Laura Leighton Says Producers Were ‘Disappointed’ She ‘Wasn’t Actually a Wackadoo’ Like Her Melrose Place Character

Laura Leighton made her mark on Melrose Place as Sydney — but she might have left too much of a lasting impression.

On the Jan. 6 episode of the Still Here Hollywood Podcast with Steve Kmetko, the 56-year-old opened up about how her breakout role as Sydney Andrews on Melrose Place ended up boxing her in later in her career — and even affected her personal life.

She remembered that years ago, her husband and Melrose Place costar Doug Savant had ankle surgery. The nurse was afraid Leighton would “hurt him” because of her character. “Like, she was so confused on reality versus the character that I played, and it was so funny to us,” Leighton said. “But people really bought it. People really bought me as Sydney, I guess.”

Leighton said it was “gratifying” in a way, because “what I set out to do is be convincing as that character, and I knew that I wasn’t actually that character. So being able to be so different or and separate from it, that is something I feel proud of,” she said.

“It’s also something you end up having to fight for in a weird way,” she explained. “Like, I remember on the other hand after Melrose having meetings with people who were interested in, you know, a project or whatever. And coming out of that meeting, I would hear from my agents that people were disappointed because I wasn’t actually a wackadoo like Sydney.”

“They were like, you know, we were expecting Sydney, and it was just, like, a normal person,” she remembered. “And I thought, oh, that’s weird. I don’t know that I need to go into meetings and act a certain way … I can play other characters, but some people don’t have that imagination, I guess.”

Leighton’s role as Sydney was her first major acting job. She began as a guest star in season 1 and became a full-time cast member over time. She appeared in 125 episodes from 1993 to 1997 and caused lots of mischief and mayhem on the nighttime soap. In 1994, she and her costars Heather Locklear and Andrew Shue shared a PEOPLE cover.

Even though the show has been off the air since 1999, Leighton said the series is still “top of mind” for people, and strangers often recognize her for it.

Leighton also reflected on the challenge of aging in Hollywood. “It’s a different business for middle-aged women than it is for someone in their 20s,” she said. But the Pretty Little Liars alumna noted that her career “drive” is also different now.

“I had a lot of enthusiasm for being that actor when I was in my 20s, and now I just want to make a living and have a nice life and support a family,” she said. “The reasons for what I want have changed, and how I look at things. But it’s definitely the opportunities are fewer and far between.”

In July, Leighton and her Melrose Place costars Courtney Thorne-Smith and Daphne Zuniga launched their own rewatch podcast, Still the Place, for the series. Leighton told PEOPLE at the time, “We have the fun of having a show in the ’90s — which was such an iconic decade, anyway — and so we’re watching it, talking about it and talking about how much hairspray there was and the outfits.” A series revival is also in development.