How did this role come about?

“Nothing all that fascinating. Just a phone call from my agent. It was just another job, you knowledge, just like The Brady Bunch was an audition.”

Were you a fan of Y&R?

“I have to confess, no. I never really got involved in daytime dramas but the funny thing is that several friends of mine are coming out their soapy closets. I come to find out that one of my best friends, I’ve known this guy for 17 years, he’s absolutely freaking out. Now, he tells me, ‘That’s my favorite show! I can’t believe you’re going to be on it!’ In 30 some-odd years, he’s only missed it four times. I’ve had a few other friends say, ‘That’s the one soap that I watch.’”

What was it like being on the set?

“I posted on Facebook that I think it’s probably the most professional, well-organized set I’ve ever been on. I guess after 30-plus years of experience. They’re just good at this. It’s a well-oiled machine and so efficient. Everything is done so smoothly and really nicely, so you don’t have any of the tension of anybody hurrying or rushing or confused about anything. It’s just boom, boom, boom; smooth sailing. I was really impressed with that.”

Were you amazed with the pace?

“Yeah, they’re lighting another set while filming on one and it’s so cool because that’s the way it should be. It was amazing.”

Has anybody come up to you and go, ‘OMG! It’s Cindy Brady!’

“Somebody in the makeup room said, ‘I think I get to go meet Susan Olsen now,’ and I was like, ‘That’s me.’”

How were the other actors?

“They were really nice. I don’t want to sound like Pollyanna here but everything was just kind of perfect, even down to actors understanding how to work with toddlers, which is an art, and achievement in of itself.”

Most of your Brady siblings have done soap roles, did you talk to any of them for you upcoming soap role?

“No. We talk to each other but we don’t tend to talk about professional things, unless it’s something that involves all of us, like, ‘Why aren’t we getting paid for this?’ That’s what our conversations have been lately. The whole age of digital streaming and it’s like, ‘Oh, dear, are we going get knocked out of residuals on that, too?’ But we’re very family-like and at least we have each other. Chris Knight and I went to a union meeting for the rest of our brethren. We are very much like family. We actually really like each other.”

What going on currently in your life?

“Thank God I’m not married! I’m happily divorced. I have a son who turned 14 and actually, at the moment, I have quite a few four-legged foster children. I’m involved with animal rescue and I’m on the board of directors for Precious Paws [www.preciouspaws.org]. It’s a cat rescue, primarily, but we also take in dogs. I’m the wet burse of the group and I take in little orphaned, unweaned kittens. I nurse them to health and get them to the point where they¹re big enough to get spayed and neutered and get adopted.”

How many pets do you have?

“I have five cats and one dogs. I’m babysitting my friend’s dog. This will make you laugh, my friend is Erin Murphy who played Tabitha on Bewitched. So I have her dog in my house right now. We all hang out together.”

What does your son think about Cindy Brady and the Brady Bunch?

“He finds it interesting. He likes to tease me. He’s never watched it though, as a fan. It never quite grabbed him. Once he saw South Park, there was no hope. He’s not going to be a Brady family [laughs]. He enjoys it though, he thinks it’s really cute. He knows all the cast as Uncle Chris and Aunt Eve. He grew up very aware that we were pretending to be other people. So it’s more like, ‘Mom used to this job when she was a kid.’ For some reason, it totally makes sense to him.”

Did he cringe when the Bradys did the musical numbers?

“He says, ‘That’s one thing I’m ashamed of you for.’ My son is a rock and roller so I just say, ‘I know, honey. I’m ashamed, too.’”

Did he ever see the variety show?

“He did because I co-wrote a book about the variety show [Love To Love You Brady]. I had to go through all the episodes. In fact, the three authors, we all got together and made ourselves watch all 10 episodes in a marathon. My son came through and said,’Oh, my God.’ It kind of is so bad that’s it’s funny. If you watch it with other people, its really funny. The book is terrific. It's a celebration of bad TV but with good intentions behind it.”

Are you ready for a Brady sing-along in the theaters?

“You know what, we were thinking of doing something like that, kind of like Rocky Horror Picture Show. We did one event at the Santa Monica library and a lot of people came and we did a panel thing. At the end, we showed selected scenes form the show and people were rolling on the show, laughing. I think it would work really well to do something like that.”

Will your role re-occur?

“It could. I would be really open to that. I would enjoy it. It’s an easy set to be on.”

What would you say if they wanted your character to turn psycho?

“Oh, that would be what I want. No harming children but if she were to go nuts and became an ax murderer, that would be wonderful! We, as actors, like that kind of stuff.”

Thank you, Susan Olsen!