The 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be held on Friday, Dec. 15, with the ceremony airing live on CBS starting at 9 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!
Outstanding Younger Performer
Eden McCoy (Josslyn, GENERAL HOSPITAL)
ABC/Ricky Middlesworth
How did you find out about your nomination? “I was on set filming scenes with Chad [Duell, Michael]. We were halfway through our first batch in the morning and Frank [Valentini, executive producer] and one of our producers came down and stopped us and Frank said, ‘Oh, Eden, have you ever been nominated for an Emmy?’ And I was like, ‘Yes.’ And he was like, ‘Oh, well, it just happened again. And Chad, you too.’ And it was really funny because Chad was so surprised; it was just cute to see him be so excited. It was so just nice to share a special moment with him and I was so excited for him.”
Did you do anything to celebrate? “I was working every day that week, so I couldn’t go too crazy, but I had a lovely Italian meal to celebrate that night.”
Because of the age cut-off in this category, you could only submit scenes that you shot before you turned 19, is that correct? “Yes, everything I submitted, I filmed when I was 18. When you’re putting together a reel, it’s always interesting to go back in time, but it felt like I was submitting things from, like, another life! Everything that I submitted seemed very old to me, but it was cool to walk down memory lane.”
What did you end up picking for your reel? “I chose the scene on the kitchen floor, talking about the sex tape getting out. I have some scenes with Avery Pohl [Esme], this kind of fighting a bit, and some courtroom scenes from Trina’s trial.”
What were you looking for when it came to figuring out your Emmy look? “I just knew I wanted it to be simple and to be comfortable, much different than previous years. I’ve been looking back at those red carpet photos and I’m like, ‘Wow, what was going on?!’ Hopefully, I’ll be a little more ‘me’ this year.”
Is it nerve-wracking sitting in the audience waiting for your category to be called? “For sure! But honestly, the whole thing is so exciting. I have so much fun on the red carpet, I have so much fun socializing. My favorite part is to get together with people from other shows that I know. So, it already feels like a celebration, win or lose. Just being nominated is a win; just to be recognized for your work is a win. I’ll be happy if I win and I’ll be super-happy for somebody else if I don’t. I’m super-proud of everybody in my category. It’s interesting now to be the oldest person in the category — I used to be the youngest!”
Is there anything about Emmy night that you don’t tend to enjoy? “Honestly, no. I love it all! I love hearing all the categories, not just my own. What I’m honestly most excited for is seeing how the categories that I judged unravel. I feel very invested in how that will turn out, and it’s cool to think I might have played a small role in someone else’s success that night.”
Have you given thought to what you might say in an acceptance speech if you were to win? “I haven’t thought about it too much. I mean, I have the obvious people to thank, of course, but I think there’s something really special about the spontaneity of it all. I wouldn’t want to be too prepared.”
