Laurel Van Ness Recalls How She Came Up With Her Character

– Laurel Van Ness discussed how she came up with her character and more during her recent interview with the Orlando Sentinel. Highlights are below:

On her love of the Harry Potter theme park: “Harry Potter is my favorite movie of all time. When I go [to Universal], I make a quick beeline for that area and I’m like a kid in a candy shop. I always thought Magic Kingdom was supposed to be the happiest place on Earth – where everything smells like waffle cones and cotton candy – but when I first went to Diagon Alley, I knew that was where I belonged.”

On coming up with her character shortly after being left by Braxton Sutter: “I did a quick promo that night after the taping and Dutch [Mantell] just kept telling me to make it crazier and crazier. Everybody thought I was going insane, crying, singing. It was supposed to be something quick for online, but they decided to air it and the response was unbelievable. Almost everything with Laurel since that first promo has come from me, from my ideas. If they don’t like something, they’ll pull me back, but I’m really proud of that character’s development. Who Laurel is isn’t at all who Chelsea is, but it’s really brought me out of my shell as a performer.”