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Interview!

ICYMI Marci Miller and Camila Banus Interview

"Days of our Lives" Set
Marci Miller, Camila Banus "Days of our Lives" Set NBC Studios Burbank 02/13/17 © XJjohnson/jpistudios.com 310-657-9661 Credit: JPI

Digest: What do you remember about your first meeting?

Camila Banus: It was in the makeup room. I felt like I already knew a little bit about Marci because we had been talking about her. After the auditions, we were like, “Who’s the best one? What’s her name? We’ve got to look her up on IMDb.com.” They said, “Marci Miller.” I was like, “That’s such a good name.” Then, I looked her up. Sure enough, Marci Miller ended up on the schedule. I was like, “Oh, my God! The one with the name.”

Marci Miller: It’s so funny to hear that perspective. I walked in thinking I was some pipsqueak that nobody had ever heard of or knew what I looked like.

Banus: We definitely looked you up, and we were definitely impressed. Even more when you showed up, baby girl.

Digest: Did you immediately sense you would become friends?

Miller: I picked up on a good energy from Camila right away. I felt I could trust her to help me figure things out and understand what was an appropriate way to conduct myself. In a lot of ways, she’s taken me under her wing. When we did The Hollywood Christmas Parade, there were all these interviews. I felt like a total dum-dum and was super-nervous. Camila reached out, grabbed my hand, and pulled me over to her. I ended up following her all over for the interviews. I’d never been more grateful for a human being in my entire life.

Banus: I appreciate that.

Miller (to Banus): Your name gets tossed around my house a lot. I feel I learn a lot from you just about confidence and trusting myself and about the work and what’s important.

Banus: When Marci first started working, her name came out of my mouth so much. My boyfriend, Marlon, was like, “Who is this girl? She seems too nice to be real.” It’s funny what Marci said about energy. You pick that up with people right off the bat. You see honesty. You see kindness. You see love coming out of their pores. The more I got to know Marci, I was like, “She is amazing. She’s an angel.” Honestly, she just has the biggest heart. Everything about her is so wonderful. I wanted to be part of that, so I reached out to her. “If you need anything … If you have a question that you think is silly … If you want snacks, I’ve got snacks.” I wanted her to be part of my people.

Digest: Snacks? Camila, are you the resident human vending machine?

Miller: Camila has got everything you need for any occasion, any time. What do you have in there right now?

Banus: I definitely like to be hospitable. I’m a Cancer. I have some palmier cookies. I’ve got oatmeal. I’ve got Pringles. I’ve got Gatorade. And I’ve got candy. Lots of candy. I love to feed people. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I bring a lot of food items in as a surprise. Sometimes my timing is bad. My Porto’s [legendary Burbank, CA bakery] pastries will be out there for the longest time before people actually get to them. It’s sad.

Miller: But we get to them! Camila is super-generous. She’s always the person who brings in sweets. She brought in cards for Christmas and gave me the most beautiful little earrings. For Valentine’s Day she brought me a candle. She’s really good at loving people in a physical way. She brings things in for everybody. She’s really good at communicating affection.

Digest: Is there anything that one of you is into that you’ve turned the other one on to?

Banus: Marci has turned me on to shopping more at Goodwill. I freakin’ love it. 

Miller: Oh, I love that. I’m proud of that.

Banus: I’m a little bit addicted. Every time I pass by Goodwill, I have to stop and check it out. I was at one in Granada Hills and found this wicker table that I love. It is the most amazing purchase ever. Now I keep going back and finding more things. I’m obsessed with it.

Digest: Marci, is there anything you’ve picked up from Camila?

Miller: Honestly, this may sound crazy, but self-confidence. Camila knows who she is and is not afraid of sharing it with the world. I’ve always been a little bit shy. I remember coming home and talking to Ryan, my husband, after work one day a couple of months in. I said, “Camila has such a great understanding of who she is and what she has to offer, and she does it in a way that’s really beautiful and humble.” That’s something that I’ve [learned from her]. Even the way I’ve started to post on social media and trying to get hip with doing some photo shoots, playing with that, and being open … that’s been a huge life lesson. My New Year’s resolution was stepping into my power, and that all was a derivative of observing Camila. I’ve never told her that.

Banus: Ahhhhh, my heart is melting. Thank you, Marci. That’s so sweet.

