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 Lead Actor
Peter Bergman (Jack, THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS)
Sonja Flemming/CBS
Congratulations on your 25th Daytime Emmy nomination, which includes your three Lead Actor wins. “Thank you very much. It’s a lovely thing. Always, always. I’m thrilled.”
What does this nomination mean to you? “It is my peers in this business that I’ve been in for 43 years and I care a great deal about, saying, ‘He’s one of the good ones.’ It’s as simple as that and it’s as wonderful as that.”
It was different, wasn’t it, to find out the nominations for the leading categories the day before the rest were announced? “It was, before we knew who the Supporting Actors were. It was kind of curious because when somebody congratulates me, I’d like to return it if it’s applicable, so I couldn’t this time. But they keep trying new stuff to get it out on as many platforms as possible.”
How did you find out about your nomination this time? “The publicist for our show called and I was caught completely off-guard because I thought the nominations were coming out the next day, so it was a very pleasant surprise.”
What was your reaction when you found out that your soap brother, Jason Thompson (Billy) is in the same category? “I was delighted. I still am. I look at Jason Thompson as the future of the Abbott family. His Billy is everything the Abbotts need. He’s a little bit of a bad boy, he’s got heart, he’s got strength and Jason is an agile actor with lots of chops. So when the industry is recognizing him as a lead actor on the show, that makes me very happy.”
You and Jason are certainly in a great company of other actors in your category. “Oh, you bet. I’m telling you, Billy Flynn [Chad, DAYS] just does sensational work all of the time with energy, dynamism, passion and emotion. His character is always so alive. It’s terrific. Thorsten Kaye [Ridge, B&B] is always real. His acting is so clear and simple, and the straightest line you can get to real emotions. I just like his work so much. And, you know, I’ve known Maurice [Benard, Sonny, GH] for a lot of years and I’ve always been dazzled by him. I’ve always thought he was an excellent actor going back to him playing a kind of a secondary character on ALL MY CHILDREN [Nico]. So, it’s a great line-up and you can put my name with these guys any time.”
What scenes did you submit? “I was lucky to have worked with so many strong women. The first couple of scenes are with Diane in Los Angeles as Jack is finding out the shocking truth that this woman is alive and she has plans to walk back into his life and into Kyle’s life. As angry as he is, you can feel Jack’s pain. In the second group of scenes, Jack is mostly defending Diane to Phyllis, who has showed up in his office at night, a little too sure of herself. She’s a little too blunt and Jack has had enough. She’s attacked Diane relentlessly for a long time and Jack lets go like he’s never let go, and you’re not surprised that Phyllis tries to fight back.”
