Getting To Know: Darcy Rose Byrnes (Abby, YOUNG AND RESTLESS)

Soap Opera Digest: Hello, Darcy Rose! Did you have a good holiday?
Darcy Rose Byrnes: Yes, I did. We stayed in and had fun. We built my Victorian dollhouse all day.

Digest: What are some other gifts you got?
Byrnes: There’s this one thing I got for Little Christmas — a rat!

Digest: A real, live rat?
Byrnes (laughs): Yep.

Digest: Why didn’t you just get a cat or a dog?
Byrnes: Rats are smarter and they don’t bite like dogs and cats might … they only nibble. I didn’t pick her; she picked me. She was looking at me [in the pet store] like, “I want you! Get me out of here!” I have this backpack and she goes in it and sleeps.

Digest: I have a cat, so I could never get a rat.
Byrnes: We have a bird. He’s a parrot. Mr. Green Bird.

Digest: Does he talk?
Byrnes: Yes! When I sing, he sings along, and when I cry, he copies me.

Digest: Are you in school or do you study privately?
Byrnes: I just started homeschooling.

Digest: What grade are you in?
Byrnes: I used to be in second grade, but they put me in third grade, and second-grade math.

Digest: What’s your favorite subject?
Byrnes: Art.

Digest: Are you good at drawing?
Byrnes: I think so. But I did a self-portrait of myself and it didn’t come out good.

Digest: It’s hard to draw yourself. What else do you like to draw pictures of?
Byrnes: I like abstract art.

Digest: Wow.
Byrnes: I get to do a lot of art in homeschooling. I get to look at portraits that people did.

Digest: Do you get to go to museums and stuff like that?
Byrnes: Yes. There’s this program [for homeschooled children] where we get to go to museums and field trips.

Digest: How old are you?
Byrnes: 7.

Digest: I thought you were older. You seem older.
Byrnes: Abby’s also 7.

Digest: Well, Abby’s a very grown-up little girl.
Byrnes: Exactly! Once, they said I was 8, and then they went back to 7, and I was like, “Make up your mind! How old am I? I need an age!” It was so funny.

Digest: Are you anything like Abby?
Byrnes: No, I like to sing. And I’m not that serious. She’s not that silly, but I am. [Uses a “sad” voice] She’s sad all the time. [Uses a high-pitched,”happy” voice] I’m happy all the time [laughs]!Digest: Do you hang out with the other actors on set?
Byrnes: Yes. One time, Don [Diamont, Brad] … Don, Amelia [Heinle, Victoria] and me … we were all sitting at the table and then we were running lines, we weren’t actually shooting it. I’m already gone, but I’m not walking out, so I’m seeing what they’re doing. And Don is eating, even though he’s not supposed to be eating. And, like, I heard her say, “Give him the full plate, he’ll clean it off.” So he’s gonna leave and so he ate like so much, and Amelia’s like, “Ewww!” So he holds up the script and is like, “See, it says here, ‘Brad gives a slight, sweet garlic breath on Victoria.’ ” So I’m going to see if it’s true and she’s laughing hysterically and I’m like, “Oh, it’s not true.”

Digest: That’s funny.
Byrnes: Eric [Braeden, Victor] is also funny and he’s always telling me about his little granddaughter. Once he said that he’ll bring her to the set and I’ll be able to see her sometime. I’ve heard great stories about her. She’s younger than me.