Podcast: Stacy Haiduk Talks Returning to Y&R as Patty Williams, the Loneliness of Playing Daytime Villains, and the Legend of “Mr. Kitty” (Exclusive)
Daytime powerhouse Stacy Haiduk is pulling off a feat only a soap opera legend could handle – appearing on two soaps at the same time!
In addition to appearing on Days of our Lives as the fierce Kristen DiMera (and the eccentric Susan Banks), Haiduk has officially stepped back into the fragile, unpredictable shoes of Patty Williams on The Young and the Restless after nearly a decade away.
In the latest episode of The TV Watercooler podcast, Haiduk sat down with me to dish on slipping back into Genoa City, the emotional toll of playing two of daytime’s most isolated antagonists, and whether a certain taxidermied feline friend might make a cameo.
Slipping Back Into Patty’s Shoes (and Leaving Kristen Behind – for Now!)
Returning to a character after ten years is no small task – especially when you’ve been busy playing a completely different villain on another show. Haiduk admits that transitioning from DAYS’ calculating Kristen DiMera back to Y&R’s vulnerable Patty Williams took some adjusting.
“Slipping back into it took a little bit of a time frame for me, because Kristen handles things much differently than Patty does… To me, Patty has more innocence than Kristen. Kristen is like just going after whatever she needs to do, whereas Patty is a little more, I think, innocent.”
This time around, Haiduk wanted to show a version of Patty who has done some growing up.
“I wanted, this time around, to make her not so childlike because in the past, she was so desperate… I wanted to see her grow up. Maybe the meds and the work that she did with her therapist really did make a difference?”
The Loneliness of the Daytime Antagonist
While fans love to watch characters like Patty and Kristen stir up trouble, constantly playing the town pariah can take an unexpected psychological toll on an actor. Haiduk opened up about the heavy “headspace” required to play characters who are universally disliked by everyone on screen.
“You take it with you – what everybody’s saying about you. ‘You’re horrible. You’re crazy. You’re stupid.’ … It really does hurt because it’s [about] this character that you’re playing on a daily basis, and you come in and think, ‘Oh, I’m going to bring light and love and it’s going to be exciting.’ But then the words… words hurt.”
She clarifies that while the cast itself is incredibly close, the character’s isolation is palpable.
“[It’s] not lonely in the sense because I get along with the actors, but the headspace of the character? Yeah, it does get very, very lonely because you want somebody on your team and just say, ‘Hey, you know, we love you. We love you.’”
Honouring Eileen Davidson’s Legacy in Salem
Before returning to Patty last month, Haiduk has spent the last several years navigating the drama in Salem on Days of our Lives. Stepping into the dual roles of Kristen DiMera and Susan Banks meant taking over characters famously originated by her Y&R co-star Eileen Davidson (Ashley Abbott) – a blueprint Haiduk admits gave her serious nerves at the start.
“I remember getting that call from my agent, and he’s saying, ‘There’s these roles they want you to do on Days of our Lives.’ … and he said, ‘Oh yeah, Kristen DiMera and Susan Banks.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, shit.’ I was like, I remember Eileen telling me about this and oh God, can I do [it]? I was so nervous.”
Despite the initial pressure, Haiduk completely made the characters her own, anchoring some of the show’s heaviest emotional beats.
“I had a ball. I had an absolute ball… Also, then me being about to stay on that show for a while, the stories got deeper. Her character got more involved. She got the child that she’s always wanted. I feel very, very blessed to have gotten to do that.”
Navigating Genoa City Without Paul
Historically, no matter how wild things got for Patty on Y&R, she always had her brother, former Police Chief Paul Williams, in her corner. With Doug Davidson no longer on the canvas, Patty is flying without her ultimate safety net – a reality Haiduk had to consciously build into her performance while fondly remembering her former co-star.
“I loved working with Doug Davidson… I miss him. I miss seeing his little face. It was some good times, having that friend – her brother that just loved her no matter what. But maybe Patty’s found her independence a little bit more (without Paul)?
While Patty navigates a Paul-less Genoa City, she has managed to find a fascinating, unexpected ally in Matt Clark, who is now played by daytime veteran Roger Howarth (General Hospital, One Life to Live, As the World Turns).
“I think for her, it was just, ‘I’ve got one person in town who actually really doesn’t know anything about me, and how wonderful that is.’ … It’s kind of a hoot to watch the three of us [Patty, Matt and Michelle Stafford’s Phyllis] together.”
Could Patty Know Where Diane Is?
With Diane Jenkins (Susan Walters) currently missing in action, the playing field is wide open for Patty to get closer to her true love, Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman). But does Patty merely benefit from Diane’s absence, or is she actively pulling the strings behind it? When pressed on whether Patty has her prints on the mystery, Haiduk eased that her character’s penchant for manipulation is sharper than ever.
“Patty might know where she is, but Patty is so good at kind of manipulating the situation, yeah, she doesn’t [let on]. But there’s a possibility she might. She just might.”
If Diane stays gone long enough, Patty is more than ready to step into her place – even if it means settling for a completely manufactured reality with Jack.
“Jack should be a little worried, but honestly, she just wants to have a little bit of love with him… She wants a family with him. Like, even if it’s a superficial [one]. Just him and er, she could take him, and that would be it. The two of them together for the rest of their lives – she would love that.”
The Unbelievable True Story of “Mr. Kitty”
No conversation with Stacy Haiduk about Patty Williams would be complete without mentioning “Mr. Kitty” – the infamous dead, taxidermied cat Patty used to carry around. Haiduk cleared up a long-standing myth about the prop that she famously brought to the Daytime Emmys in 2009.
“It’s not a cat purse, that was Mr. Kitty! That was the cat… They said, ‘Would you bring the cat to the Emmys?’ and I said, ‘Sure.’ And they said, ‘You can’t lose it because it’s two grand for that thing.’ So, I thought, well, I’m not going to hold this thing around all day long, so what if I make it so that I can put it around my arm and then hold it up? And that became the ‘cat purse.’”
As for where the real Mr. Kitty came from? Haiduk dropped a hilarious Hollywood easter egg.
“This was somebody’s beloved animal that is in a taxidermist place, I guess, that you can rent. I actually saw Mr. Kitty on America’s Next Top Model! They had to do a photoshoot in the taxidermy place, and there was Mr. Kitty on a shelf!”
Could Mr. Kitty make a psychological return to torture Patty? Haiduk is not only all for it, but she’s also suggesting it! “Somebody plants Mr. Kitty so psychologically, Patty has to be like, ‘What’s going on?’ … It would be hilarious. It would be kind of fun.”
Want to hear the full interview? Tune into the latest episode of The TV Watercooler podcast to hear Stacy talk more about working with Michelle Stafford and Eric Braeden, how she’d love to have an on-screen wink with Eileen Davidson about playing the same roles, and her thoughts on a potential Patty Williams cat sanctuary.
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on Global and CBS in Canada and streams on STACKTV and the Global TV app. Y&R streams on Paramount+ in the U.S.
