Titans' Josie Davis on Her Reversal of Fortune
Soap Opera Weekly/Tony Calega

LAURIE WILLIAMS WASN'T THE ROLE JOSIE DAVIS WAS SUPPOSED TO PLAY on Titans. "The Spelling people were interested in me because of my work on Beverly Hills, 90210 (where she played Camille Desmond), and wanted to fit me in somewhere," Davis reveals. "Then Titans sort of came out of nowhere, and they said, 'This is the one.'"

Davis originally auditioned for Jenny, Laurie's sister (played by Elizabeth Bogush), and was excited about playing an alcoholic constantly teetering on the edge. "The producers were excited about it, too, but suddenly realized that I would be better for tougher sister," Davis says.

At first, the outspoken Davis saw Laurie as boring. "I was looking forward to all that alcoholic drama, you know?" she quips. "Then I realized, 'Hey, I haven't played a conservative character since Charles in Charge, so this could be good.' It's a different take on it, though: I'm conservative, but I'm tough and sexy, too."

Now, Davis can't get enough of her character - or the show. "What a dream cast," she says, citing both the camaraderie and the pseudo-catfights on the set. "Yasmine (Bleeth, Heather) and I are constantly joking around in between scenes," she says with a laugh. "We'll talk past each other and I'll call her a slut and she'll shoot back with 'Bitch!' Nobody knows what a great sense of humor Yasmine has."

Davis also reveals a particularly poignant moment with on-screen mom Victoria Principal (Gwen). "I was really looking forward to this scene because it was a very close, quite mother/daughter type thing," she explains. And just before taping, Davis suddenly broke down in tears. "I was so in that 'place,' and speaking so honestly with Victoria, that I just got very emotional. We were talking about family, and I told her how much I respected her for being such and intelligent, powerful woman. She totally responded like a mother; that's kind of cool."

TONY CALEGA