Daytime Emmy Spotlight: Outstanding Lead Actor Nominee Interviews

How do you feel about being up for another Emmy? “A friend of mine asked another friend who had a lot of money, ‘How is it, man?’ He said, ‘I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. Rich is better.’ It’s like that with these awards. I’m much better now than I used to be, because when I didn’t win for years — I’d been nominated and losing and losing and losing — I had to win! Two years ago, I didn’t think I was going to win and it was a beautiful, pleasant surprise. Getting nominated this time, it’s not like the first one, that kind of feeling, but you’d rather be nominated than not! Especially for this story, the Alzheimer’s story. It didn’t feel like acting, it was so easy and so real and the writing was so spot-on.” Do you tend to sweat over what to put on your reel? “I had a lot of anxiety over Emmy reels, picking the right one, when I was younger because I had to win. It’s just ridiculous, how I used to get crazy in my head! I didn’t put myself [in contention] last year, but this particular year, when I looked at it, everything seemed to work. The last scene on the reel is when Mike’s [spirit] is with Sonny in the church. Such good writing and storytelling.” You’re up against two of your close friends from the show. Your thoughts? “Well, in a joking manner, I’ve said I don’t want Steve [Burton] to win because he’d have more Emmys than me and I can’t deal with that. Then again, he has two Supporting and I have two Leads, so it kind of balances out [laughs]. Then you’ve got Dom [Zamprogna, Dante], who is such a truly great actor and hasn’t been applauded as much. I’d be happy if either of them won. Whatever happens, I’m good. I told my wife, ‘Baby, I’ve got two, I don’t care.’ She said, ‘I want three!’ ”

What did it mean to you to make the cut this year? “It’s a cliché to say it’s awesome to be nominated, but for me, I have such high expectations of myself that it’s nice to know that it pays off to some degree with a nomination. Every year is not going to be your year and I know how the game works, but it’s always nice to get that call. I was actually in the car with Bradford [Anderson, Spinelli] driving to our next show when my friend Linda texted me. I said, ‘Hey, Bradford, I got nominated!’ He said, ‘Dude, awesome!’ And then we just kept driving.” How did you pick your reel? “I asked Elizabeth Korte, one of our writers who is instrumental in everything we do, ‘Hey, do you remember any scenes that stand out?’ She said, ‘Yeah, check these show numbers.’ The producers pulled them for me and then I was like, ‘Guys, I have no idea!’ You want to grab someone in the first minute, so you always want to put your strongest stuff up first. Some of it was with Sonny and Mike, some was with Carly. It wasn’t, like, two full shows; this was more snippets of shows.” What do you make of your competition? “Maurice had such great stuff with Max Gail [ex-Mike] and he did an amazing job during that story, and I’m super-happy for Dominic [Zamprogna] and Thorsten and Wally [Kurth, Ned; Justin, DAYS], obviously. We’ll see what happens!” Even without a traditional ceremony, are you excited for the big night? “Yeah, that’s a busy weekend for me — Emmy night, most likely I’ll be home watching with my family, and Port Chuck [his band] is having a summer concert online the next day, and my birthday is Monday. It’s going to be a crazy week!”

Outstanding Lead Actor What was your reaction to the news? “Well, it’s definitely better to be recognized than not. It’s fun but especially after last year, what we really need are award shows for hospital workers and teachers.” What did you submit? “I defer to Eva [Basler]. Eva believes in all of her actors. I didn’t want to put myself in but she believed. I love her for pushing me. She has a great eye, and she is the reason I’m here. She liked the scenes with Brooke and Ridge’s reunion party and the digital picture frame that showed Brooke kissing another man and Ridge’s reaction. The moral of the story is, buy a traditional picture frame from Rite Aid. Then, we also had scenes with Ridge and Steffy and [her intervention], which were nice, too.” This is your sixth Emmy nom for three different soaps. “And I have won zero. When people say the nomination is everything, it isn’t [laughs]. Actually, I just hope they like the work. Then, I am happy.” Should you take home the gold, will your Emmy go between your wife, Susan’s [Haskell, ex-Marty, ONE LIFE TO LIVE], two statuettes? “Oh, no. We are going to put hers away and start over. No. I’m kidding. Honestly, I don’t think this is going to be the year. I really do appreciate it, but I don’t see it.” What would be the best part about winning? “When you’re introduced as an ‘Emmy winner’, and I will be sure to ask for that any time I walk into a party.”

How did you react to your nomination? “I reacted enthusiastically! I have never been nominated for Lead Actor and I haven’t put myself in Lead Actor for a long time. DAYS OF OUR LIVES handed me a leading role and I was really proud of my work. It was the most emotionally demanding storyline I’ve ever had in my career and it really stretched me. I really had to commit to it and I was happy with how it turned out. So I was really, really gratified that my peers chose to recognize me.” You had a lot of material in 2020. What did that mean to you? “It was an amazing 2020, and we’re nine months ahead, so some of the scenes I submitted, I recorded two years ago. In Los Angeles, all those scenes that I was so proud of were all pre-empted because it was during the County pandemic updates. So NBC was pre-empted at 1 o’clock every afternoon, and I had to watch the show on nbc.com. I thought, ‘Everyone’s at home, wouldn’t it have been nice if some people were actually watching?’ Because I was so proud of that story and my work. Oh, well!” You are up against three of your GH co-stars. Thoughts? “Well, it’s great that they’re recognized. They’re terrific and I’m big fans of all of them so I am delighted.” Any plans for the virtual ceremony? “I’m bummed that it’s virtual. Last year, I had a Supporting Actor nomination for DAYS and had my wife hold up the phone and pre-record a speech and it’s just strange trying to act like you’re happy and excited about winning an award that you, let’s face it, have not won yet. And now we have to do it again. But we’ll have a party at our house again, have a few friends over.”

You’ve been nominated before in Supporting, but this is your first nod in Lead. What went into your category change? “It was pretty much Frank [Valentini, executive producer]. I didn’t think I was going to submit. He had the faith in me and wanted me to do it, so I did.” How did you feel when you heard the news? “I really, truly wasn’t expecting it. There are some years where you think, ‘I’ve got some great material, I think I’ve got a shot at getting in.’ But that was for Supporting. I was thinking, ‘Are people just going to see me in Lead and think, “Aw, buddy. Buddy’s not ready for Lead!” ’ I had that kind of thought. Anyway, it was a real pleasant surprise — and it took the sting out of having to clean up my dog’s doo-doo in the house. It was a really great day; the [Toronto] Maple Leafs won their playoff game and I got a nomination.” What do you make of your competition? “Soft! No, I’m just kidding. I don’t know anything about Wally’s stuff or Thorsten’s stuff, but Maurice’s stuff with Max [Gail] was huge, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he won again. With Steve — when people are good, you sort of take the little things for granted, and I think he does the little things really well. He’s so consistent.” Any trash-talking happening on set between you, Steve and Maurice? “Oh, for sure. I’ve already joked that I maybe have to stop being a cop and become a mobster for a few weeks so I can take out those two dudes so they can’t accept a win. They’ll just be no-shows, and then they’ll have to give it to me!”