DAYS Exclusive: Victoria Konefal on Ciara’s ‘Overwhelming’ Reunion With Bo
One Big Happy Family: Victoria Konefal’s Ciara with her parents, Hope (Kristian Alfonso) and Bo (Peter Reckell).
Hope, Ciara and Shawn are thrilled when Bo finally comes out of his coma on Days of Our Lives and the Brady family is able to bask in the miraculous reunion they’ve all been praying for.
“There’s so much joy. It’s through the roof. It’s surreal, and I don’t think Ciara ever expected to feel that again,” says Victoria Konefal (Ciara) about her character’s reaction to the huge storyline moment. “It’s overwhelming and very emotional. It’s something that Ciara never thought that would happen. Her father’s been gone for a long time, and anytime he’s almost come back, it’s been like a pipe dream. It’s been dangled in front of her face [but hasn’t happened]. So for him to finally wake up is a dream come true.”
Points out Konefal, “This is a moment that none of them really expected to have.” With one notable exception, of course: “I think Hope never let go. She is a fighter. We all know that. So she had been, I almost want to say delusionary fighting for him, but Hope is never delusional. She was just manifesting magic, honestly. So yeah, the level of joy is through the roof. Everyone is so happy to have him back.”
In The Family Way
Konefal felt a lot of personal joy too, because it marked the first time she ever got to share real scenes opposite her DAYS dad, Peter Reckell (Bo). And, to hear her tell it, their rapport was instantaneous. The duo found their familial chemistry “immediately,” contends Konefal. “It was almost like I’d been playing Ciara from birth. Peter and I chatted before we got on set, and we’ve chatted a little bit throughout the years. I found it really natural to emote with Peter. It felt very [easy]. There was a lot of chemistry. It was easy for us to create that bond, that father-daughter rapport.”
However, mixed in with the happy on-screen family reunion and behind-the-scenes excitement, there was also some sadness: Hope, Ciara and Shawn had to delicately fill Bo in on what had transpired in Salem in the years that he was lost to them — namely, the deaths of Victor, his father, and Doug, his father-in-law.
“It’s a bittersweet moment, because we want to enjoy getting him back, and we’re seeing how happy he is to be awake,” recounts Konefal. “He’s asking about everyone with this childlike wonder and grin on his face. We kind of have this moment where we all look at each other and are like, ‘Oh no. Now we have to give him the bad news, and we have to break his heart.’ We’d like to focus on being happy and being there for each other, but he’s asking all these questions. In the first five minutes of getting Bo back, we had to absolutely crush his heart. It’s soul-crushing. It’s so bittersweet.”
Yet, they had some good news to share, too: Bo has two new grandchildren. To soften the blow of learning about Victor and Doug’s death, Ciara brought her children, Bo and Addie, in to meet their grandfather.
“That was an incredibly special moment, because it’s something Ciara had been dreaming about since she had her children,” smiles Konefal. “That’s something she talked about to Ben pretty frequently and to her kids about is how cool their grandfather was and how she really wished that her kids could have met him. And then they get to.” To finally watch Bo with his namesake grandson and adorable Addie, “It didn’t feel real to Ciara,” says the actress. “It almost felt too good to be true.”
Conversation
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