If the storyline is complex, no doubt it's because the involved characters are. "Alexis is instantly drawn to Ned because they're the same people," explains Grahn. "They play the same type of role in their respective families."

In both Ned's & Alexis' life, family is the bane of their existence & they're very reason for existing. Like cops, they're there to protect & to serve. Grahn's own relationship with her kinfolk is a bit more straightforward. "it wasn't the dark side of the Cassadine tribe {that I grew up with}," jokes the actress of her own childhood. "I was very lucky in that I had 2 parents who loved me. That was the important thing- knowing that I was loved."

Aspects of Love

Being brought up a Cassadine, Alexis has never had that simple knowledge. "I don't think that she knows what she feels like," admits Grahn. "I don't think she's ever been loved, & if she was, she wouldn't know it."

And she certainly wouldn't show it. Grahn believes that her character's disfunction stems "from growing up in a family that never said they loved her." As a result, Grahn takes a bottled-up approach to the part, noting, "I purposely haven't shed one tear with her yet."

Other aspects of Alexis' personality have come more from the writers' designs than from the portrayer's decision. "One thing I do like is that she's not going to reveal a lot," Grahn offers. "I like that she's closed off. There's a lot more to peel open then."

One idea that was bandied about earlier this year was that Alexis might have a teenage daughter. "I don't mind that. In dramatic life, being single & free leaves you more room on the canvas to see what happens."

Family Affairs

One firgure remains firm in Alexis' life- and in Grahn's- Stephen Nichols (Stefan). She has known him since before her Santa Barbara days, when he played shrink Skyler to her atty. Julia Wainwright (the role for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Emmy in '89). he even appeared, as a favor to her, in a pilot she produced for German T.V. called See America. "He's a very connected actor," she praises, "& he gives a lot."

Alexis is even more devoted to Stefan than Grahn is to Nichols, & far less sensibly. "This is the one place where I have a defined relationship on the show," says Grahn. "I know what he is to me & I'm clear that I would do anything for him, however misguided. He & Nikolas are Alexis' family- & that's it. She has no family of her own."

The recent shift in Alexis' ethics with regard to serving as a human wedge between Stefan & Katherine (my note:yay!) surprised Grahn. "It's stunning to me that she's risking what she's risking, knowing that she can be expelled from the family {for her misconduct}."

In order to justify her actions, Grahn has decided that Alexis is trying to protect Stefan. "Helena (his mother) was a very manipulative woman," she points out. And a woman not unlike Katherine.

"Katherine impersonated someone in order to inherit one man's money, blackmailed her way into another marriage to inherit more, & was a psychopath's sidekick with the intention of doing the same thing," notes Grahn. Why would I want this woman to marry my cousin?"

A Star is Born

Performing, not backstabbing (even for the good of the backstabee), was the actress birthright. Born to a pair of choreographers, Grahn embarked on a career in song & dance to put her way through school. " I started out doing musical theatre," she recollects. But after taking serious inventory of her talents, she responded to her own instincts & chose to abandon the old soft shoe & develop the actress within her. What ensued was an intense, systematic course of study - 10 hours a day for 2 years - that taught her "to act truthfully in any given situation".

The lesson has come in handy while her GH alter ego slowly has been fleshed out. But Grahn is taking Alexis' gradual evolution in stride. "It took a year and a half before Julia started blossoming on SB," She recalls. "And we don't know that much about Alexis. I don't feel necessarily grounded yet with this character, because I'm not sure where she's walking to."

But at least Grahn can be sure that she's tredding solid ground. "GH has been going on for a long time," she observes. "Not only is there a real sense of loyalty about the show, but there's also a sense of family about it. I feel so fortunate to be a part of it."