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A Q&A with DAYS' Renee Jones

She’s played it good and she’s played it bad during her tenure on DAYS OF OUR LIVES, and Renee Jones is here to tell you that nothing compares to portraying a sassy villainess. “I loved it!” smiles Jones, who celebrated her 10th anniversary as Lexie Carver, this year. Jones reflects on her DAYS journey from her brief stint as Nikki Wade (1982-’83) to her beloved role as Lexie (1993-present) and the lessons she’s learned along the way.Soap Opera Weekly: How would you describe the Lexie of today?

Renee Jones: Lexie is definitely good. She regrets the things she’s done in her past. That was just an episode in her life. She’s gone back to being the good girl. It was only the baby situation that made her bad. There’s no reason for her to be bad now — unfortunately (laughs).Weekly: Obviously you miss her naughtiness?

Jones: It felt SO good! I miss it tremendously. That was the most fun that I had on this show. There were so many different colors during that time. The other day, I was doing a scene with Steve Blackwood (Bart) and, as I was leaving, he said, “Goodbye, Lexie.” I thought to myself: two years ago I would have said, “Don’t you DARE call me Lexie. You call me Mrs. Carver.”Weekly: Still, you don’t think Lexie will ever revert back to her meek old self, do you?
Jones: No. Never, never, never! She’s a DiMera. And part of it is my maturing as an actor and learning to trust my choices. I feel more comfortable in my skin. When I first started, I didn’t take chances. I interpreted the character differently. Now I’m giving Lexie more of me. I’m showing different parts of my personality.Weekly: Is there anything you’re still striving to learn?

Jones: [During the baby-switch story] not only was I playing evil, but I was constantly crying and freaking out. That can be so draining on your psyche. I let it totally overwhelm my life. It was just memorizing my lines, going to sleep, and going through all these feelings. By the weekend, there was nothing left for me to give. My biggest quest for myself, now, is to work a lot, but to still have a life — to learn how to delegate and say, “OK. I’ll give four hours to studying on the weekend; then, I’ll put it out of mind and go have fun.” In the past I never let it go. While I was doing whatever, I’d be thinking, I could play Lexie like this. I could do this scene that way. You have to have a life, too.

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