Avenging Angel

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A conversation with “Avenging Angel” co-star Cynthia Watros

It’s a long way from the lush beauty of the island of Oahu to the Texas Hill Country of the 1870s.  But actress Cynthia Watros has swapped wild boar and centipedes on CBS’s “Lost” for the gunslingers of the old West.  Playing Maggie, the strong-hearted former saloon girl and single mother in The Hallmark Channel’s “Avenging Angel,” Watros had a chance to try on some of some western duds – and dust – while playing opposite Kevin Sorbo, the film’s hero.

Maggie’s a tough, but good-hearted, woman – a former prostitute in the town saloon who’s traded in her bustier for a broom, while raising her seven year old daughter, Amelia.  She comes upon Sorbo’s mysterious Preacher, a bounty hunter bent on revenge, and the two develop an unlikely understanding.  It’s Maggie’s – and Amelia’s – job to soothe the Preacher’s heart and help bring peace and love back into his empty soul, hopefully filling the gap left by the death of his own wife and daughter three years earlier at the hands of Col. Cusack and his men.

Is this the first western you’ve worked on?

Yes, this is my first, and it’s really interesting!  Of course, they have real cowboys and real ropers, and it’s in the middle of nowhere, so you transcend into this time.  It’s really fun.

Tell us about Maggie – she’s been through quite a lot, hasn’t she?

Yeah, and I think it’s stuff she’s probably not so proud of.  She’s had some bad relationships, but she’s given up her past being a prostitute, and now is leading a pretty boring life – sweeping floors and washing glasses and taking care of her daughter, which she loves now.  And then, all of a sudden, this cowboy comes in and changes that around.  She realizes that she can have her life and have love and have a good relationship with a good man.

She’s a very independent, wise woman who still has a very soft heart.  I think she’s been through a lot, and that attracted me.  I like characters who’ve struggled with their past, but who learn to go on and find happiness again.

What about the Preacher stands out to her from the rest of the rabble in the town?

There’s a scene where he saves another prostitute from one of Cusack’s men in the saloon, and she immediately sees, “This is a good man.”  Because given all she’s been through, she can spot a good man a mile away.  And she wants to help him, because she has a very kind heart.

She and Amelia have a healing effect on this man.

There’s a reason why their paths cross.  He’s been killing people and drinking for several years.  It’s time that he settled down, and it attracts him quite a bit, to have a family again.

What does she think, when she learns of his past?

I think she has an inclination from the beginning that he’s running away from something, so I don’t think it surprises her.  The details probably don’t rally matter much.  She’s not judgmental – she’s just a very safe person to tell things to, because she won’t judge you.  Because she’s had quite a past herself.

You’ve had quite a varied career – working on a soap (“Guiding Light”), doing comedy, and most recently on “Lost.”

“Guiding Light” was a fun three years.  My character, Annie Dutton. . . well, she started off nice.  She was the stepmother of these children – and then I remember the day that changed.  She got a headache, started taking pills, and started carrying a gun and kidnapping children and pushing people out of planes!

You’ve also done comedy, on “The Drew Carey Show,” which had already been on the air for quite a while when you came aboard.

I went straight into “Drew Carey” from three years on a series for Fox, “Titus,” which was about Christopher Titus, who was the star of the show – I played his girlfriend.  “Drew Carey” was already running for seven years, so I was a little apprehensive, because I thought, “I’m going on this wonderful machine that’s been working so well.”  But they were all lovely, absolutely welcoming, beautiful.  Drew sends everybody in the cast flowers every week, and he’s very gracious.  It was a great two years.

I actually gravitated first towards comedy.  But I couldn’t do both comedy and drama, and I wanted to branch out and try a drama – hence “Lost.”

“Lost” isn’t for the weak-hearted, is it!

Well, being in Oahu, Hawaii for a year was fabulous.  Most of the time, you’re outside in beautiful Hawaii, with the waterfalls.  But then there’s also the centipedes – if they bite you, you have to go to the hospital immediately.

And, of course, the wild boar.  They’d be like, “Okay, there’s an open field,” and they want it pristine, because they have to get a wide shot – so they couldn’t mess up the field.  So if you’re the first person going through it, who knows what you’re going to find?  They’d say, “Okay, just be careful – if any wild boar or anything jumps out at you, just try and get out of the way.”  So you appreciate a studio in a different sense after that!

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