NICOLE BREAKS ERIC’S HEART WHEN KATE PAYS HER $5 MILLION TO MARRY LUCAS, 1999
When you saw this twist in the script, what was your reaction? “I was like, ‘Wow.’ And there was probably some nervousness: ‘Oh, my gosh. My character is headed in this direction?’ At the time, they were trying to figure out which way to take my character. Obviously, this was when she started to turn bad girl. That was a lot of money from where Nicole came from. The idea of taking this cash over love was stupid but it caused a lot of great turmoil.”
Was Eric finding out what Nicole had done the most emotional part to play? “Yes. That was the hardest, hurting the character of Eric, breaking this poor guy’s heart who did nothing wrong. There was not even a reason to do it. He’s a great person, and they loved each other. It was like someone ran him over with a truck two times. Those were really hard scenes for me to play. I didn’t know how to tap into that emotional side like I do now. That was a little difficult.”
What stands out as a whole from the storyline? “Working with Bryan [R. Dattilo, Lucas]. He and I didn’t know each other very well, but we were going into an intimate storyline. He made me feel so comfortable. Bryan’s personality is so out- going, and he has quirky things that he does as an actor. It’s really funny. He always calls me, ‘Zuk’. He knows how to soften a moment. He knows how to make you laugh. It was refreshing. Also, I would say I learned a lot from Lauren [Koslow, Kate], watching the candor and naughtiness that Kate had about her. It was very interesting. You don’t even question it when she’s doing it. That part was probably my favorite. And working with Ali [Sweeney, Sami] and starting that whole [adversarial relationship]. Sami already hated Nicole, and then she did this.”
How did you feel when it wrapped up and Victor swindled Nicole out of all her money? “The learning process was the beginning for Nicole. One bad choice after another was beginning. That was the first chapter of how this ball was going to roll if Nicole kept choosing this way. Then she started a relationship with Victor, and you saw she had this fight in her, which was really a joy to play. I loved the feistiness and the way they wrote Nicole coming out of that. I was able to bring color to her.”
NICOLE MISCARRIES AND SWAPS MIA’S BABY WITH SAMI AND EJ’S DAUGHTER, SYDNEY, 2008-10
How did you react to finding out this story was underway? “I was looking forward to it. Reading it, I was excited. I thought, ‘I’m arriving,’ because it was a heavy storyline. Personally, I was like, ‘Okay, I’ve really got to start diving deep.’ Since I got my contract with DAYS, I had been in acting class. I knew I really had to learn how to tap into that emotional jar of sadness so I could pull it off.”
What stands out about the storyline as a whole? “No. 1, the fact that it was about two years long [laughs]. And everyone invested in it. Every actor involved in that story was so great. Ali and I talked about it not long ago and how it was one of both of our favorite storylines. Also, I was pregnant for real, and Nicole had lost the baby and was hiding it from EJ. I vividly remember the scenes where I had to play losing the baby when I had a real baby in my stomach. My emotions were raw and I was crying for real. To take care of the baby in my body, I’d come off set, tap my stomach, and be like, ‘Just kidding. Mama’s just kidding.’ It was a really special time in my life. I had this real baby in my belly and this beautiful, difficult storyline to play.”
Is there one scene that was particularly difficult or emotional? “Nicole had swapped the babies because she wanted EJ to have his child. I remember when Sami found out that Nicole had been lying the whole time, and Nicole had to watch her anger and her angst. Nicole didn’t know what she was going to do. I loved those scenes. They were really difficult to do, and I was 8 1/2 months pregnant at the time.”
Do you have any other favorite memories from this plot? “There were so many pieces to it, but I’ll have to say the scenes with Taylor [Spreitler], who played Mia. I had to have this conversation with this little girl who was pregnant and manipulate her. Those were pretty cool. They were hard, but I enjoyed that portion of the story and working with Taylor. She was adorable and very sweet.”
How did you feel when it was over? “It was bittersweet. It needed to end at some point, and life needed to go on. I wondered what I would get next. What would I get that was bigger than that? I kind of realized it would be a while before I got something like that again. We have a lot of actors on the show, and everybody needs a chance to shine.”
