Few daytime couples have had the sizzling chemistry that Santa Barbara's Ally Walker and A Martinez share, an on screen connection that has lead to them being cast together on not one but three different shows: Santa Barbra, Profiler, and now Netflix's Longmire, a contemporary crime thriller set in Big Sky country that follows Walt Longmire (Robert Taylor), the charismatic, dedicated and unflappable sheriff of Absaroka Country, Wyoming.

Walker plays the recurring character of Dr. Donna Sue Monaghan on the dramatic series, while Martinez plays local businessman Jacob Nighthorse. And Walker couldn't be more thrilled to be working with her former on screen soap flame on the popular series.

soapcentral.com: So Ally, your character on Longmire sounds like she's a lot of fun. Have you been enjoying being a part of the show so far?

Ally Walker: I have. I really like it. I love the character I play. I think the writing is really spot on and good and I love the people I work with, like A Martinez, who I've known for... well, since the beginning of my career! It's really nice, so yeah, I'm having a good time.

soapcentral.com: Have you and A Martinez seen much of each other at all since 1988, when you were both on Santa Barbara together, and since the mid-90s, when you were on Profiler, or has this been a big reunion for you two?

Walker: Well I've been doing this for so long and so has A. We reunited on Profiler -- he played my boyfriend for the first year and half and that was really fantastic. He's one of the most soulful, beautiful men I have ever met and in the business it can be kind of rare sometimes. He's just a great guy. He's a phenomenal actor and really handsome and just really, he's a great person and I love working with him. Nothing but good. And you know he and Marcy Walker [ex-Eden Castillo, SB; ex-Liza Colby, All My Children] inspired me to learn the moral craft of acting. They worked really hard on it, on the soap opera. I watched them work really hard, and they were inspirational in my life.

soapcentral.com: I actually find it really cool that this is the third project you and A have done together because I don't think that happens very often in the TV acting world, maybe in movies because you see big movie stars together all the time, but I think it's really unique that you've been able to work with him in three different areas.

Walker: Yeah, it's really kind of crazy actually, and I think it [cough, cough] shows how old we are. [laughs] But I think it's because the kind of work we like to do. I really love stories about people and so does A. And I think there is just sort of this soulful quality again, you know, when he is involved with a project and I think that maybe speaks to me, as well. It's been a lovely third reunion. He's just a really good actor and really good person. And that's what really makes a difference when you are on set. I've worked with really fine actors and some not so fine actors and... it's not up to me. The thing that makes a show really good is chemistry between performers and the kindness and ability to get past your ego and actually do the work and enjoy it and not make it about who you are but to tell a story. And I think that this group of actors -- like A, Lou [Diamond Phillips] and all of them really, just make it that way. So, it's nice to be there.

soapcentral.com: What have you found to be the best thing about playing Donna?

Walker: That she was funny. That she was snappy and funny. When I did Profiler, we sort of like, you know, ‘Now you are queen of darkness after coming out with Moon over Miami,' which was just kind of a spit fire like Carole Lombard roll that I really enjoyed playing and when I read this, the reason I actually wanted to do it was because she was funny and quick and quirky, and she wasn't your typical, ‘I'm a doctor and this is serious.' She is very kind of quirky, and I love quirk. I think quirk is much more fun to play.

soapcentral.com: I noticed on your IMBd page that you've actually played a lot of doctors over the years. Have you realized that?

Walker: Well, I played Dr. Waters [on Profiler], who was a forensic psychologist. I played a psychiatrist in this little creepy horror film when I did that for a friend of mine. I don't know, what else?

soapcentral.com: Well Longmire, of course, and then on Mischief Night, Law and Order, South Land, and The Pretender. They all have Dr. listed in front of your characters.

Walker: Oh my God, that's right. Well let's just say it: I seem like a doctor. ‘Get on the table. Would you like me to talk to you about your issues right now?' Haha, I'm sorry. Well a lot of roles for women, especially if you're, well... I tend not to get the sexy babe, you know, ‘Ooh ooh, oh help me, boo hoo' roles, unfortunately. I tended to get funny, kind of odd, or smart. And of course we know I am not smart! [laughs] But they've all been fun.

soapcentral.com: Do you think that your Santa Barbara fans will see any elements of Andrea in Donna, or are they totally different?

Walker: Oh my God, that was so long ago. I think when you get a part you run it through the instrument, which is yourself, so you'll see some stuff probably, but no, it's not like that, I don't think. Well maybe. Nah. Andrea Bedford was really subversive and was a spy and this is not like that.

soapcentral.com: Do you ever still get recognized from your Santa Barbra days by fans or other people in the business?

Walker: Constantly. Constantly, constantly. People really, really, really, remember. Soap fans are the best fans because they just don't forget you and they are really kind and really giving and they always remember. It's sad for me to see so many soaps go away because I think people are looking at reality shows, real life drama, as more entertaining. It just really bums me out because I love the soaps. I [think] they are fantastic, fun, and funny and great training grounds. But yeah, I get recognized a lot.

soapcentral.com: It's nice that you don't look back on your soap days as an embarrassment. I think some actors do. They're like "Oh God." It's something that does stay with you for the rest of your career, and it doesn't matter how big you get, people are still going to mention your time on Santa Barbra.

Walker: I don't think it hurt Meg Ryan [ex-Betsy Stewart, As the World Turns]. I don't think it hurt Julianne Moore [ex-Frannie Hughes, ATWT]. I don't think it hurt anybody. You know, acting is acting. It's just where you choose to do it. At the end of the day, it's just acting no matter what anybody says, and I don't listen to that garbage, you know.

soapcentral.com: What do you think were some of the most valuable lessons you took away from your time on Santa Barbra? Because it was your first major acting job right?