Digest: Have you had a chance to get together with your significant others?

Banus: That’s what we’ve been trying to plan, a game night.

Miller: We’ve always been minus one. I hung out with Camila and Marlon, but Ryan couldn’t make it. Then, Camila and I were at the play and Ryan was there, but Marlon couldn’t make it. We should try to play poker on a Thursday night or something. It will happen.

Digest: Are you two poker buffs?

Banus: They both like poker, our guys.

Miller: I don’t play poker. I’d just be there for the food.

Banus: We did go out dancing one night.

Miller: It was after the last day of filming before the holiday break. That was so fun. We have to do that again.

Banus: We actually went out with my boyfriend and Casey Moss [JJ]. It was at a big dance place in Hollywood. We met up with Billy Flynn’s [Chad] wife, Gina, and Sal [Stowers, Lani]. It was a really awesome night.

Digest: What’s it like playing in a triangle with Billy when you two are such great friends?

Banus: It’s been super-fun. Sometimes, we may have to do a scene where we have to be angry with each other or a little tense. But the minute they say cut, Marci’s laughing and I’m laughing.

Miller: I agree. I really enjoy it. In this genre, there are lots of last-minute changes. There was one day where they gave us 15 pages of new dialogue the night before. There we were trying to do all of this stuff together in one take. I remember thinking, “I’m so glad this is Camila, because she really cares about the work and wants to do a good job.” It’s super-fun to ride that roller coaster with Camila. We get to explore so many things because of that triangle.

Digest: Who do you think is the better match for Chad?

Banus: Abigail, for sure.

Miller: I agree.

Banus: First of all, she’s his wife. Also, Chad has threatened to kill Gabi and hurt her family in the past. He has seen Gabi go bonkers and turn into a different person because of him. It’s definitely not a good thing for Gabi and Chad to be together.

Miller: Chad and Abby are soul mates. Regardless of the circumstances around them, there’s this undeniable love and affection and connection that they have together. It’s almost like they can’t do anything about it.

Digest: Does Billy ever feel like the odd man out in scenes with the two of you because you’re so close?

Miller: I could see him feeling like that, maybe, but I don’t think so.

Banus: Billy is very opinionated and he’s got a strong character, so when he makes his presence [felt] in the room, he definitely does not feel left out. If anything, he incorporates himself in our friendship. He’s very there and present.

Digest: How do you each tackle working with Billy?

Miller: How do you work with him, Camila? I don’t think we’ve ever talked about that.

Banus: I try to keep it professional, but Billy likes to joke around a lot. He works a lot like Galen [Gering, Rafe]. Sometimes it’s hard to work like that because you’re literally laughing and trying to keep it together seconds before you’re about to do a dramatic scene or be mad at that person or be sexy with that person. It’s interesting. It keeps it different. It keeps it light.

Miller: Billy is amazing. It’s funny how people are able to work differently. He’s able to do that and still produce something that’s incredible and really great. I agree, Camila. I find that I have to focus a little bit more just to keep myself in the right place. Sometimes I’ll kind of pinch his elbow and I’ll literally say, “I love you, but I’ve got to work. Reel it in a little.” And if I say something like that, he will.

Digest: Do you watch each other’s scenes with Billy?

Miller: I try not to miss anything that either one of them does. It has less to do with watching the Gabi and Chad storyline and more to do with watching Camila and Billy work.

Banus: I watch their scenes, too, because I want to watch Marci’s performance as Abigail and Billy play Chad. I’m literally watching to learn from them and to grow, as well.

Digest: Anything you want to add about your friendship or working together?

Banus: I’ll take it back to that day we got 15 more pages of dialogue the night before. That was a really bad day for me, and I had a lot of emotional stuff. I was feeling really frustrated and down on myself. I was getting to a place where I was not being rational and having a minor anxiety attack. Having Marci there made me calm down a lot. I broke down on camera and cried. I let it out and it was okay because it was with Marci.

Miller: I remember that day. [To Banus] You wound up producing something that was so lovely and so honest. I have been so grateful to you from day one for the way you welcomed me with open arms. I needed that. I was scared. I was nervous. I wanted people to like me. I don’t know if you just sensed that or that’s just naturally who you are. It’s probably both.

Banus: Thank you. I love you, girl.

Miller: I love you, too.

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