Maura West has been on As the World Turns forever. Or at least since 1995.

The actress recently gave an interview about both her background and life in the show. Here are highlights from it:

What got you interested in acting?
Well, it's sort of hard to explain. In my memory it's always been there; it's always what I wanted to do. I suppose you could compare it to how a little kid knows they want to be a firefighter, or a doctor. It chose me.

About how many hours would you say you work per day? Per week?
We have different filming sessions. Sometimes, someone will come in for the morning session and leave, or only have an afternoon session. However, there are times when you have to come in for all the sessions; starting at seven in the morning to around 6:30 to 7 p.m. It really does vary.

How do they tape the shows; in snippets for example?
They tape the shows by sets. Each day there are many different sets, around six or seven, and numerous scenes, around 24, as well. Believe it or not, we shoot an entire episode, sometimes even a little more than that, in one day. Also, the episodes are taped in advance, but just enough ahead so they can go back and make changes such as editing.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.