Knots' Joan Van Ark Like You've Never
Seen Her

By Meg McCaffrey
KNOTS LANDING'S JOAN VAN ARK TACKLES HER FIRST ACTION HERO ROLE

To get an idea of JOAN VAN ARK's
role in The Family Channel's
upcoming political thriller Loyal
Opposition: Terror in the White
House, think of Harrison Ford's part in
the blockbuster action movie Air
Force One and cross it with Will
Smith's part in Independence Day.                                   

In the telepic, Van Ark, known to soap fans as Knots Landing's Valene Ewing, plays the Vice President of the United States. The gripping plot has the President and the rest of the White
House held hostage by a misguided Secretary of Defense, who is determined to start a war. It's up to Vice President Lane (Van Ark) to free her comrades, stop the war before it starts and save the nation.

Aided by a secret service agent, played by Corbin Bernsen (Arnie, L.A. Law), Van Ark as V.P. Lane races the clock to avert disaster, dodging bullets, commandos and incendiary devices in the process. Also on Lane's agenda is stopping a nuclear attack in the Middle East and deactivating a
bomb on board a plane carrying her family.

Whoosh! Needless to say, Van Ark's trials and tribulations in this movie make Valene's troubles with Gary, Jill, Abby and the rest of the cul-de-sac look like a piece of cake. "[This character] certainly isn't poor Valene," boasts Van Ark. RICK SPRINGFIELD (ex-Noah, General Hospital), and DON DIAMONT (ex-Brad Carlton, Young and Restless) co-star in the TV movie that airs March 8 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Van Ark spoke with Soap Opera Digest Online about tackling her first action hero role.

MOVE OVER, HARRISON!
SOAP OPERA DIGEST ONLINE: What attracted you to this role, and
what a great and fun one at that?
JOAN VAN ARK: It was very grueling, but I was so excited to have a physical [role] to do, instead of a victim or a woman in jeopardy. This is a lady who takes charge. She's very 1990s. I love that she was so physical, because I in fact am too. I run about seven miles a day. I swim laps. I love seeing this woman overcoming all the odds and completing the task, while being very physical about it.

DIGEST ONLINE: Was this your first action hero role?
VAN ARK: Yes, exactly. I just thought, "Wow, this is going to be fun," to
use your word. We did this movie in sixteen days! I actually did my role in
less than that -- something like fourteen days.

DIGEST ONLINE: You must have been putting on ice packs when you
were done filming!
VAN ARK: I did get a little sore. I never knew exactly at the end of the
day what did it, because during the shoot I was doing so many different
things. I'd always come home and find a new bruise or a new ding or nick. I
just would go for it all day.

DIGEST ONLINE: What was the most challenging scene for you in the
movie?
VAN ARK: Oooh, there were a couple. One, in terms of the emotional,
where I'm in the Joint Chief of Staffs meeting with all the generals and
powers that be and I'm the only, what I call, skirt in the room. I never felt I
gave it what I wanted to do, which is where I thought she would prove
herself and show she has the mettle to be every inch the vice president and
president. I'm not sure that was accomplished. Toward the end of the
movie, there's a scene where the power has been cut in the White House, I
had to scale down an elevator shaft rope. We did a few takes on that. That
was physically very difficult. Another scene that sticks out in my mind is
where I had a machine gun and I was going down the steps of this tunnel
trying to get to free the President. The shot was designed that I would go
down the steps, around the corner and at that point the bad guys would take
shots at me, which actually hit a wall over my head behind me. But the look
[on-screen] is like they are shooting right at me. To film that, well, it scared
the poo-poo out of me. I've never done anything with gun pyrotechnics.
Then I raced up the stairs, kicked down three trash cans into the face of this
commando chasing after me and I disappear behind a door, while he fires
machine gun fire at me. It was quite an involved action shot. That gave me a
rush like I've never had before. I have a look on my face like I'm a whole
other person. It certainly isn't poor Valene. [Laughs] This is a woman taking
charge.

DIGEST ONLINE: I love the fact that they made this character a woman.
Obviously, you think Vice President of the United States, you think man.
VAN ARK: I love it too. I thought what an interesting lady, a '90s lady, I
thought this is a gift. I think it's a wonderful step for women's roles and for
women in film.

DIGEST ONLINE: When I heard about the movie, I thought that perhaps
the role was written for a man and Joan Van Ark came in and asked to play
it.
VAN ARK: It might have been [written] for a man. That's an interesting
thought. I think it's high time when networks start giving actresses a chance
to do this kind of thing. That's gold. It's in the right direction.