Are more changes in store for Jennifer Finnigan’s Bridget Forrester?
While Ridge and Bridget may have closed the book on their strange, pseudo-romance, will the young med student really be able to suppress her crush on her erstwhile big bro? Her portrayer, Jennifer Finnigan, certainly hopes so. "My hopes are that she’ll move on, at least for a while," says the two-time Emmy winner. "As an actor, I hate playing the pining woman. And Bridget knows how wrong those feelings were."
Those Were The Days
As the actress waits to see when and if Bridget will get a new summer romance (casting for a twentysomething hunk is apparently underway) Finnigan reflects on how far her character has come since she first took on the role in 2000. "She’s changed immensely," she says. "There really aren’t even that many similarities any more. She started off as a very young, immature, kind of bratty girl — thankfully she got over that phase!"
By the same token, Finnigan admits she, too, is not quite the naïve girl who first stepped foot off a plane from Montreal three years ago. "In the same way the audience has seen Bridget grow, they’ve seen me grow," she says. "My personal life has completely changed. I now own real estate and have a very adult life where I support myself."
Emotional Escape
Nevertheless, Finnigan hasn’t let success taint her — or change her fundamental values. "I’ve never lost sight of what’s important to me, and treating people the way I would want to be treated," she says. Surprisingly, Finnigan was a shy child who once panicked at the thought of public performance. Yet she credits her career with helping bring her out of her shell — and saving her a bundle on the cost of a shrink! "I call acting my therapy," she teases. "In real life, I’m always cheerful and in a good mood, but when I’m given scenes where I have to break down, I allow myself to feel that way, and I don’t stop when the director yells cut. Letting everything out keeps me sane!"
Jennifer Finnigan
