The 51st ANNUAL DAYTIME EMMY AWARDS will be held on Friday, June 7, with the ceremony airing live on CBS starting at 8 p.m. ET. Soap Opera Digest chatted with the nominees to get the scoop on how they found out, what episodes they submitted, and more as we count down to daytime’s biggest night!
Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
Outstanding Supporting Actress
Allison Lanier (Summer, Young and Restless)
What did you submit?
“I submitted a couple of different beats for Summer. There was the night when she found out that Phyllis — her mom died and then she went and sort of raged against Diane and just the mix of grief and anger in those moments. I had a couple of scenes from that time, and then I had some scenes where Summer found out her mom was alive. The shock and the relief from all of that, but also the just complete and utter, she did not know what to do with that information. So I had some scenes with Michelle Stafford [Phyllis] and [Michael] Graziadei [Daniel] that day, and then also Kyle and Summer agreeing to divorce.”
How did you find out you were nominated?
“I was working that morning. I was on set. I just wasn’t thinking about the nominations at all because I was first of all focusing on the scenes that I had to do, and I also just didn’t really think that I would be in the running to be nominated. I was excited to hear the nominations just to hear who from the show was going to be nominated, but I didn’t think it was going to be me. So once my scenes finished, I saw Josh Griffith out of the corner of my eye and I was like, what is he doing here on set, not thinking anything of it. And then he was approaching me with a smile on his face and I was just like, no way — [it] hit me. But I was just in shock. And so they announced it to me there on set, which was really, really lovely to be among my fellow actors and all the crew for that.”
Did any of the messages that you received stand out?
“Honestly, just the overwhelming response as a whole really affected me. And I am not going to lie, I’ve never won or been nominated for anything in my entire life. I wasn’t a kid that did sports or anything like that. So it’s just such a brand new feeling to me. And it just felt so nice to get so much support from the fans as well as my community and my friends and my family.”
Did you do anything to celebrate?
“I didn’t do anything too crazy. We had a little group hang with a couple of us over at The Grove when I got off of work that day. Michelle Stafford was there, Bryton [James, Devon] was there [and] Courtney [Hope, Sally] was there. And then afterward, I went over to my friend’s house in Altadena and rode four-wheelers and drank margaritas.”
What does the nomination mean to you?
“It’s actually the first year I’ve submitted. So it’s really exciting. It means so much to me. I feel so grateful to even be on the show and get to do what I love amongst people who are so talented and kind. It’s just such an amazing environment to be in, and that’s such a gift in and of itself. And then to be nominated for something like this by my peers, it’s a dream come true.”
Will anyone in your family be attending?
“Yes, my mother. My mother, she’s going to come….and from Georgia. It’ll be really fun.”
Any thoughts on your fellow nominees in the category?
“Yes. I’m honestly so honored to be nominated with all of them. I know I’m familiar with all of their names and I’m excited to watch more of their work and get to know them better. On a personal level, I hope we get a chance to spend some time together. I know that everybody in this category is incredibly talented, so it’s just such an honor for me to be among them. It really is.”
Are you a “prepare a speech” or wing it kind of person?
“Oh God. Well, like I said, I’ve literally never been nominated for anything in my entire life, so I’ve never had to think about that. I’m going to say I’m like a wing it, maybe a wing it, maybe have somewhat of an idea just so you don’t totally make a fool out of yourself on the off chance you do get called up there — but off the cuff.”
Will you bring a lucky charm?
I think bringing my mom will be enough of a lucky charm.”
How do you feel about Y&R’s other nominations?
“It’s so exciting. I mean, everybody on our cast and crew is so hardworking and they’re so deserving. I am super proud to be on this show and I’m proud of the product that we put out. So I cannot wait to celebrate with everybody and have such a great time. I think that everybody who’s nominated is very deserving. We all have so much fun together. We really do. So it’s going to be a good time.”
