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Daytime Emmy Preview!

Peter main pic
Credit: CBS

The Daytime Emmys will be held on April 29. Here, this year’s nominees open up to Digest about soaps’ biggest night.  

 

Outstanding Lead Actor Nominees

CBS

Peter Bergman (Jack, Y&R)

 

Where were you when you got the news of your nomination? “I was here at work and I got a phone call in my dressing room, saying, ‘I hope this never gets old….’ And my response was, ‘It never, ever does.’ And it never will.”

What scenes did you submit for consideration? “A bunch of them. I submitted waking up with Gloria, railing Billy up one side and down the other, there’s something with Phyllis, and dealing with the psychiatrist, who talks to Dina when Jack and Ashley realize their mother has Alzheimer’s; all of these on the same tape. It was a lot of different things to play and several solid actors to play with.”

Will your wife be accompanying you on awards night? “Yes, I’ll be bringing my beautiful Mariellen with me. She said I was preoccupied last time, so she didn’t have fun. I didn’t know I was like that, but normally she has a very good time. A lot of the people she only sees at Emmy time and she always enjoys that.”

Will you have an acceptance speech prepared or go off the cuff? “Everyone should prepare something, but not a written-out anything. Just know who you want to thank when you get up there. When you have a one-in-five chance, you should have something ready to say.”

Do you have your own tux or will you borrow one from the show’s wardrobe? “I have my own and I’m always happy to have a reason to wear it. I’m very comfortable in a tux and really enjoy wearing one.”

 

JPI

James Reynolds (Abe, DAYS)

Congratulations! “Well, thank you! It’s awfully nice, I’ve got to tell ya! I’m trying to make a small habit of this.”

What does it mean to you to be in the Lead Actor category? “It means a lot. I’m very happy. I just felt that was the place to be. Everybody works very hard in daytime TV and so many of us have done it for quite a while. I have such respect for everybody. Sometimes I think we just need to toss it up in the air and hand out like four Emmys a year in general because there are so many deserving people. It’s been a while for this particular category, but I certainly feel very comfortable being there.”

What did you submit? “I submitted a variety. I think I did about 11 minutes; it’s always better to do less than more, you don’t want anybody yawning in the middle of your scene! They’re all scenes from the shows that surround Theo’s shooting. I wanted to tell a story and hopefully I did, so that anybody who wasn’t familiar with that story would be from my reel. I was happy with it and apparently other people were, too!”

What do you know about your competition? “They’re wonderful! I know that. Having that kind of talent share this moment with me is pretty humbling. Michael Easton was on DAYS years ago [as Tanner]. Everybody’s been around. I never like to use the word awesome very much, but it’s kind of an awesome group of people!”

Will you prepare a speech? “Yeah! I’ve kind of thought about the same thing now several times over the years. I’ve been here before; sometimes the names change, but the sincerity behind the speech doesn’t change, and so I’m just hoping I get a chance to deliver it.”

 

ABC

Michael Easton (Finn, GH)

Did you have to be coaxed into submitting? If so, who did the coaxing? “It’s a little bit like leap year; just about every four years, Mr. [Frank] Valentini [executive producer] suggests I do this. So in retrospect, this is all his fault and I also have him to thank.”

How did you find out that you had made the list? “We were buying bunk beds at IKEA when Frank called. Immediately I wondered if I’d have the beds built in time to attend the show.”

What scenes did you submit? “The standard ‘guy talking to a lizard and being duct-taped to a chair while detoxing’ scenes. Also a couple of moments related to Hayden leaving town and losing the baby.”

Did you consult with anyone about what to put on your reel? “Associate Producer Nneka Garland held my hand through the entire process. Literally. She has very soft hands.”

Will you prepare a speech or would you rather wing it if your name were to be called? “I don’t think a speech will be necessary. I’m fairly confident I’ll be able to make several trips to the bar that night without having any fear of ‘my name being called’. They do have a bar, right?”

Anyone you would be sure to thank if you did win? “I am in this by the sheer grace and immense talent of Rebecca Budig [ex-Hayden] and Finola Hughes [Anna], both of whom deserve to be recognized for their amazing work as well as for having to put up with me this past year.”

 

Gilles Toucas/Courtesy Of Bell-Phillip Television Inc

John McCook (Eric, B&B)

This is your third Lead Actor nomination in 31 years. Is the third time a charm? “So they say. The last time I was nominated [in 2012], it was when Stephanie died. But this is for, what I consider, two years of story with Rena [Sofer, Quinn] and Thorsten [Kaye, Ridge], and that’s gold for any actor, to work with those two. I cannot say enough how happy and privileged I am to work so closely with them.”

What scenes did you submit? “I submitted the scenes when Quinn and Ridge admit to their affair, but since we don’t have to submit a whole episode anymore, I submitted a five-minute or so reel, featuring Eric’s reaction with Quinn, and then with Ridge where Eric says, ‘You’re not my son anymore.’ It’s the same story. It has an arc, and nobody had to sit there and watch for 20 minutes.”

What did you and your wife, Laurette, do to celebrate? “We’re a very busy household, and I actually had to be at home that evening at 7:40 to do a radio thing, so we went out, had a quick dinner, a couple of drinks and that’s all.”

What do you think of your competition? “Honestly, I don’t know much about it yet. I didn’t see their reels but now I can, because the judging is over, and so I’ll take a look. Peter Bergman is a consummate actor. Period. The same is true of all these guys.”

 

ABC

Billy Miller (Drew, GH)

How did you find out that you were nominated? “This is going to sound horrible: I was actually meeting with my lawyer. I had some other business I needed to deal with and either Marnie [Sparer, his manager] or Frank [Valentini] called at the same time, so I knew I either got nominated or fired!”

You’re nominated against your former Y&R brother, Peter Bergman. “I can’t wait to see him. He’s still like a brother. He was the first actor to reach out and say, ‘You know what? I just realized it’s been like three years since we had a drink!’ It’s been about that long since I submitted. This is the first time I’ve submitted [for GH], and I actually wasn’t going to and Kelly [Monaco, Sam] forced me to do it. And the reason why I did it is that this was the year I was inspired by her. Everything I’ve done was really just based off my partner.”

Were you disappointed that she didn’t get a nod? “I’ve got to be careful in saying I’m sad that she didn’t get nominated because that might suggest that I think someone else shouldn’t have been and that’s not the case. I would just really have liked for her to physically see the respect that she commands and deserves, so I was a little sad that that didn’t happen. What I’m stoked about is Hudson [West, Jake]. I remember back when this was super-exciting and my parents were stoked and I know that’s happening for him.”

Who do you think is your biggest competition? “Oh, I think they’re all better than I am!”

 

 

 

 

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