them fun to watch together is that they're both like little kids. They have the emotional maturity level of children; there's obviously going to be some slapping and hair-pulling!" (SID 12/1/08)

Bree on Tess and Motherhood

(on why Tess destroyed amnio test results) "Tess is very smart, so she would've wanted to hold onto it to use it to control the situation. She destroyed it in a fit of passion." (SOD 1/31/06)

(on playing pregnant Tess) "You know, some women when they're pregnant, carry it like a purse, and some carry it like they're actually carrying a baby. ...For Tess, her belly was like an accessory." (SOD 5/30/06)

(on why Tess gave up control to Jessica so easily) "She wanted to protect the baby. As long as Tess is out, it gives Nash a reason to come back. If she isn't, it keeps their baby safe from Reston." (SOD 7/4/06)

(on Tess reuniting with her daughter after Nash's death) "She loves Bree and she wants to take care of her. Back in the day, it was Tess who carried Bree for most of the pregnancy. Tess doesn't have very many people to talk to. She talks to Nash for a little bit, but then Nash isn't around anymore. So she's talking to the new baby in her belly." (SOW 7/1/08)

(on what Tess's weaknesses are) "Right now, she's keeping them all pretty hidden, but I'd say Nash would be one, and her babies would be another. She actually says at one point that she's doing this all for her baby so she's able to look it in the eye when it's older." (SOD 9/23/08)

"The baby dies and Tess wakes up and is like, 'Why isn't my baby crying?' and then she loses consciousness again. The same way that Jessica has had to cope with other situations, she'll have to cope with this one." (SOD 11/18/08)

(on Tess leaving Jared/Natalie to die in the explosion) "I think that she was more concerned about being in deep, deep trouble with the baby rather than with Natalie and Jared's fate." (SOD 11/25/08)

(on Tess realizing that her baby has been switched with another) "Viki brings the baby in to see Tess, and Tess says, 'I don't know what's going on, but that's not the baby I gave birth to.' That fuels her to force her way out, to figure out what happened to her baby. Although I'm sure she already knows what happened." (SOW 11/25/08)

(on filming the death of Tess's baby) "I didn't deal with it very well. It was really, really sad. It was the first time ever I've come home from work and couldn't stop crying. It was awful. Horrible! It's a good story, but emotionally very hard." (SOD 12/16/08)