ELIZABETH LEINER ON Y&R EXIT

Y&R’s Tara Locke was escorted away in handcuffs for tax evasion on August 6, which means her portrayer, Elizabeth Leiner, has wrapped her run. Since the role, which began on March 1, was only supposed to last a few days, Leiner is grateful for the extended stay. “It was a wild ride as an actor,” she enthuses. “Every time they kept scheduling me, I would think, ‘Whatever is happening, I hope it keeps going.’ Tara was getting more interesting and I enjoyed seeing where she would go.”

Coming in, Leiner knew very little about the character she was playing. “It was minimal, which I now appreciate,” she affirms. “It really allowed me to discover her as I went along. It helped because she was supposed to be mysterious, so it lent itself to me not being clear on who she was. All I knew was that her main focus was her son, and protecting what she already had, which was her family. I went into it when there was no intention of Tara reconnecting with Kyle or even staying, so to me, it was very cut and dry, and I would be in and out.”