The stars checked in with Digest today to talk about their Emmy nominations. 
“I woke up late because after having a new baby, I get no sleep,” said Christel Khalil Hensley (Lily, Y&R). “So I woke up with six voicemails and the first one I heard said, ‘Congrats,’ and then I heard the rest. I was so excited. The previous two years I was pre-nominated, I knew I wouldn’t be nominated, but this year I wasn’t sure. So to find out I was was very exciting.”
“I’m in great company,” said Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, Y&R). “Get this: I texted congratulations to Crystal [Chappell, Carly, DAYS; ex-Olivia, GL] and Maura [West, Carly, ATWT] because I have their phone numbers; I tweeted Sarah [Brown, Aggie, B&B; ex-Claudia, GH] and I Facebooked Bobbie [Eakes, Krystal, AMC]. How funny is that?”
“After a long night of, well, ‘celebrating life,’ I took the liberty of attempting to sleep in, only to wake up to my agent’s call,” said Billy Miller (Billy, Y&R). “I answered half asleep and assuring them that a) I was not in jail b) I didn’t do anything more stupid than ordinary, and c.) whatever you heard, it wasn’t me. Then, of course, they delivered the good news. I must admit I am pleasantly surprised and very honored. By 9 a.m., I found it odd my mom didn’t call, so I reached out to her. She told me she didn’t think I got a nom because my name wasn’t announced in the a.m. broadcast. So, I delivered the news, at which time she said ‘THAT’S GREAT! Good-bye, I have to brag to people now.’ Then she hung up on me.”
The stars checked in with Digest today to talk about their Emmy nominations. “I am thrilled,” exults Bobbie Eakes (Krystal, AMC) of her second Lead Actress nomination. “I can’t hide it! I’m floating around!” She got the good news by text from Robin Kaiser, Emmy-nominated makeup artist from AMC, who remained in New York. “It was 6:30 and I was on my way into hair and makeup and I called her and said, ‘For real? Am I getting PUNK’d?’ But then Ricky and [EP] Julie Carruthers called and congratulations started pouring in on Facebook. It’s fun! And the women I’m nominated with, I mean, my goodness, what an amazing group. That was the first thing I said to Ricky when he told me who else was honored: ‘Wow. I’m really in great company.'”
“I’m speechless, which is rare for me,” chuckles Ricky Paull Goldin (Jake, AMC), who got word of his nod via an early morning congratulatory call from girlfriend Gretta Monahan. “From the bottom of my heart, I didn’t expect this at all…. It’s very cool to be nominated with Billy Miller, who is one of my favorite actors. I’m thrilled for Bobbie, who is so understated and real, and very happy for the show; I think it deserves the attention.” As for the attention he got at work, he reports, “I came in to cards and flowers and gifts and our executive producer, Julie, is out shopping for a new car for me right now — in my fantasy world!” And he’s looking forward to the ceremony’s Vegas locale. “All I can say is, I hope no one has to shoot that next Monday!”
“My publicist called me at 5:30 this morning,” reports Crystal Chappell (Carly, DAYS; ex-Olivia, GL), who received her sixth nomination. “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s wonderful. I’m going back to sleep.’ It’s really wonderful, for obvious reasons. GUIDING LIGHT isn’t here anymore, so I am so happy to be able to represent them. It just means a lot. It means a lot to the whole cast.” 
“I got an e-mail from someone saying congratulations and I thought it was a joke,” admits first-timer Shelley Hennig (Stephanie, DAYS). “I was thinking it was a really mean prank, ’cause I was just halfway sleeping, and then the publicist called to tell me that it was true. I’m honored and actually really surprised and happy.”
“I was shocked,” says first-time nominee Molly Burnett (Melanie, DAYS). “I submitted a simple scene with Maggie and Nathan and it’s just really simple acting and I didn’t really think that I would get nominated! But I’m so excited and so thankful.”
“I’m very surprised and excited,” smiles three-time winner Jonathan Jackson (Lucky, GH). “I’m in a different category this time around with some really amazing actors, and I’m thrilled to be standing side-by-side with [co-star] Bradford Anderson [Spinelli]. He’s an amazing talent. It’s really been a whirlwind.”
“I’m thrilled beyond belief,” notes GH’s Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) on his second consecutive nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor. “I love the Daytime Emmys because they’re such a such a celebration of, ‘Hey we’re still here and hey we do good work,’ and when they’re in New York of L.A., someone’s always home and someone’s always out of town. This way, everyone’s out of town, and where better to celebrate than in Las Vegas.”
“It was a very happy kind of surprised,” says Jon Lindstrom (Craig, ATWT). “A lot of friends from the West Coast have called me and I’m answering a lot of texts and e-mails. As for sizing up his competition, “I’ve always been competitive with Michael [Park, Michael],” he grins. 
“My day couldn’t be going too much better,” chuckles first time nominee Drew Garrett (ex-Michael,GH) for Outstanding Younger Actor. “I didn’t mind at all waking up much earlier than usual to a bunch of congratulatory calls and e-mails and texts. The first call came at 6 a.m. from family on the East coast, completely oblivious to the time change [laughs]. I haven’t told my mom yet. She’s going to be excited.” Garrett was let go by GH in April and replaced by Chad Duell when the show decided to “go in another direction.” “It’s really given me a great sense of closure,” Garrett nods.
Second-time Supporting Actress nominee Bree Williamson (Jessica, OLTL) was actually on the air when she found out, since she was announcing the Outstanding Show, Actor and Actress categories on THE EARLY SHOW. “It was live, which makes it even better. I was really surprised. I know it sounds stupid and everybody says this but I really didn’t expect it this year,” she demurs. “Erika [Slezak, Viki] was on the tape with me and she was amazing; I thought that she was better than me so I was like, ‘If she didn’t get nominated, there’s no hope for me.’ She’s amazing; me getting nominated has to do with her.”
“I only got three hours of sleep last night because I didn’t expect to get woken up at 6:15,” says Zack Conroy (Oliver, B&B, who was recognized as GL’s James). “My agent called with the news and it was awesome. And then I went back to sleep.”