Walker: Yeah. Yeah. It was the importance of having a very strong work ethic, which [is what I learned from watching] Marcy Walker, A Martinez, and Judith [McConnel, ex-Sophia Capwell]. It was this strong work ethic. You got twenty pages a night and you had to go the next day and do it all and cry on cue and you had to do things that were sometimes outlandish and you had to make them believable. The kicker I felt on Santa Barbara was things were stressed to always be like ‘We don't want to do arch stuff ,' even though they did so some arch stuff. But it was more grounded in reality, grounded in the story, in a story that is believable and good. I really became enamored in some techniques and what to do and what helped me on the set because I was like a sponge. Here I was with all these really talented, fun actors and some people who were doing it for a really long time. And to be a new person in that situation is always scary, so it gave me a very strong work ethic. I worked really hard at my craft and I worked very hard to be better.

soapcentral.com: I know it was a long time ago, but when you think back on that time in your life, are there any scenes or story lines you are really proud of?

Walker: You know what I remember? I'll tell you what I remember. I don't remember the storylines as much because I played so many characters over the last 27 years, but I remember the people, and I remember Robin Wright [ex-Kelly Perkins] running down the hall and laughing and what's his name? I can't remember his name, but he was chasing her. I remember sitting and having lunch with Marcy and A and laughing and working the script out. Those are the things I remember, the people, because at the end, that's all you really got, you know. And those people meant a lot to me. They really helped me gain confidence, and it was after that job that I was like, ‘I am going to do this with my life. I'm not going back to science. I'm not going back to med school. This is what I am going to do.' And that was a wonderful time. It was a wonderful time.

soapcentral.com: You were planning on going to med school? See, the reason you got all those doctor roles!

Walker: Yes. I have a degree in the sciences and I was seen actually in LA at a dinner and was asked to try out for a movie, and I got it.

soapcentral.com: What? Seriously?

Walker: Yes, and I did it on a fluke, you know? I came down, my boyfriend was an actor, and I was seen in a restaurant. The producer approached me. You know, I was a pretty girl. I wouldn't say I was a beauty, but I was, you know. And I said ‘Yeah right,' and he said, ‘No, no I am really doing this.' So I said sure and I think you can see me running down a hall or something. They cut most of me out, but I was really fascinated with it. I was just fascinated doing it. It was so fun. I had done a lot of that in school when I was little. And then what did I do? I applied to UCLA. I was trying to get into the med school there because I thought I better take this seriously and then I got seen and started modeling. That led to a commercial and I thought, you know, I'm just going to try it. So I started auditioning, and after I got a couple of commercials, I got Santa Barbara.

soapcentral.com: Wow. That is one of those Hollywood dream stories.

Walker: Yeah. Lana Turner. It was amazing actually. It was just like one moment in a restaurant and my whole life changed. And I'll tell you, it was crazy because you know my son is eighteen, and he's gone off to college, and the one thing I try to tell him is, ‘Do what you love. Just don't waste time. Do what you love because that will serve you.' There will always be rough patches. I just directed my first feature film. I wrote and directed Sex, Death and Bowling that is just coming out on November 6th... and I loved writing it and I got a great cast and I loved doing it. I'm sure it won't have a major premier, MGM or anything, but it's been a really wonderful trip you know? It's staring Adrian Grenier, Selma Blair, Baily Chase -- who was on Longmire, which is how I got acquainted Longmire -- Mary Lynn Rajskub, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Drea de Matteo, Melora Walters. It's an amazing cast. It's really an amazing cast. And it's a good film, if I do say so myself.

soapcentral.com: Of course you would! But I'm sure it is. Do you have a website for the movie so fans can get more information?

Walker: Yeah, go to Facebook and Twitter.

soapcentral.com: If one of the remaining four network soap operas was interested in casting you for a role, would you consider that?

Walker: Yeah, look: I never say never. I learned that a long time ago. I never say never. I really do look at writing and the role. I really do look at that and my life and where I'm at in my life. I didn't work a lot the last few years -- like five, six years. I did a couple roles but not much because I have kids. I think soaps are pretty demanding. You usually go every day. But yeah, I'm not really snobbish -- as you can tell from my resume. I feel like yeah, I'd do that. It's really about material to me and if it's fun, it's fun. So, there you go.

soapcentral.com: Well the good thing about soaps is that they are pretty steady and they film in town, whereas Longmire is filmed in New Mexico, right? Which takes you away from your kids.

Walker: Well it does and it doesn't. I grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. My mom is there and my sister is there with her family. That was a big part of me wanting to be there. I may buy another home in Santa Fe. I'm actually looking at one because I really like Santa Fe. I was there as a kid. I went to school there, I went to school there with Tom Ford. We went to school together for two years and that's who Adrian Grenier's character is based on [in Sex, Death and Bowling]. So you know, I just consider that to be my home, definitely. That was a big part of why I wanted to be there. That's why I said, ‘Yeah, I'll do it.'

soapcentral.com: Well, your fans are glad you took the role, for sure. Is there anything else you want to add about Longmire or Santa Barbra or anything else maybe I didn't ask about?

Walker: I love working for Netflix. I think they are great. It's not actually this kind of train you get on, you know, this bulldozing into a wall, where it's ‘You have to do it, you have to work 20-hour days, and we have to get this out there quickly." It's still life. They treat people really well and I really have enjoyed it. And I actually like watching TV that way. I like the stacking. And... the movies seem to be -- for people in my age range -- seem to be disappearing, and you can find those on Netflix. You can go and watch a series on Netflix and it's great. They are about people. It's really smart. They are really smart. And I've had a fantastic time.

Are you a fan of Longmire? What has it been like to see Walker and Martinez reunite? Would you like to see Walker make a return to daytime? Could you see her fitting into Days of our Lives' Salem? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.

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