By Keith Loria - SOD Magazine
Annie was soon arrested for murdering her father. "I didn't know if Annie had done it or not, but I choose to play it as if she was innocent," Buxton says. "There was a lot going on with Annie, escaping jail, hiding in a coffin, faking suicide - it was my favorite storyline."
With the town believing that Annie was dead, Ben and Meg worked to exonerate her. Then, Elaine was revealed as the real murderer, and Annie was free to "live" again. "I loved the scene with Leigh [Taylor-Young, ex-Elaine] when Annie confronted her," Buxton recalls. "It was so emotional because she had basically destroyed Annie's life."
Around that time, Buxton was surprised by the abrupt ending to the Annie/Eddie pairing. "I thought maybe we'de end up falling in love because we were always there for each other in a strange way," Buxton theorizes. "We had some hot love scenes, but then they went and made him too crazy."
"More than anything, Annie wanted Ben to love her," Buxton says. "Since he loved Meg, Annie was very, very jealous and would do anything to get him." And that meant tricks galore - forging entries in Maria's diary to make Meg think Ben killed his first wife, drugging Ben and slipping into bed with him so Meg would catch them together and accidentally jeapordizing Meg and Ben's lives in a cave-in. "I think Annie goes too far, sometimes," Buxton sighs. "Susan [Ward, Meg] and I are great friends; sometimes, it's hard to play scenes where I'm so vicious to her." For instance, there was the DYNASTY-esque fight that concluded with both women falling into the hot tub. "While we were actually shooting it, we had a lot of laughs. It took a lot of long hours, but it was fun to play."
With Tim's help, Annie managed to plant a posthypnotic suggestion in Ben's mind that made him call Meg by Maria's name whenever Meg said his name. "I thought that one was a little out-there and hard to believe," Buxton admits. "But I talked to a hypnotist and now, I think maybe it could happen. I made him promise not to put me under; I hope he didn't, but I guess I wouldn't know [laughs]." Plausible or not, the plan worked: Meg went running home to Kansas.
That something else came along when Annie learned about a provision in Del's will: She was set to inherit millions ... if she could get Gregory Richards to marry her by June. While the rest of the cast was gearing up for Terror Island ("It was fun to watch, but I'm glad I wasn't a part of it"), Buxton was pleased about beginning Operation Gregory. Annie, on the other hand, was less happy - thanks to her dearly departed dad, who started visiting her from hell. "I was so glad they brought John [Reilly] back. The hell scenes were so much fun," Buxton laughs. "He's a great actor and he gives you a lot of surprises. I wish he were here even more."Del gave Annie a plan of attack to break up Olivia and Gregory: Steal Olivia's baby, convince her it had died and give it to Caitlin [Olivia and Gregory's daughter] to raise was her own. "I laughed and couldn't believe it when I first read it," Buxton grins. "But I had to remember who Annie is. It's not outlandish for Annie, it's just not. I think she definitely knows it was a horrible, painful thing to do. Annie's not cold or devoid of feeling; she's just a survivor. I think it hurt her a lot to have to do that."
Although she originally went after Gregory "strictly for the money", Buxton saw Annie's feelings change as her scheme took shape. "I think Annie's falling for him," she muses. "That's how I'm playing it. I think she started to have feelings for Gregory because she has that father-figure thing where she feels he can take care of her."
Alas, while love was stirring in Annie's heart, disgust was stirring in Aunt Bette's [Kathleen Noone]. "That was sad when Bette blasted Annie for her misdeeds," sighs the actress. "I think those were really well-written scenes that showed another side of Annie. You feel for her and you understand where she is coming from." As for working with Noone, Buxton says it's her favorite part of the job. "Kathleen and I are really close. I love her. She's definitely someone I can go and talk to."
"And as for what's next," she concludes, "let's just say that Annie gets herself involved in some more wild adventures, and I am looking forward to taking part in scheme after scheme as long as I can get away with them.