ERIC KILLS DANIEL, WHOSE HEART GOES TO BRADY, 2016
What were your thoughts when you first learned about this story? “Well, I was really sad for Shawn [Christian, ex-Daniel]. But he is always very supportive, so I want to start with that. He’s amazing. The person Nicole was supposed to marry was suddenly gone. Then there was Eric’s part in it, another love of Nicole’s life. Talk about hitting my mark. It was another good storyline, another emotional roller-coaster ride for Nicole. There needed to be a shock value, and Daniel [dying] was it. From a storyline point of view you have to have those sacrifices to keep things really intense.”
Is there a performance that stands out from the whole thing? “The depths of sadness that Greg Vaughan went to as Eric. He has an incredible way of getting very dark. It’s so genuine and appealing. You want to see where he’s going. His regret was really tough on Nicole because he was another love of Nicole’s life.”
Do you have any favorite moments from this storyline? “Brady getting Daniel’s heart. It couldn’t have gone to a better person. I liked working with Jen Lilley [ex-Theresa] and everyone involved in the storyline. I really felt like I hit spot-on with all my co-stars. I always find the positive in everything. When I go to work, I’m the happiest person. I love what I do. I love my job. So even when it’s completely sad, when I walk off set I’m like, ‘Gosh, that felt great.’ It’s the strangest job on the planet because you’re crying your eyes out but you’re like, ‘Okay. Let’s go get lunch and celebrate. Those [scenes] were good.’ ”
What was the hardest scene to tape? “When I had to say good-bye to Daniel. For me, those scenes stood out. They were heart-wrenching and really tough. To say good- bye to anyone and know you’ll never see them again is so unbelievably difficult, whether it’s real life or fake life. People always ask me, ‘How do you drum up that kind of emotion?’ I feel the words so deeply in my body that it hurts. So when I had to say good-bye to Daniel, who was not only my real person, but also my fake person, it was really hard. It’s not like I pulled from, ‘Oh, my God! What if he...?’ It was just that in that moment, he was gone, and it was terribly sad. Those scenes stood out to me because I had to feel what people feel when the closest person to them in real life goes.”
When the story wrapped were you drained? “No. I’m really good about leaving things right on set. I connect to a story but I’m not the kind of person who goes, ‘Oh, my God! I can’t believe it’s over.’ You move on to the next storyline. I was sad that the character of Daniel was gone, but I was ready to tackle the next story.”
CHLOE ACTS AS A SURPRISE SURROGATE FOR DANIEL AND NICOLE, AND SUES NICOLE FOR CUSTODY OF BABY HOLLY, 2016-17
Where you as shocked as viewers were about the surrogacy twist? “It was a lovely surprise. Finally, my character was getting a baby. I always laugh because I work so well with kids and babies. I didn’t know where it was going to go. I don’t ask about [future] storyline. I don’t typically want to know. It keeps things exciting for me. But, of course, it’s a soap opera, so I was like, ‘Is Nicole really going to have a baby? Is this child really going to be born?’ ”
What stands out about the storyline as a whole? “Probably that they don’t write a ton of female relationships on soaps. For me, I find it important, especially healthy ones, because everyone is always fighting. I liked the idea of these two characters always kind of coming back around. They’re friends, they’re close, but they’re also careful of each other, which is really interesting. The idea that Chloe selflessly wanted to help and have Daniel and Nicole’s baby.... From Nicole’s point of view, that was pretty amazing.”
Is there a scene that was the hardest or most emotional for you to play? “It’s so easy for me to tap into the emotion, so I don’t find anything really difficult to play. I find, maybe, a challenge, but I don’t feel stressed. I feel like things play out naturally and beautiful scenes come out. Those are the things I really try to focus on.”
Do you have a favorite moment from it all? “Getting the baby and Nicole finally having a daughter of her own. That was everything. All Nicole ever wanted through her entire journey was to feel love and to give love. That was a pretty poignant part of the story. And I loved the babies. Oh, my goodness. I loved connecting with them.”
How did the twist of Chloe suing Nicole for custody make you feel? “I kind of had to laugh. I thought, ‘Of course, she can’t have the baby right away.’ But again, it was fun. It was a joy. They were taking the story another step. I wanted to invest. I loved the idea that Chloe was going to try to take the baby, and she had every right to. That was interesting because it does happen in real life. I thought it was cool.”
What were your thoughts when it was over? “It’s never, ever, really over. Although once Nicole had Holly, I was overjoyed. Finally, these 20-something years of not having a child on the show were over. There was this wonderful chapter to move forward with.”