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 Supporting Actor
Nicholas Chavez (Spencer, GENERAL HOSPITAL)
ABC/Ricky Middlesworth
You won last year as Outstanding Younger Performer; this year, for the first time, you were eligible for Supporting. What did you think your chances were, just knowing that there would be a much larger pool of submissions? “I knew that Supporting is well-known to be one of the most competitive categories just because of the sheer number of entries. But ultimately, I was proud of the work that was done last year and more than anything, I was just really excited to share it and see what happens.”
Last year, you put together a reel for the first time. Did you learn any lessons that you could then apply this year? “Yeah! What I did is that any time I was particularly proud of my work in a scene, I just jotted down the air date and then a few lines from the scene in the notes section of my phone. And then, when it came time to do the reel, I just sort of visited what all of. Those points were, and then I kind of put them on a weighted scale of how good I thought they were. Like, ‘Oh, if I had to rate this one, it’s probably a seven, and if I had to rate this one compared to the other one, it’s probably a 10.’ And then, because I’m always in the interest of not wasting anyone’s time, if my reel can be shorter, I’d like it to be. Last year, I think it was around 10 minutes, and this year, we actually were very close to that 15-minute mark [the maximum length that is allowable], but my first pass-through was, like, 20 minutes, and it’s obviously against the rules if it goes over time. But I think that being able to refer to those notes was the main thing I did differently this year. Also, last year, [my reel] went in chronological order, but because this year, there was bouncing back and forth between Spring Ridge and [Trina’s] trial and then to Pentonville, when I cut it together, it was like, ‘Wait, he’s in prison, and now he’s on the stand [in the courtroom]?’ If someone didn’t know the story, it wouldn’t make sense, so I took a couple of pieces and put them out of order just so the story made a little more sense to someone who wasn’t familiar with it. And I was really happy with it at the end of the day.”
Where were you when you found out that you had made the cut? “So this is a really funny story. I had been out all night with my friends, and my friend Trinity and I decided, ‘Well, we’re up and it’s sunrise, so let’s just go to Griffith Observatory and see the sunrise!’ So, we did, and it was like the sun was coming through the fog — it was beautiful, like something out of a dream. I got home at eight in the morning and I knew the nominations were coming out and I was staring at my phone, trying to stay awake to see what the nominations were, but I was so dead-tired that I passed out. I woke up at, like, noon, with so many missed calls and notifications on my phone. The first one I saw was from my family. It was like, ‘Yay, you’re nominated again!’ And I was like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s amazing!’ Then I saw I had a missed call from Frank [Valentini], our executive producer. I called him back and he was very sweet and congratulatory and I think just happy for me, so that was really cool.”
What does this nomination mean to you? “It’s a nice affirmation that your creative and artistic process seems to be working for other people. That’s what it means to me. I talk about this pretty frequently, but I don’t think that any of the work that you do belongs to you. You know what I mean? I think that it comes from somewhere else, somewhere spiritual or whatever that is, and it just sort of goes through you, but you need to be able to have an instrument that is receptive to that, or is in tune with that kind of creative process. So I guess that it just affirms for me that other people are receptive to the way that I am utilizing my creative energy and my creative life force. And I think that’s a really, really cool affirmation to have.”
Have you developed a secret handshake or anything with the three other actors from GH in the Supporting category with you? “No, but we should! I have to say, they are all very talented and I was super-thrilled that four out of the five nominations came from our show. I think that’s really a testament to the show; it means that we have the privilege to be on a really great show with a really great team.”
When you think ahead to the big night, do you think you’ll be cool, calm and collected, or will there be some butterflies in your stomach? “I think I’m going to be there with my family, which is the greatest gift that I could ask for, and I feel like I only have gratitude filling me in that moment — but at the same time, yeah, definitely some butterflies as my category gets nearer! I don’t know how people don’t get that, like, stomach-dropping feeling when their category is coming up!”
Are you preparing an acceptance speech or would you wing it if your name was called? “I wrote a speech last year, and I ended up saying something like what I wrote, but not exactly. I think for me, I would rather get across the emotions and the spirit of what I’m trying to say rather than say all the words totally correctly. And that’s going to be my goal again this year; I’d do my best to articulate myself in the moment, but like I said, the nerves are very real and any time that you have to be perceived as yourself and not a character, it’s a bit frightening. At least it is for me!”
