Soaps.com Chats with Young and the Restless’s Christel Khalil! Part II
Christel Khalil (CBS)
Welcome to Part II of Soaps.com’s chat with Christel Khalil, the actress who plays the beautiful Lily Winters on The Young and the Restless! If you missed Part I, read it here!
Soaps.com: One of Lily’s major turning points in life was discovering that Malcolm (Shemar Moore) was her father – so as of right now, both of her biological parents are out of the picture. Would you welcome a return of either Malcom, or Drucilla (Victoria Rowell), or both?
Christel: Oh, yes, of course! That’s my mom and dad! (laughs) I mean, Lily definitely thinks of Neil as her dad, but that would be great if they were able to come back to the show!
Soaps.com: What is your perspective on the recent events in Neil’s life – his infidelity with Tyra? How will this affect Lily and her relationship with her father?
Christel: Lily’s really disappointed in the whole situation, but she’s going to be there for her dad no matter what – she loves her dad. She just can’t believe that he would do something like that – it’s completely out of character – but she still loves him and cares about him.
Soaps.com: Viewers haven’t actually seen Lily find out yet – is there a confrontation between Lily and Neil?
Christel: Not so much confrontational, as, “Why would you do that?” But nothing too serious.
Soaps.com: Of course, Nia Peeples has been let go, as have many actors in Daytime – what’s your take on that?
Christel: I think it’s really unfortunate, you know, but there is a recession and it’s affecting the entertainment industry, not just other kinds of jobs. So, it’s unfortunate, because it’s great to know these people, and they start becoming your family, and then all of the sudden they’re gone. It’s a sad thing.
Soaps.com: What are your fantasies for the character you play? Is there a job or storyline you would like to see her in down the road?
Christel: I'd love to see Lily become a little more edgy. She's such sweet character that always does the right thing, and is always helping people and things like that, so it would be nice to see her have a little bit more of a dark side to her.
Soaps.com: In The Young and the Restless Weekly Blog I often suggest that Lily should be edgier - she's been through so much!
Christel: I know! She would become more jaded as time goes on. I love the writers, and I love how they write - they write amazing stories - but I know that Lily has a lot of fans, and they have been saying a lot that they want to see Lily become more edgy - and I do too - so I'm hoping the writers will 'get the memo', and maybe do something - so we’ll see. (laughs)
Soaps.com: How much input, if any, do you have?
Christel: I think it all depends on if your input is something that they consider to be something your character would go through, or do. If you were to come completely out of left field, I doubt that they would take it, but we do have some input. The writers are very compassionate and will think about what you want - they definitely take our ideas into consideration.
Soaps.com: Who would you like to work with on Y&R that you haven't had a chance to yet?
Christel: I'd love to have scenes with Michael Baldwin (Christian LeBlanc). I think that he'd be a really great person to work with - I think that would be fun. I never have scenes with him - ever - unless they're party scenes.
Soaps.com: What's ahead for Lily - what can you tell us?
Christel: A lot of changes are coming up, and really great things. It's going to be really nice, what's coming up, because the fans have been seeing Lily cry a lot lately, and now she's finally going to be smiling and happy for a little bit. So that's what's coming up - a lot of joy!
- Candace Young
Soaps.com looks forward to seeing Lily's change in fortune! If you missed Part I of this interview, read it here. Don't forget to check out our Getting to Know Christel feature too!
Please be sure to leave your thoughts and comments below!
