Haunted by His Past
Will Dimitri's Dark Secret Return Natalie to Trevor's Waiting Arms on AMC?
   (Mimi Torchin & Gretchen Keene, SOW 11/14/91)

"The triangle of All My Children's Dimitri (Michael Nader), Natalie (Kate Collins) and Trevor (James Kiberd) gets a bit more pointed this week.

Dimitri, who rescued Natalie from the well where her sister, Janet (also played by Collins), had left her to die, implores his new-found love to give him a chance to prove himself. Natalie, however, is afraid she is confusing her gratitude toward Dimitri with something more. She's also concerned that Dimitri is only using her as a substitute for his dead wife, to whom she bears a striking resemblance. To make matters even more complicated, Trevor, Nat's former fiance, has gone on a self-destructive rampage in the wake of her departure. When Mimi (Shari Headley) shows up on Dimitri's doorstep to tell Natalie what's become of her ex-fiance, Dimitri asks Natalie point-blank if she still loves Trevor. She doesn't answer. By week's end, Natalie ends up confronting Trevor face to face.

Nader says he knows very little about what the future holds for Dimitri, but he does give us some insight into Dimitri's mind-set. 'Already I've said to Natalie, "I'll protect you, I'll save you, I'll comfort you, I'll this you and that you..." What he means is, 'What I'd like to do is go to bed with you! But I can't say that, so I'll do whatever I have to otherwise,'" Nader laughs, adding, 'Has ever a man been more frustrated?'

 Agnes Nixon, AMC's creator and head writer, could tell us how things will turn out but, not surprisingly, won't. She will, however, give us further details about Dimitri's character. 'He grew up in Europe,' Nixon says, 'and Helga (Susan Willis) was his nanny, his governess. His parents are dead now, but they used to live in Llanview- well, actually between Llanview and Pine Valley, which is where Wildwind (Dimitri's estate) is located.'

If Wildwind reminds one of Manderly, Max De Winter's estate in Daphne Du Maurier's (and in Alfred Hitchcock's film version) Rebecca, it's no accident. 'Only from the best, my dear,' agrees Nixon with a hearty laugh, referring to the obvious comparisons between Dimitri Marick and the gothic literary heroes such as Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights), Mr. Rochester (Jane Erye) and the aforementioned De Winter. 'In doing the "stolen life" story, I felt that we needed something to follow that was also a little larger than life, very romantic and gothic,' Nixon explains.

And what of this tragic secret we keep hearing about? We already know his first wife, Angelique, bore a striking resemblance to Natalie. We also know that Angelique died in a riding accident on their honeymoon 18 years ago. We know Dimitri feels responsible for her death since she was afraid of riding and he convinced her to do it anyway.

Nixon reminds us, 'We've heard Dimitri say to Natalie, "You remind me of Angelique. That was my first interest in you, but now I love you for yourself."' But there is much more to this secret. Helga has said to him, 'you can't get interested in her (Natalie), you know you can't.'

'Helga, of course knows the secret and has some involvement in it,' Nixon says. 'When the secret from his past is exposed, it might shock you but it won't make you think that Dimitri is a terrible person.' As for Trevor: 'He and Natalie will have a rapprochement,' Nixon promises, 'but toward the last week of November something very dramatic will happen that tears them apart.'

This storyline, which is very long-term, according to Nixon, will branch out and touch other Pine Valley residents, including Erica (there has been much speculation about a possible romance with Dimitri, something Nixon neither confirms or denies), Adam, Hayley, Brooke, and Jackson.

We asked Nixon whom she would like to see Natalie end up with- Trevor or Dimitri- from the point of view of a woman, not one of daytime's great storytellers. She laughed and implored us, 'Don't put me on the spot! I think they're both so charming and so different that it's too bad women can't have harems.'"