If you refer to Y&R’s Dr. Elena Dawson as a goody two-shoes, her portrayer, Brytni Sarpy, will happily accept that as high praise. “I think that at the end of the day, she’s just a very decent person and that’s the throughline I’ve been trying to keep with her no matter what,” says the actress, who came on the Genoa City scene in 2019. “I think everyone makes mistakes, Elena included, but if you notice with any of her conversations with Tessa or Mariah or really anyone, she’s always been the moral compass for people. So it’s always been important for me to keep that for her because she definitely knows right from wrong.”
Elena stuck to her scrupulous guns last year when she guilted then-boyfriend Nate to confess his corporate duplicity to Lily and Devon. That led to his new job at Newman Enterprises, as well as an affair with its CEO, Victoria. “I thought that was a little shocking,” Sarpy admits. “At first, I thought maybe Nate would have a thing with Audra, so I wasn’t anticipating Victoria. I think it makes sense now because it showed just how far Nate is willing to go for his game, but yeah, that was surprising.”
The side benefit to Elena losing Nate to another woman was sharing scenes with Amelia Heinle (Victoria). “She’s so much fun,” Sarpy attests. “Amelia’s probably one of the warmest, funniest people on that set. I’ve always wanted to work with her, so it was a dream come true, which was really cool. It’s interesting that my character saved Victoria’s life a few years ago and just being able to work with Amelia again is even better.”
Sarpy thoroughly enjoyed the scenes in Los Angeles where Elena blasted her boyfriend for his clandestine affair. However, the outdoor set that served as the restaurant’s patio presented its own challenge. “Those scenes were probably the hardest scenes I have ever had ever and let me tell you why,” she explains. “The material was great and I was really looking forward to bringing it to life, but I wasn’t ready for the freaky California weather we were having. There were really high Santa Ana winds so it was freezing, along with 15-20 mile-per-hour gusts in the middle of the scene. My hair was being thrown in my face, so it was actually difficult to stay focused because I had so much to deliver while trying not to let my teeth chatter. But I was still proud of what we accomplished.”
Elena got to take another swipe at the sinners back in Genoa City. “First of all, it took place indoors, so the weather was perfect,” Sarpy chuckles. “Nate and Victoria were canoodling in public, which is so tacky and pitiful to her, and Elena took it upon herself to let them know what she thought of them. It was cathartic for her because she felt like she got all the drama out of the way. As far as she’s concerned, there’s no hope of reconciling with Nate, so she’s moving on.”
However, Sarpy laments that the downside to the Nate/Elena breakup is less airtime with Sean Dominic (Nate). “That’s my buddy but I’m so happy to see his character really branching out,” she cheers. “Sean is doing really well and he just keeps getting better and better at finding his feet in this genre.”
Now that Elena has gone through two failed relationships (Nate and Devon), the actress says that she isn’t anxious to see her alter find another romantic connection anytime soon. “I think it makes sense that she would be a little hardened and a little cold when it comes to love,” she reasons. “I just hope that it changes the emphasis of what she really cares about right now, and that’s medicine. After doing those two relationships back-to-back, all of the pain and despair within them has left a nasty taste in her mouth, so I think it’s a good time for her to take a healthy break from that drama.”
A good start was when Elena was the attending physician in the ER, where Adam brought a pregnant Sally doubled over in pain. “Those were very delicate scenes and it was really nice for me to be the support system for Courtney [Hope, Sally] and Mark [Grossman, Adam] and I really enjoyed working with them,” Sarpy notes. “In all honesty, doctor scenes are usually not fun for me because it involves a lot of medical jargon and there’s not a lot of emotion behind it. Those scenes with Courtney and Mark were probably my favorite scenes in the hospital because I was able to connect with them and their characters.”
As Elena continues to spread her wings in Genoa City, life away from the studio for Sarpy and cherished dog Charli has become blissfully serene. “We just moved and Charli couldn’t feel more at home, so I’m really grateful for that,” she reports. “He has more space and we’re a little more removed from it all, so it’s really quiet up here.”
Due to personal experiences, Sarpy is big into health and wellness. “My dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about 16, 17 years and one of my best friends was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis,” she shares. “My dad has had two brain surgeries in the past four years and those were definitely scary but he’s handled them like a champ. He fights every day and he’s doing his best. He’s certainly the most courageous, honorable and patient person I’ve ever met, especially considering what he’s battling. That has made me very aware of diet and the foods that are not healthy for us. I’m really focused on yoga and I love hiking. On the flip side of all of that, I love to write, and it’s certainly therapeutic for me. I do a lot of free writing and I’ll probably put something together at some point in the form of short essays, like Lena Dunham does.”
For now, Sarpy has found soaps to be a good fit. “I always thought that daytime feels like theater to me,” she reflects. “We don’t have time for a million takes, so it almost feels like we’re performing live. There’s spontaneity and room to play because it’s not an over-rehearsed process, so it feels like a fresh performance every time. Those aspects are beautiful and very stabilizing, which actors don’t always get, so I feel very lucky.”
JUST THE FACTS
Birthday: September 21
Hails From: Southern California
Sign Of The Times: “I’m a self-proclaimed Virgo through and through, which is an earth sign, so I love being with nature.”
Higher Learning: Sarpy earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting from the University of California Santa Barbara.
Home Away From Home: “I’m big on making a dressing room my own. Right now it has my Himalayan salt lamp and I got a bean bag for people to sit. It’s pretty homey. Camryn Grimes [Mariah] is my closest neighbor.”
Fan Reaction: “Before Nate and Elena broke up, fans would come up to me and say, ‘You’ve got to get rid of him.’ ”
Binge Worthy: “I just got into CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM and I’m on season 4 now. I also just started THE BEAR, so I’m on season 2 of that.”
Now Hear This: “My favorite composer, Ludovico Einaudi, re-released an album that I’ve been playing a lot.”
