“He says he thinks of me as just one of the guys,” Stafford says laughing as she reveals a phrase one of her male co-stars (who will be revealed later) says to her. After an awesome conversation with Stafford, it becomes evident to this interviewer that this sultry and sexy red head is far from being “just one of the guys.”

Since 1994, Stafford has been wowing daytime audiences with her portrayal of Genoa City’s favorite sexy, sultry, flame haired vixen Phyllis Summers Romalotti Abbott Newman on CBS’ top rated daytime drama The Young and the Restless.

“I LOVE being on the show and we have one of the most talented and best cast’s,” she says.  It is her admiration for her fellow co-stars that made Stafford’s decision to leave Y&R a difficult one in 1997. 

It was during her time away, that Stafford ventured into the nighttime sudsier genre, when we she was cast in the role of sweet, innocent, plain Jane housewife Joanna Hadley on Aaron Spelling’s short lived Fox drama, Pacific Palisades. I could tell by the tone in Stafford’s voice how surprised she was that the person speaking to her knew of her role on this show.  Even though Pacific Palisades was short lived, fate always seemed to be on Stafford’s side.

And that same fate that got this Chicago native so far in acting and modeling, intervened when Stafford came “home” again. It was in 2000, when Stafford returned to the role that launched her career in daytime, this time though she brought out a softer, more mature side of Phyllis. Stafford’s return also brought forth a romance for Phyllis that will go down in the soap opera history love books for many years to come.  Ever since she first entered the orbit of dashing business man Jack Abbott, fans of this couple have been clamoring for the day that these two will be back in each others arms once again. 

“Never say never to Jack and Phyllis finding their way back to one another at some point,” Stafford points out. “The one thing that I’ve learned over the years is that everyone’s paths eventually cross more than once in daytime.”

But in the meantime, Phyllis has her hunky hubby Nicholas Newman to help warm up those cold Genoa City winter nights. So what is it like for Stafford working opposite of the very gorgeous Joshua Morrow? “He is HOT isn’t he,” she says with a chuckle. 

In fact it is Morrow that refers to Michelle as “just one of the guys” when I asked her about their camaraderie and working relationship. It must be that comfortable feeling Stafford and Morrow have with one another that helps contribute to the onscreen chemistry which just pops each and every time these two are on screen and has led this couple to have a huge following among Y&R viewers, as I quickly pointed out to Stafford.     

“Aww thank you so much for the compliment. I love working opposite of Josh” she says enthusiastically. “To be honest, Josh and I do have a lot of fun in our scenes with one another and I am glad to hear that the chemistry comes across on screen.”

And speaking of chemistry, Stafford has one word that describes the sparks that she and Morrow ignite as Nick and Phyllis. “Wow,” says Stafford as she recalls the first scenes that brought the characters of Nick and Phyllis into each other’s orbit. “As we were doing our first scenes, I remember thinking what’s going on here,” she says with a laugh. 

Well obviously someone behind the scenes saw the exact same natural chemistry these two shared and quickly decided to pair Phyllis and Nick together. “Originally Phyllis and Nick were supposed to have sex and that was it…it was to add more conflict to his already strained relationship with Sharon. I can still remember the days TPTB came to us and said they were moving ahead with a romance between the two.”

And even though Stafford and Morrow sizzle with one another and the “Phick” pairing has fans screaming for more, Stafford admits that she had a tad bit of concern with her latest onscreen romance in the beginning. “Growing up I was raised in a home where my parents taught me a lot of morals and values,” says Stafford. “In the beginning I had a difficult time with the decision to pair Nick and Phyllis together, because Nick after all was still a married man.”  

However, like the true team player she is Stafford kept the storyline moving forward and finally happily rejoiced as their characters happily tied the knot. But little did Nick and Phyllis know their wedding was just the beginning of many bumps on the matrimonial road. 

