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Interview: The Integrity of Lily
‘She’s not
out to hurt
anyone’
Khalil on what sets
her “Y&R” character
apart from the
crowd.
By CINDY ELAVSKY
Published: 8/31/2008
Last Modified: 8/30/2008 3:07 AM
At 21, Christel Khalil has spent
most of her acting career as Lily
Winters on “The Young and the
Restless.” When she left the role in
2005, it surprised a lot of her fans.
Wise beyond her years, Christel
knew that she needed the break.
“I left because of stress,” Christel
tells me. “I was so young; I wasn’t
able to handle it. I needed the break
– I needed the chance to relax and
do what I wanted. Besides doing a
guest spot on ‘Malcolm in the
Middle,’ I wasn’t doing anything.”
Davetta Sherwood took over the
role, but the powers that be at “Y&R”
really wanted Christel back. “They
asked me to come back a few times,
but I said no. After about a year,
they asked again. I’d had a year
off; I felt rested and ready to go
back. Plus, I was really missing
everyone.”
The character of Lily Winters is
like a breath of fresh air in the
every-man-for-himself world of
soap operas. She has morals and
compassion. Even though she loves
Cane, she knows that the right
thing for him to do is be there for
Chloe and the baby they have
together (or so Chloe has made
everyone think).
“I like that Lily has morals and
values. She’s not out to hurt anyone.
Even through this whole Chloe
thing, she finds a way to relate and
have compassion for her situation.
Lily and (her father) Neil are just
about two of the only characters
who are just nice people – they are
really honorable.”
A while back, Lily miscarried
her and Cane’s baby, which
changed the way Lily viewed the
world. “It matured her a lot,”
Christel
explains. “It made
her strong, and she has a greater
respect for life. It was very hard on
her. It was strange, the way it all
happened. She was starting to like
the idea of having a baby – she
related what was going on to her
mother; she wanted to be just as
strong and as good of a mother as
her own mother was.”
Now that there is another baby
in Lily’s life – Cane and Chloe’s –
Lily’s good character has come
shining through. “Lily really cares
about the baby; it doesn’t matter to
her that it is in Chloe’s belly. Lily
loves Cane, so she loves his baby
as well. The baby comes first. Lily
will always do what is best for the
baby.”
But beneath that strong facade,
Lily is struggling. “What makes
this whole situation even harder for
her,” Christel says, “is that she is
supposed to be OK with the whole
situation. Lily is the one who told
Cane that he needs to be with
Chloe, so she HAS to be OK with
how things are turning out.”
Even with another woman’s
baby in the picture, can Cane and
Lily still have their happy ending?
“I think that’s a possibility. She
definitely can see the hope, and
they can adapt and love each other
in a more mature and honest way.”
After all this baby mess is over,
what does Christel hope for when it
comes to Lily’s future? Christel
says: “She’s portrayed as smart and
intelligent, but we never see it in
her business life. I want to see Lily
become like her mom – strong,
maybe a CEO or a business owner.
She could open her own modeling
agency and be a mentor.”
By CINDY ELAVSKY
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