B&B Exclusive: Annika Noelle Says ‘A Big Wake-Up Call’ Is Coming For Hope

JPI

Trouble In Paradise: Can Hope (Annika Noelle) and Carter (Lawrence Saint-Victor) survive the threat of Daphne Rose?

The romance of Hope Logan and Carter Walton has hit its first major snag on Bold and Beautiful, thanks not only to his smooch with fragrance maven Daphne Rose but to the fact that Hope witnessed it — but Carter didn’t exactly tell the full truth when Hope gave him the chance to come clean. Soap Opera Digest checked in with Hope’s portrayer, Annika Noelle, to get the inside scoop about what these developments mean for her character, and for the Hope/Carter romance, in the days and weeks ahead.

Soap Opera Digest: How would you describe what Hope’s immediate reaction to the sight of Carter kissing Daphne Rose was?

Annika Noelle: Well, when Hope told Carter to get Daphne Rose to be a part of the fragrance launch by any means necessary, I don’t think she had this in mind. In a way, I feel like given how many times men in her life have let her down, it’s not exactly surprising, but it’s still disappointing. And it certainly wasn’t what she expected to see when she opened the office door!

Digest: What was your take on why Hope didn’t confront Carter immediately about what she saw?

Noelle: She didn’t initially come out of the gate swinging; she kind of wanted to see if he would own up to it, see what he was willing to admit for himself before she goes in there guns blazing, telling him what she saw. She was giving him the opportunity to do the right thing. But it did feel a little bit like entrapment, where she was trying to get him to confess. And while he may have admitted to the kiss, was it really the full story? I also don’t know how much Carter is sure of what he’s feeling, so it’s hard because I think he is very much conflicted about his emotions. He was probably in between a rock and a hard place with how much he should reveal to Hope in that moment.

Digest: How does him sort of trying to skate the issue and then Hope coming out and saying that she witnessed the kiss change the dynamic between Hope and Carter?

Noelle: Oh, it definitely trips up Hope’s faith and confidence in them as a team and him as a partner, both romantically and in business. I think she really believed that he would have her back and now, his actions are speaking a little louder than his words, sadly. And so I think [the kiss] certainly did what Steffy intended to do, which is that this impenetrable kind of bond or alliance that they had … now there are chinks in the armor that are starting to get through. I definitely think it spoiled Hope’s plans a bit; it’s not as smooth sailing as she thought it would be.

Digest: And how would you say this incident changes how she views Daphne Rose?

Noelle: It’s very interesting, because Daphne has a reputation for being irresistible, that men and women are attracted to her, and I even think we might have seen a little bit of Hope fangirling over her, as well. So Hope is definitely disillusioned in the sense that she advocated for Daphne Rose, she wanted to partner with her, she believed in her and was a cheerleader for her. I mean, she was one of her biggest fans, really, as we saw, and I think it’s more hurtful that someone she looked up to and tried to champion would go and and do that to her. She’s definitely hurt by it and she’s facing a betrayal not only from Carter, someone who swore to her that she could depend on him, that he would have her back, but also by a woman who she really admired as an icon within the perfume and fashion world. And unfortunately, that irresistible charm of hers has hit a little too close to home for Hope’s liking!

Digest: Tell me about working with Murielle Hilaire (Daphne Rose).

Noelle: Murielle! I’m so happy to have somebody to practice my French with, and I’ve so enjoyed getting to know her. I just feel like there’s so much potential for storyline and so much fun we can have, so I’m really looking forward to what they throw her way and what kind of stories come from this. I’m just hoping I get more time to share scenes with her and also pratiquer mon français with her!

Digest: Obviously, the audience knows that Steffy is pulling some strings here. Hope does not. Do you think she has any suspicions whatsoever about the possibility that Steffy is doing some pulling of the puppet strings here?

Noelle: She knows that Steffy is up to something, but I don’t know if she’s connected those dots quite yet. I think there’s a lot, quite frankly, that Hope has blinders on to. She seems to be very in her little delulu world, you know? I don’t want to say that she’s power-tripping, but I do think she’s a little out of touch with what other people are going through and what they’re feeling right now. I think that’s also because a small part of her does know, she just doesn’t want to confront it. She doesn’t want to confront that other reality or that possibility, so she’s kind of digging her heels into the denial because she’s not ready yet to interrupt her perception with reality. So, to circle back to Steffy, she definitely doesn’t trust Steffy and she knows she’s up to something, I just don’t know if she’s really made that connection quite yet, but that’s because I think she’s just fighting for her life with trying to hang on to her delusion a little bit.

Digest: This is a version of Hope that we haven’t really seen before. Has it been fun to bring her to life in her delulu era, if you will?

Noelle:  It’s definitely been different; it’s a different side of Hope than we’re used to seeing, and I think so many years of just one thing after another that have built up to kind of bring her to this place where she’s being careless in the bridges that she’s burning in order to try to secure some kind of grasp of power, in a way, to protect herself. Really, to me it feels like she’s been coming from the defensive in the past, and now this offensive position she’s taking just feels like [the result of] years and years of belittlement and betrayal. She’s finally had enough. I think that she’s a bit broken. I think she’s going about things in ways that I don’t think Hope would have approved of in the past. I just take what they throw at me and I do the best I can to bring truth to it. I hope that this leads to some kind of reckoning; I’m hoping for her to understand, maybe, that how she’s gone about it wasn’t the best. I also hope she finally finds some kind of empowerment. I would love maybe one day, if she’s had enough of that toxic environment [at Forrester], to go off on her own and make her own company and spread her own wings. I’m really interested to see what comes of it, and we have some very exciting things coming up. There are pretty cataclysmic things coming around the bend, and I think there is going to be a big wake-up call for Hope.

Digest: Do you think Hope and Carter can come back from the breach of trust his lack of transparency around the kiss represents for Hope?

Noelle: It’s funny, because if you ask Lawrence [Saint-Victor, Carter], we have two very different answers, and we’ve been playing it two very different ways. I can only speak for myself in playing Hope, but I do think that she is a bit disillusioned and is quite frankly becoming a bit numb to the constant let-downs and empty promises from the men in her life. I think this is going to be a matter of, “How much does Carter want it, really?” I think Hope is kind of bottoming out a little bit, and I think it’s a tough place to come back from. People are going to have to tune in and see whether or not they survive this, but there’s gonna be quite a fight for Carter. I do think they are very honest with each other and I think both of their perspectives are very valid, and I think that’s a very refreshing thing, actually, that there is some honesty in the reckoning of all this on both sides. They can either take it as a learning lesson or they will go their separate ways. We’ll see which side of the coin that falls on.

Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

Starting Off Strong: Hope was delighted to meet Daphne Rose (Murielle Hilaire), but their dynamic has since soured.