Exclusive: Drew Barrymore's Sunny Anderson got "pinned like never before" on Beyond the Gates

Beyond the Gates and The Drew Barrymore Show have gotten together for some synergy today when Carlton and Nicole encounter Sunny Anderson, who's appearing on the CBS soap opera. Anderson, who appears on Barrymore's yakfest as a correspondent, chatted with Soap Central in this exclusive interview!

Barrymore Beyond the Gates

"It was really awesome to do Beyond the Gates," enthuses Anderson, who will be playing a version of herself on the show. "I asked myself, 'How did I get a life where I actually get to go do stuff that I think is cool, right?'"

Anderson is thankful to the folks at Drew Barrymore and also BTG for this great opportunity. She's also putting herself on the list of folks to show gratitude. ""I think I manifested this, in part," says Anderson, who recalls how she felt after joining Barrymore's talk show and I had become an official "Drew Crew" member.

"It was the day I got my [show] coat, and I went back to my hotel room, and I remember literally hugging the coat," Anderson says. Next, she turned on the TV, right when BTG was airing.

She was immediately attracted to the clothes worn by the characters and the style of Jeresa Featherstone, the show's costume designer, who won a Daytime Emmy for her work on The Bold and the Beautiful. "I said to myself, 'I want to be a part of this," Anderson says. "I didn't even think of going down there and meeting [everyone at the show]. It was just like, 'I want more of this,' you know?"

Next, Anderson not only received an invitation from BTG to do a behind-the-scenes look at the series, but also an offer to appear on the show. She'll appear in scenes today with Nicole and Carlton. "They're both fantastic," Anderson raves of their respective portrayers, Daphnée Duplaix and Robert Christopher Riley.

Beyond the fashions

Anderson went from admiring the clothes on the show to actually wearing them. Of the show's wardrobe area, she says, "You walk into this room, and you see all the clothes that would be in their world," Anderson reveals.

Forget special effects! Anderson says that once her outfit was selected, the show's wardrobe team worked its magic. "In maybe 30 minutes, the top was completely altered, and the pants were altered," she recalls, adding with a chuckle that the tailor was "pinning me in ways that I've never been pinned before!"

Anderson says a highlight of meeting the cast was encountering Clifton Davis (Vernon), whom she watched on TV in the 1980s. "I grew up watching Amen, and let me tell you, it was all I could do not to sing that [theme] song in a segment I did with him [on Drew Barrymore] because I know we can't afford it," Anderson laughs.

Trending

Might Anderson recur on BTG? "That'd be the dream," she responds. "Maybe I can cater a fancy wedding [on the show] and be someone who pops out of the cake!"

Catch all-new episodes of Beyond the Gates weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback