A Q&A With Kyle Lowder
Soap Opera Weekly: Tell us about your DAYS audition.
Kyle Lowder: DAYS was actually my first audition in Los Angeles. Everybody said, “You’re not going to book your first audition. It’s going to take you a while.” So when I went through the whole process I didn’t [feel] any pressure on myself. I went in with an open mind, a relaxed psyche. I was like, “Hey, if I don’t book this it will be fine. There will be other [auditions].” And I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was more relaxed and cool-headed than I’ve ever been. That worked to my advantage.
Weekly: What do you most remember about your early months on the show?
Lowder: I started with a bang. I was out of the gates very fast. [The show] accomplished what they were looking for. They wanted a character that was shock value, a character that came on strong. I had mixed emotions about the whole thing. On the one side, I was extremely excited about playing an evil, conflicted character, who caused trouble and was a rebel. It was fun playing the bad guy. On the other side, this was my first job ever. I was brand new on the show and trying to establish a fan base. THAT was a little difficult when I was calling Marlena Evans, one of the most beloved characters in daytime, all these names. People weren’t thrilled. After a while, they liked the rebel act and things started to go well.
Weekly: When you look back at tapes of your early performances on the show what goes through your mind?
Lowder: They’re awful! Just awful. But everybody has to start somewhere. I don’t beat myself up over it. It’s incredible how far I’ve come. I don’t say that to mean that I’m amazing now, but to compare the two is amazing.
Weekly: Why do you think you were so “awful” in the beginning?
Lowder: It was a combination of a lot of things. I had only been in Los Angeles for six months when I got the show. So I was a newbie living out on my own. In addition to trying to improve as an actor, I was trying to improve as a human being, coming into my own as a person. I had been thrust from college life and drama school to having a career. It was overwhelming. It was difficult to focus on the task at hand. There were so many things going on. Of course getting used to the pace of daytime in general was out of control. I was very overwhelmed for the first three or four months.
Weekly: When did you finally start feeling like you could exhale?
Lowder: It was the storyline where Brady saved Belle from the train tracks. Then he was a fugitive and people were chasing after him. I started working five days a week for a long stretch of time. I was able to focus on the work, get used to the pace, and get used to the dialogue. By that point I started to know the cast and crew by their first names and establish relationships and friendships with people. I started to get more comfortable.
Weekly: Despite being thrust into the limelight, you were never cocky or arrogant. How did you keep from letting it all go to your head?
Lowder: To this day I don’t take a minute of this for granted. I have no reason to be cocky. DAYS was my first audition. I booked a job after six months of being out in Los Angeles. I had a lot of friends who were still looking for work and weren’t doing too well in the audition process, and here I was with a job and three-year contract. I was like, “Jeez! I’m going to milk this for everything it’s worth.” Even when I look back, I still can’t find a reason to be cocky. This is my first job. It’s not like I’ve been around the block. I’ve only been working professionally for three and a half years. I’m still learning every single day.
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Soap Opera Digest does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.