Laura Leighton: 'This Feels Like The Right Time To Come Back'

Although everyone and their mother was clamoring for Heather Locklear to resurrect Amanda Woodward on the new "Melrose Place" reboot, there was only one hell raiser I wanted to see return: Sydney Andrews.

The cheetah-ear sporting minx was always my favorite, so the announcement that Laura Leighton agreed to star in the new series rocked my clock like a building explosion.

Before fans can see Laura raising hell, they can catch her playing a character that may also live in LA, but couldn't be further from Sydney. In "Mending Fences," she plays Kelly, a big city reporter who revisits her childhood home once mom falls ill. There she uncovers a duplicitous plan that threatens to ruin everyone. Hmm, maybe it's not all that different from "Melrose Place" after all!

I chatted with the actress about the skills she learned while mending "Fences," why she agreed to move back in to the world's most dangerous building and what's in store for Sydney this September!

PopWrap: Your character Kelly is a rather handy lady, are you?

Laura Leighton: Kelly's on her own so she's used to taking charge and keeping her life under control. I think I'm like that -- I've been known to pick up a power tool or two. I'm lucky to have a super handy husband though.

PW: What about horseback riding, did you have to learn for this film?

Laura: It's funny, I always seem to be in movies where I have to ride horses. On the first day the trainer always asks me if I ride, and I've just started saying, "only in movies."

PW: What initially drew you to the project?

Laura: I liked the idea of this woman dealing with a personal dilemma and an ethical one -- trying to discover the truth in both situations. It's your classic conflict.

PW: And you got to work with Angie Dickinson, that must have been amazing.

Laura: It was really very cool. Funnily enough my father-in-law went to school with Angie, so it was fun to share that with her. She was just lovely and it was an honor to work with her.

PW: Kelly is very much someone who goes with her gut, are you?

Laura: Oh definitely. I've always relied on it and am reminded of it whenever something doesn't go right. Like, "ugh, it didn't feel right in my gut, I should have known!" I think everyone need to try and trust their gut more.

PW: Do you find that it is even more important with actors since a script is just a blueprint for the final product?

Laura: It absolutely applies professionally. Trying to pick projects that fit well with the career you've created and your world, at the time. All the stars have to align and feel right.

PW: Would you say the stars aligned with this movie and your return to "Melrose Place" debuting around the same time?

Laura: It was serendipitous. I filmed "Mending Fences" well before I was ever in any conversation about "Melrose." It's funny because from the minute the remake was announced, people would ask if I was doing it and I had honestly never thought about it. I just assumed they wanted a whole new cast. Then all of a sudden i got the call and it was a total surprise. The timing was perfect.

PW: Professionally you took some time off to have kids, do you see this as the beginning of your resurgence?

Laura: I definitely took time to slow down, I didn't completely stop -- but I did make a choice for my family. And having kids changes everything. It changes the way I look at my professional life and the time in any given day. Right now the timing is just sort of right -- my kids are older and in school more, so it's a great time for me to start working a little more.

PW: The first episode of the new "Melrose" has a big shock dealing with Sydney -- what do you think of the writers' plan for her?

Laura: I think their vision was very unique and I was really intrigued by the ideas they had for me. I think what they came up with was a really fun way to bring Sydney back and tell the story about what's happened to her in the years since versions one and two. Not many actors get the chance to play a character 12 years later, so that's been fun.

PW: As a major fan of the original, the scene with Sydney and Michael Mancini in the pilot was such a cool thing to witness -- what was it like being back on set with Thomas Calabro?

Laura: [laughs] We definitely laughed standing there, looking into each other's eyes again. It was so weird, neither of us expected to ever be doing this again so we had a good giggle about it. The cool thing was that scene was the first one either of us shot, so the surreality of that was definitely not lost on either of us.

PW: In addition to you and Thomas, Josie Bisset and Daphne Zuninga are both set to return. What does your husband [she's married to Doug Savant, who played Matt] think about coming back?

Laura: Well, he loves his job so his focus is definitely there. The "Melrose" producers would love to have any and all of the original cast members come back if they're willing, so he's open to the possibility. But it would have to be with all respect to his role on "Desperate Housewives."

PW: With these two projects on the table, what's next?

Laura: I don't know -- I just sort of allow the universe to take me where it will -- hopefully that's towards more projects like these. It does feel like the right time for me though!

"Mending Fences" premieres Saturday at 9 pm on Hallmark Channel

Photo: Hallmark; The CW; WireImage