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Catching up With ALL MY CHILDREN’s Cady McClain (EXCLUSIVE)

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The glow on Cady McClain’s face says it all. The actress who spent the better part of three decades playing ALL MY CHILDREN’s beleaguered Dixie Martin has been totally fulfilled while pursuing a long-held dream: telling her own stories! “In my very early days with Michael E. Knight (Tad) on the show, most of the writing was really wonderful,” she shared with Soaps In Depth, “but Mike had a very particular sense of humor and sensibility, so he and I would often attack the scripts and rewrite them.”

Being able to successfully do that while also being mindful of the tale being told helped McClain determine that, in the future, she wanted to work behind the camera! “I’ve never been really that satisfied with only being an actor,” she admitted. “I learned things like ‘all glory to the story.’”

Cady McClain Julian Elfer

In addition to directing her own films, McClain (with actor Julian Elfer here) also produces because she likes “to get behind other women’s projects to support them in their risk-taking efforts and desire to expand themselves artistically.” (Photo Credit: Alex Di Suvero)

Now a director, she’s been touring film festivals while sharing the fruits of her labor. That’s how she connected with Artists For Change founder Julia Verdin and agreed to help turn her short film into a full-length feature. McClain says that Lost Girls: Angie’s Story, the movie she recently produced, is “about a teenager who is kidnapped into the sex-trafficking trade and how she meets other girls and fights her way out.” The goal is to use the gripping picture to help communities raise awareness.

Also coming soon is Paint Made Flesh, a film that McClain directed about a female artist who revisits an old relationship in order to rekindle her passion. “In the process, some very intense truths are revealed that they’ll have to wrangle with,” McClain offered. The twist to the production is that it’s based on a stage show. Explaining her interest, McClain said, “I’m really entranced by the idea of filming theater because it’s not that different from daytime, which we call doing ‘a play a day.’”

All MY Children Adam Dixie

“I remember a classic moment when Dixie was convinced by Adam that she’d lost her mind,” the AMC alumna recalls. “The folks from the funny farm came to pick her up, and Tad was there to help her.” (Photo Credit: Donna Svennevik/ABC)

Next up is a noir mystery/thriller that the visionary is writing and planning to direct. Additionally, she said, “I’m working with my husband, Jon [Lindstrom, GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Kevin/ Ryan], and Jacob Young (ex-JR, AMC) on a project as a producer.” But is she still interested in acting? “There are a couple things burbling on the horizon,” she teased, “that I might say yes to.”

In the meantime, the Emmy winner has been encouraging the next generation of filmmakers via speaking engagements. “One young woman came up to me and said, ‘I’ve been directing with my friends, but now I’m seeing that I could actually do this for a career!’” she confided. “I said, ‘Yes, you totally could.’”

For more on what your favorite AMC stars are up to now, keep reading Soaps In Depth magazine.

This story originally appeared in our print magazine.

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