Lindsey McKeon first appeared on season two of ‘One Tree Hill’.

CW Television Network

Actress Lindsey McKeon may be best known for her roles on Guiding Light and Saved By The Bell :The New Class, but the two-time Daytime Emmy-nominated actress should also be known as a very well-adjusted and talented young professional who understands what the true art of being an actor really is. McKeon comes off as simply a down-to-earth girl who can live her passion without making the tabloids, and can live without all the glitz and glamor of Hollywood in order to help those where glamor ceases to exist. It was clear to see during our interview that Lindsey McKeon will continue to be known for her work for many years to come. One role will definitely be that of Taylor James on The CW’s One Tree Hill. She recently discussed with me her return to Tree Hill as well as her work and passions away from the acting world.

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What brings Taylor James back to Tree Hill? What is she going to stir up this time?
Lindsey-Always trouble. That’s just nature when Taylor comes into town. She is back to see her family and her sisters. In my opinion but you know that she does it in all the most inappropriate ways. That’s the fun of Taylor.

Has she grown at all since the last time we saw her? Will we see any changes in Taylor this time?
Lindsey-I would definitely say that you’re going to see a lot of changes. As I have grown, my character has grown also so there will be some major differences. I think she’s definitely evolved, she has grown older and lived a lot more life in the last five years so there definitely will be some differences.

What was it like for your to return to the One Tree Hill set and be in Wilmington again? The show has changed in some ways since your last time there.
Lindsey-It definitely has but you know it’s great for me to go back to Wilmington. I love Wilmington. …For me the familiar faces were still there and a lot of the crew hasn’t changed and that’s one of my favorite things about working on One Tree Hill, that the crew is so friendly and amazing. I mean the cast, the crew, the producers, everybody that works there. It’s just a good sort of family of people to be around that are welcoming and inviting and it’s a great atmosphere to work in. It’s not always that you find that. What a treasure it is that I’m back somewhere and get to experience that.

Who will we see Taylor interact with this time?
Lindsey-You’re going to see me interact with Shantel, and Nathan[James Lafferty], and Haley[Bethany Joy Galeotti], and our mother comes into town so you’ll get to see all three sisters with their mother….which is great. Mostly it’s just my family that I’m going to interact with. Except you know Brooke[Sophia Bush] was in one of the scenes which was the first time I worked with her. She’s in one of the scenes with Haley and I.

What is the bond like with the three sisters? And working so much with Bethany Joy Galeotti again?
Lindsey-It is fun because even though it’s three actors on set, you do see us doing true human behavior so the relationships do sort of become familial and sisterly in a way. ….With Joy I’ve always felt sort of a connection with her. I’ve always adored working with her. I think she’s a great actress and I just love being able to bounce off of her and connect with her in scenes, and I like her off stage too so I really enjoy working with her.

What appeals to you most about the role of Taylor James?
Lindsey-She puts her foot in her mouth all the time but she does it on purpose to get a reaction out of people because I think she’s not getting the attention, or what she really needs or what she really desires from people, so it’s so fun for me to delve into a character that does and says things that I wouldn’t say or do. But through a character I get to be allowed to do these things so for me that’s just so exciting. And even though it’s painful at times to play these characters it is also very fun to be different aspects of me.

What kind of a role would you like to explore in the future that you haven’t already?
Lindsey-It’s up in the air right now but there’s a possibility of me playing the role in a true story, in the 1800’s of this little girl who murdered her parents and then gets amnesia and forgets about it, and then goes to live in her father’s house again and starts remembering and her history starts coming back up, and for me the prospect of being able to play a character like that is incredibly exciting, incredibly scary, but yet so invigorating too. I don’t know what it is about me but I love just delving into that psychosis and that pain and that mania and I don’t know what it is about me that loves her.
I go to acting class and in acting class, I’m not the girl that brings in romantic comedies, I’m the girl that wants to do ‘Girl Interrupted’ all the time. I keep bringing myself back to these places, but for me these roles, I get so much out of them.

Do you have a special exercise for those dark emotions?
Lindsey-It’s definitely a practice and a process. A lot of my own life and programs have to be cleared out of the way so I can jump into the direct analysis that is related to that character. Thank goodness I have an amazing teacher. I can’t say enough about her. She has changed my life, and my acting career, that I can behave in the way I see human behavior. Her name is Candace Silver. She just can really read human behavior and does correct analysis, anytime I’m working on a script I work with her now so she’s able to give me the correct analysis and I find it in my life where I’ve gone through these similar feelings…..where in my life that I’ve felt those direct feelings that the character has felt. I go scene by scene and work it out and yeah it’s work and a process but I love this process. That’s the whole fun and game of it is to be able to find a character and tap into it and hold on to it and take the ride with it.
That’s what acting is all about I hope. About the art, and delving into another human being, I mean what could be more exciting than that in my opinion.

What would you be doing if you weren’t acting? Any other passions you have?
Lindsey-There’s so many things in this world to do. I teach classes. I actually help coach people….so I think that’s what would be the first thing that I would do because that’s what nature has shown me that I am also able to do. That I’m able to give to certain information that I have and share it with others.

If you could go back in time and spend a day in anyone’s shoes from history, who would it be and why?
Lindsey-You know there have been so many incredible people. I would say anybody who is standing for a commitment and a belief that helps to rise human beings and human nature to the next level or the next awareness. So I would say a Lincoln or a Ghandi or a Mother Theresa. Anybody who is standing for something in the face of all the fears and all the people telling them no and sticking firm to their passion and their desire and their commitment. I’d say anyone who’s living like that, I would be interested in walking in their shoes and feeling the feelings that they’ve felt knocked down and still standing up and still standing for what they believe in. That’s the kind of human being I would be interested in being, feeling, knowing, connecting with.

Any upcoming projects?
Lindsey-There are films that I’ve done that are possibly coming out soon, not quite sure when. I’d say to just keep up with IMDB to see what’s coming out if people are interested. That would be wonderful.

It’s all about the online world these days isn’t it? Ever thought about doing a Twitter account?
Lindsey-It is taking over! No I have not done that[Twitter]. I was the last person to get high-speed internet, I was the last person to get an ipod, the last person to get an iphone. ….I travel to India for one month out of the year and I don’t have a phone there, so I can go without which is beautiful too. I have taken about five trips to India within the last two and a half years, a couple months ago I went for a month. I go with a big group and it’s just sort of a spiritual, growth-oriented retreat. ….We have a children’s foundation that we take care of, … children of rishikesh.com. It’s our India’s children’s foundation and we go to India and visit the children.
It’s just an amazing trip that I take and you know when you’re there, cell phones don’t work and they don’t have the kind of technology that we do so it’s for me a month without contact to the cyber space world which is truly, truly incredible. I recommend it. Not all the time, but it is great to be able to know that you can do that as well…not have to worry about cell phones and messages and I gotta get back to somebody but to just be able to breathe.

When you return home after a trip like that, I bet it makes you appreciate even more what you have here.
Lindsey-Oh my god, the luxuries we have in America. We just don’t even realize because you live in it long enough and you come to expect it but when you get to take a step outside of it you really, really get to recognize how blessed we are and how much we have. It’s fun, it’s just an experience. That’s what I wanna live for.