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 Actress
Stacy Haiduk (Kristen/Susan, DAYS OF OUR LIVES)
Courtesy of Stacy Haiduk
How does it feel to be nominated, again? “This is my third one. The first time it was thrilling. The second time it was thrilling. And this time it’s thrilling. Just to get the nomination is exciting. It means that people are aware of the work that I put out. That’s always a plus. When I first came onto the soap world, I realized that people don’t even know you except for the show that you’re on. So through the years, getting people to see my work is a plus. It means a lot. I’m glad that people are noticing the work that I do and are getting to know me a little bit.”
How did you find out about your nomination? “[DAYS’s] publicist called me early in the morning. I was still lounging in bed. It was a nice thing to wake me up and make me go, ‘Yay.’ ”
Did you do anything to celebrate? “No. I probably made some dinner. [Getting nominated] was kind of a celebration in itself. My family was excited. My friends were excited. That was a lovely thing.”
Did you get a lot of congratulatory calls and texts? “I got a lot of texts and a lot of fans’s [messages] on social media. Billy [Flynn, Chad] texted. Paul [Telfer, Xander] texted. Dan [Feuerriegel, EJ] texted. We all texted congratulating each other. It was really nice.”
What scenes did you submit? “I submitted a scene with Billy, who plays Chad. It was a scene in Marlena’s office after his wife died. He came to visit Marlena, and I told him how brave he was to have the courage to come to talk to someone about what was going on. Kristen says she didn’t have the courage to do that [when Rachel ‘died’] and that ‘You’re better than I am,’ basically. I had a couple of little scenes with Eric Martsolf [Brady] and Kristen talking about the daughter and how she’s manipulating him. My third one was with Paul. I really loved the Xander and Susan stuff in the DiMera crypt, where he’s going to shoot her because he has to get rid of her, and she’s praying. I remember doing those scenes and how I was connecting with Susan a lot and the pleading. It was a lovely scene. I wanted [to just submit] that, but it wasn’t long enough, so I added some of the Kristen stuff. Usually I don’t do both characters. But I thought in this case, why not?”
Who will you be bringing with you to the ceremony? “Probably my daughter [Sophia] again. I love having her around. She’s just a delight. My husband does not like going to events like that. He prefers being at home. She’s a lot more fun. She’s a lot like me. She likes to go out, be social, get dressed up and have fun. I really like being together with the other shows and getting to see some of the people on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS that I haven’t seen in along time. It’s always a pleasure.”
What do you think about your fellow nominees from DAYS, as well as those in your Supporting Actress category? “I’m thrilled about Billy and Dan. Both of them deserve it. I saw their work, so I know what they submitted. I’m very excited with my Supporting Actress group. Everyone is really wonderful. If we could just party and not have to compete it would be pretty awesome.”
Will you jot down any notes for a possible acceptance speech or just wing it? “I don’t expect much [laughs]. If I [win], I’ll pray to God I can wing it pretty good, and it will be nice. Like I said, I really don’t expect anything. I’m just excited to be there.”
