Kristin Davis revealed that one of her “Melrose Place” co-stars gave her the cold shoulder during the time they worked together on the hit ’90s prime-time soap drama.
During a recent appearance on “Hey Dude… The ’90s Called!” podcast, the 60-year-old actress recalled that she “felt like I won the lottery” when she landed the role of the villainous Brooke Armstrong in the third season of “Melrose Place” from 1995 to 1996.
However, the “Sex and the City” star told hosts Christine Taylor and David Lascher “there was never a moment of feeling confident” on the set of the Aaron Spelling-created series, and one cast member in particular was not very friendly to her.
“There were just so many, so many people [on set],” Davis said. “And I felt and I have obviously seen all these people since then, and so many of them are so lovely. But at the time … it was competitive.”
“I had my friends within, like Marcia Cross and I were were close, which was wonderful,” she continued. “But there was one, you know, she wouldn’t speak to me. Like, she wouldn’t speak to me.
“I never had scenes with her, so it wasn’t an issue. But I say, like, ‘Good morning,’ [and she wouldn’t respond].”
Taylor noted she also had similar experiences with co-stars, especially during that “period of time” in which she recalled actors were wary of “anybody who could potentially threaten your job.”
“We’ve all been on sets where we’ve had that experience where it was like, ‘Oh, I don’t think that they love that I’m here, but I’m only here for like a guest star [role] or whatever, right?’” she said.
The “Zoolander” star continued, “And sometimes they weren’t the nicest on certain sets and other times wonderful, but I feel like it was a period of time. And then, I guarantee you now, 30 years out of it everyone looks back and is like, ‘Oh my God, what an idiot I was.’”
Davis explained she had “seen this person,” who she did not name, since that time.
“She’s very nice to me now,” Davis said. “And sometimes I’m like, ‘Does she remember that she was being not that nice to me?’”
Davis said she took the opposite approach when she starred on “Sex and the City,” describing herself as the “welcoming committee” when new actors joined the cast or made guest appearances.
“I tried to get out there quick and be like, ‘Hi,’ because I remember that horrible feeling,” Davis recalled. “It was scary.”
Despite her negative experience with one co-star, Davis shared that it was “amazing” to be part of “Melrose Place,” though she was disappointed that her stint on the show was short.
“Melrose was intimidating in, you know, so many ways, obviously,” Davis said. “I mean, I grew up … watching all the ‘Dallas’ and ‘Dynasty’ and blah blah blah.”
“So, it meant a lot to me to be on there,” she added. “Obviously, it was just a job also. Like, at a certain point, you’re like, ‘I have won the lottery. Like, I have a job. I cannot believe it.’
“You know, it’s amazing, right, from a young actor perspective,” she added. “And, I mean, as far as I know, I was gonna stay there. Like, I didn’t know that I was only gonna be one season, which I believe was 32 episodes, which is insane to think about now.”
Davis’ character was killed off in the episode “Devil in a Wet Dress” after she drowned in the Melrose Place pool after falling and hitting her head.
During a February interview with People magazine, Davis revealed that she beat Hilary Swank for the role of Brooke in “Melrose Place.”
“It was Hilary Swank, myself and a girl named Meredith,” Davis recalled of the final auditions for the part.
Davis told the outlet she had been worried about her “very, very long hair” at the time since the other actresses on the show had shorter hair. She recalled that she considered cutting her hair but decided against it.
“I remember going in, and it was just the three of us, and everyone was very nice,” Davis recalled. “It wasn’t one of those, like, scary rooms, and then you go in one at a time..
“And I remember Hilary came out, and she seemed so young, and she had kind of shorter hair and kind of sporty. And I was like, ‘Uh-oh,’” she continued. “And then Meredith had longer hair also. I was like, ‘Oh, good.’”
Davis recalled that she and Meredith comforted Swank, who told them, “I totally blew it,” after leaving the audition room.
“Obviously, she goes on to win two Oscars,” Davis said of Swank with a laugh. “She did fine. She did fine.”
