DAYS’s Ashley Puzemis on Holly’s Transformation and Tate Versus Doug
It was back in October 2023 that Ashley Puzemis made her Days of Our Lives debut as Holly Jonas, a bratty, self-centered teen who overdosed on drugs and let her boyfriend, Tate, take the fall for it. But over the year-plus in Salem, Puzemis has played out a shift in Holly, who has become more mature and less selfish. “I love the change, and I’m really glad that the fans do as well,” declares the actress.
About-Face
Given how Holly conducted herself when Puzemis first entered the Salem scene, the actress admits that she was nervous to come face to face with viewers. “When I went to the Day of DAYS event last year, I was a little nervous. I know at the start, a lot of the fans did not really like Holly because she was a brat. She was selfish and rude to her mom [Nicole]. She didn’t think about her actions at all. But I feel like she’s grown from everything [that she’s been through], and the fans seem to really like that. She started off as basically a kid on the show, and now that she’s an adult, finally, it’s really great to see that she’s maturing and kind of being sane now.”
Puzemis acknowledges that Holly’s early shenanigans weighed on her, particularly everything her character allowed to happen to Tate. “I felt so badly about that, but since then she’s changed,” notes Puzemis. “At Day of DAYS, so many of the fans were like, ‘We love Holly. We’re Team Holly.’ I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. That makes [me] so happy to hear.’ ”
Now that fans are more solidly in Holly’s corner, they’re also taking an increased interest in her love life. “Recently, I’ve been tagged a lot by the fans [in social media comments],” reports Puzemis. “It’s really divided, like 50/50, on if they want Holly and Tate to stay together or they want Holly and Doug [to become a couple].”
Prior to Holly and Tate’s recent split, Puzemis was “really curious” what fans’ reaction to their breakup would be and where the storyline turning point would eventually lead. “It kind of leaves that open door to Holly and Doug becoming something, which I’m not sure if it will or not,” muses the actress. Should the soap go in that direction, Puzemis recognizes that it very well could be a rebound relationship for Holly. “Kind of the same way Sophia was for Tate,” points out Puzemis. “And she might not even realize it.”
No matter what happens, Puzemis is interested to see how things progress for her newly single character, especially now that she’s not only fully acclimated to Holly, but also the daytime medium as a whole. “I feel like I just get more comfortable with all of it each day,” explains Puzemis. “I’m more used to the character, and I trust my instincts better, which at first [I didn’t]. I’d never been on a soap before, so I didn’t know how it worked with the filming style and memorizing the lines. All of it was a lot. I would say it took me a few months to really feel like I was the character and that I could improvise a little. Going through all the storylines has also made me feel more comfortable. Being on set and working with all these people has been like acting boot camp, honestly. You just get more familiar with everyone and your character, and you grow and get better each day.”
With that growth has come a desire to move onward with Holly as she explores new directions. “Honestly, I get excited when I receive new scripts and [they include scenes with] characters I haven’t worked with before, because for the longest time it would only be me, my mom, EJ and Tate,” Puzemis recounts with a laugh. “There’s that pattern where, with specific characters, you’ll have months when you’re with only them, because that’s what the storylines entail. When I first started venturing off working with other people, I was like, ‘You know, I’ve been kind of nervous, because I’m so used to working with…’ But then there was another week where [I] had scenes with Rob [Scott Wilson, Alex], and I was like, ‘Oh, this is fun. I’ve never worked with you. It’s cool to get to see how you work on set, because I’ve watched you on our monitors for the past two years. Now we’re actually getting to work together.’ Just being on the show in general, I’ve gotten way more comfortable with everyone.”
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