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!
ABC/Ricky Middlesworth
Outstanding Lead Actress
Cynthia Watros (Nina, General Hospital)
Congrats on the nomination. What does something like this mean to you?
“It’s a wonderful, amazing surprise. We all go into this trying to act with our soul, especially when you have a character who is constantly in this emotional rollercoaster, you don’t just say the words, you act it with your body and soul, and you try to do the best you can every day. So, when you get something like this, it’s really lovely and an amazing gift, but in all honesty, it doesn’t change your life much. You still go to work, you still do your job, you still respect these amazing actors you work with. It’s just a nice day. I get to put on a fancy dress and have a reall nice dinner and I’m looking forward to it.”
How did you find out you were nominated?
“I did not know it was going to be an early announcement, but I have some friends who were on social media and they texted me ‘congratulations,’ but I didn’t quite believe it, but then [GH executive producer] Frank Valentini called and I know when he calls, there’s some news. So, he first told me.”
Any thoughts on your fellow nominees?
“It’s such a lovely thing to be acknowledged like that, and the other women in this category, I’m stunned by their talent, including my cast mate, Finola [Hughes, Anna]. I’m just very honored to be part of this amazing group of women. I think all the women in this category do an amazing job. This is such a hard medium to work, everyone deserves one of these fancy awards.”
Nina had an exciting year. What can you tell me about the scenes you submitted for consideration?
“It wasn’t very long, maybe seven to eight minutes. Nina had a rollercoaster ride with finding out about her daughter, and then her daughter was sick the whole year, so I put in some scenes where she finds out in the chapel—with Laura Wright [Carly], who was amazing in those scenes—that Willow was my daughter and she was almost going to die. I also put in something where I was in the confessional with Cyrus, pretending to be a priest, and I was just talking to God, and how I’m a liar and weak and I need help.”
Do you know who you will be bringing with you to the awards ceremony?
“Last time, I brought my boyfriend, and I think I will bring him again, but I have heard some rumblings that my daughter wants to go, so I might bring both of them.”
Will you plan something to say ahead of time in case you win, or do you prefer to wing it and see what comes?
“I’m a wing-it because I come from a place of just wanting to enjoy the people around me and the night, and not expect anything except maybe a nice dinner. So, I don’t foresee me rehearsing any sort of speech.”
Looking at all your congratulatory messages and texts, were there any that stood out to you or hit you hard in a good way?
“It’s not necessarily related to being nominated for an Emmy, but Nina is a very flawed character and she makes a lot of mistakes, but she does have a really big heart. But it’s easy to really hate her. But I read a couple of posts on social media that say things like, ‘I can understand Nina because I also make mistakes, and I can understand her humanity. She’s not perfect and she falls, but she’s resilient and gets back up.’ Those stick in my head because that’s what I want to convey. Nina may go to the extremes and it might be hyperbole, but it’s all about trying to learn from your mistakes and getting back up. I am so appreciative of those posts. Nina has a lot of amazing qualities that I love playing.”