First, her hubby was presumed dead in a plane crash, only to return to town thinking he was still married to his ex-wife, she spent time in jail for blackmailing former brother-in-law Brad Carlton, and in the beginning there was even a question regarding who was the daddy of her little girl Summer. “Boy what a year Phyllis had,” Stafford says with a chuckle. 

Now that 2008 has hit us full steam ahead, does this mean Phyllis will have an easier New Year? “To be honest, I really do not know what is in store for Phyllis at this point, but I can’t wait to find out,” she says excitedly.

One thing Y&R fans can hopefully count on is that no one will be running around Genoa City bearing a striking resemblance to Phyllis anytime soon. After months of whispers and speculation, Y&R viewers discovered that nutty nurse Sheila Carter was alive, well and hoping to run around Genoa City with Phyllis’ face. “I had a BLAST working with Tracey, Christian and Doug in this storyline and had a lot of fun doing it.” 

Stafford even got “real” when it came to preparing for her dual role. “I did watch a lot of tapes of Kimberlin (Brown) when she played the role of Sheila, and I tried to focus on her mannerisms and tone of voice and bring those same things out in the role.”

So is there a chance that Lauren shot and killed the wrong person and Sheila has been living Phyllis’ life over the last year? “I don’t know what the writers have in store, but from my understanding the storyline is finished,” she shares. “And hopefully Nicholas would realize it if he was not married to the real Phyllis,” Stafford says with a laugh.

So it appears as if the only enemies Phyllis will have to worry about in Genoa City are her mother-in-law Nikki and Nicholas’ former wife, Sharon. I commented to Stafford that I enjoyed the scenes she shared with co-star Sharon Case this past summer, as Sharon and Phyllis teamed up to expose Nikki’s kiss with David Chow. 

“Sharon (Case) and I always have fun when we work together,” she says chuckling.  “We’ve been friends for years prior to both of us joining the show. Is their summer shenanigans partnership a burgeoning friendship or a case of 2 people who are “Frenemies” in disguise? “I don’t know if these two will be or can be friends, Sharon has every right to be upset with Phyllis she is the one that ruined her marriage to Nicholas,” says Stafford. Viewers wonder if Phyllis’ actions towards Sharon are because she feels threatened towards the bond she shares with Nicholas?

“I do think Phyllis feels threatened somewhat by Sharon.  She knows that Sharon and Nicholas will always be part of one another’s lives due to Noah and the other experiences they shared during their marriage.”

However, Nick and Phyllis are now connected through their daughter Summer and let’s face it they certainly have had their share of trials and tribulations over the last year.  The only way that the bond between Nick and Phyllis could be severed if it was revealed that little Summer was not their child, thus kicking off the proverbial “Whose your daddy storyline” that is so prevalent in daytime. But don’t hold your breath for this happening anytime soon, as Stafford hints. “As far as I know and have been told, Summer really is Nicholas’ little girl and that was the plan of the writers all along,” she says. 

But longtime Jack and Phyllis fans are still holding out hope that things will change and Jack will somehow be revealed to be this little girl’s daddy, thus putting Jack and Phyllis back into each others arms. “If this did happen, it would ruin the credibility of Nicholas so much,” Stafford states. “I cannot see the character of Nick making something like this up and keeping Jack away from his own child.”

For now, Stafford is doing what she does best and continuing to wow fans with her multitude of talents in front burner storylines on the show. But Y&R is not the only genre getting a taste of her talents. 

“I had a role in an independent film that is being shown at the Sundance film festival,” she excitedly shares. So does that mean we might be seeing Stafford walking the red carpet on Oscar night very soon? “I don’t know, but look at all of the independent films that got recognized for being shown at the film festivals.”

Michelle Stafford is more than “just one of the guys” in my book. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent speaking to Stafford, she is one of the few talented and gracious gems in daytime today. I would like to thank Michelle for taking time out of her busy schedule to speak with us at Soaptown USA.  I would also like to thank her manager, Marlan for setting all of this up. 

If you would like to find out more information about Michelle, her charity work and upcoming projects please visit her official site, www.michellestafford.com

Photos courtesy of JPI Studios