News America Publication Interview

When Alyssa Milano makes her first appearance on "Melrose Place" this spring, viewers might not recognize the girl they knew from "Who's the Boss?". Now 24, Milano's moppet days are over. Since her long-running sitcom ended in 1992, the Brooklyn-born beauty has moved on to decidedly more racy projects. She posed nude in "Bikini" magazine, starred as Amy Fisher in a 1993 made-for-TV movie and played yet another promiscuous teen in last year's big-screen thriller "Fear." A résumé like that will surely help her hold her own against Heather Locklear, Laura Leighton and all the other "Melrose" vixens. Before she ran off to the set, Alyssa gave us the scoop on her naughty new role, her "Who's the Boss?" cast mates and what it's like to have two dads.

Question 1: Tell us about your new character on "Melrose Place." Is she a bad girl?
Alyssa: Well, she's, you know, Michael Mancini's younger sister, so apple trees make apples. She's definitely gonna follow in his devious footsteps, I think. I think that, you know, from what I've been told, she's intelligent, and her naughty side comes from a very manipulative side, which, you know, she finds out what people need from her and she gives it to them in order to get what she needs from them. So... and that's about all I know.

Question 2: What attracted you to the show?
Alyssa: I think that [in the] last five years Aaron [Spelling] and I have met over four times about different projects. I've always wanted to work with him and I sort of felt that, you know, it's a very hard age that I'm at right now in the business, in that parts are usually for your 18-year-olds or your leading ladies. There is no in-between. So, here was a role on a great show that would be fun that was actually playing my age and that was really sort of intriguing to me.

Question 3: Do you ever watch reruns of "Who's the Boss?"
Alyssa: I do, and you know, it's really -- I did the show from when I was 11 to 19, and the weirdest thing is sitting and watching a rerun and not remember ever filming it because I was so young. And not remember the storyline or what my character was doing at that time or, you know, a sweater that I wore. Just not remembering any of it. So, it's like watching, you know, someone completely different.

Question 4: Do you keep in touch with Tony Danza and your other "Who's the Boss?" costars?
Alyssa: I actually just got a message from Tony this morning. He calls about once a month to check in and to make sure I'm OK. I spoke to -- I actually didn't speak to her, but Katherine Helmond left me a message yesterday. I do keep in touch. It's a weird thing because you work for eight years with these people, and I was so young that I sort of treated it like I was graduating high school and, you know, a lot of the times you don't keep in contact with those people so, being young, you know, I'm very lucky that I do stay in touch with most of the people. But there's a big abandonment issue when you're young and in this business because you make these families and then all of a sudden you don't hear from them again.

Question 5: We hear Tony still thinks of himself as your dad.
Alyssa: Absolutely, and I'm grateful for that. You can never have, you know, too many dads. I grew up with two Italian fathers. It was hell.

Question 6: What TV shows did you watch when you were a kid?
Alyssa: There was a really big chunk of time that I didn't watch any television, and that was probably from, probably the last three years [of "Who's the Boss?"], 15 to 18, where I sort of boycotted. I was like, you know, "Television is bad and evil." I just felt that, you know, I was developing my own sort of views on the business and here I was on this television show and I didn't really know if I believed in everything that the television was out there portraying.

Question 7: OK, then -- what did you watch before the boycott?
Alyssa: Oh, I loved "The Brady Bunch" and I will still sit through reruns, and "Gilligan's Island" and "The Partridge Family." All of those shows were so fun.

Question 8: Could you sing us a TV theme song?
Alyssa: [Sings the theme from "Gilligan's Island."]

Question 9: So, while you're waiting to join the cast, what's it like for you to watch "Melrose Place"?
Alyssa: When I watch "Melrose Place" I'm overwhelmed by how cute they all look. After I finish watching "Melrose Place" I want to pluck my eyebrows and paint my nails.