Mark Grossman (Adam, Y&R): What was your reaction to your nomination? “I was like, ‘Wow!’ Since this was my first year in daytime and taking on a big role, I was surprised.” What did you submit? “I submitted two scenes with me and Mr. [Eric] Braeden [Victor] and I also picked a scene with me and Sharon [Case, Sharon]. I think my reel was a little less than five minutes. I later found out that people submit reels that are closer to 10 minutes, so I was like, ‘Oh, man. Maybe I didn’t put enough in there.’ I was lucky enough to work a lot since I started on the show, so I had a lot of material to choose from.” Will you have a speech ready just in case you hear your name? “I think I’m definitely going to have something loosely prepared instead of just trying to wing it because there’s so many people to thank and I don’t want to leave anybody out.” What will you wear? “It’s an award ceremony so my first instinct is to dress up. You want to give it the respect that it deserves, but maybe I’ll be on the couch in a full tuxedo with sandals on.” How do you feel about not having your day in the sun on the red carpet? “It’s always so much fun to meet fans, but I’m not upset about not being able to get up on a stage in a big room with a bunch of people!” What would winning mean to you? “It would be incredible. It’s just nice to be acknowledged. It was a challenging year and such a steep learning curve with the amount of material and pace of daytime. It was a lot. If I were to win, I mean, that’d be just amazing.”
Bryton James (Devon, Y&R): How did you find out? “I was actually on a call with some other people and Daniel Goddard [ex-Cane], doing some side work, when I got a text. I was thrilled. I mean, there’s a ton of great people in my category. It’s an honor to be recognized and have peers find value in your work.” What scenes did you submit? “I started with when I spoke at Neil’s funeral, a scene when I’m talking to Elena about why I paid off her student loans, a scene where Elena and I say, ‘I love you’ for the first time. And then I have scenes where I have my panic attack from seeing Hilary, a scene where I’m getting a little heated about the whole situation with the will, and the scene where I’m talking about how I’ll never hear my dad’s laugh again or dance with Hilary. They gave me some good material.” How do you feel about the ceremony being virtual this year? “I think it’s cool. Given the situation in the world, I think it’s the best-case scenario and I’m very excited it’s going to be back on prime-time on CBS. It’s fantastic. The medium deserves it. It’s great to be in the comfort of my home!” Prepared speech: yay or nay? “I usually never like to wing anything. I’ll probably have an idea of something to say but nothing set in stone. I’ll definitely have a broad stroke outline.” What would winning mean to you? “It would mean that the people who I admire and look up to, which is just about everyone in this medium, think I’m doing a good job.” Who will be with you at home on the big night? “Everybody knows that [chuckles]! Brytni [Sarpy, Elena] and I live together so....”
Wally Kurth (Justin, DAYS): This is your first nomination ever for DAYS, after decades on the show. What does it mean to you? “It’s gratifying and exciting to be voted on and recognized by my peers — ‘Hey, you did a good job last year.’ That’s pretty sweet and nice. I appreciate that and I’m humbled.” How do you feel about the ceremony being virtual this year? “Well, it’s going to be bizarre, right? If I win, I’m going to be accepting from my living room. Who could have possibly dreamed that up? I will say that two years ago, when I was nominated [as GH’s Ned] and sitting in the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, it was nerve-wracking. That was not fun. It is the weirdest, bizarre feeling. I have a feeling I’ll be much more relaxed sitting in my house.” Will you prepare a speech? “I have thought about who to thank. Of course, I probably won’t forget my wife, because she’ll be in the room waving at me, ‘Don’t forget me.’ ” Who will be with you at home on the big night? “[My wife] Debra will be here. [My son] Brogan will be here. Maybe by then, we can have some friends over being socially distant and keeping a mask on.” What would winning mean to you? “I have a feeling I might get very emotional. It will mean a lot. I worked really hard, and I’ve been doing it a really long time.” What will you miss about the Emmys being in person? “I will probably miss the after-parties. They’re usually fun, and you get to mingle. And if I win, that would have been fun — to be able to thank everybody in person and hug everybody and hold onto your trophy. I’ve never done that.”
Chandler Massey (Will, DAYS): You’ve won three times as Outstanding Younger Actor. What would it mean to win as Supporting Actor? “It would be great. It would be quite an honor. It’s always nice to have your work be validated. And to know that the story you crafted for your character had an impact. It would also be a nice button on the ‘WilSon’ storyline and great all-around for DAYS. It would be validation that I’ve been able to have consistently good work from playing a youth to an adult, that I’ve had success into the transition into an adult actor.” How do you feel about the ceremony being virtual this year as opposed to live and in person? “That’s great. It’s amazing. We can still have it, but I don’t have to spend an hour going out and renting a suit and another hour putting it on.” Will you prepare a speech? “No. I’m definitely not going to be preparing a speech. I think that’s a good way to jinx things.” Who will be with you at home on the big night? “My roommate, Scott, said I’d have to ‘bring him’ to the virtual Emmys, because one of the times I did bring him, I won. He’s one for one, so he’s earned the right to be there. So if I’m in L.A., he’ll be there. I’m actually in Atlanta right now, at my parents’ house. I left L.A. shortly after the stay-at-home order and have been quarantined here. If I’m in Atlanta, I think my parents will be with me, but I don’t know if they’ll want to be on camera. But they’ll definitely be watching.” Who is the person you want to be sure to thank if you win? “I’d want to thank Freddie [Smith, Sonny], for being my scene partner in basically all the scenes I submitted, and DAYS — the whole cast, crew, writers and producers. It’s a big team effort.”
James Patrick Stuart (Valentin, GH): How did you find out? “I was on a hike with Cynthia Watros [Nina] in the Los Angeles mountains. We talked about our kids, relationships, solved all the world’s problems, and then I saw on my phone that I’d been nominated! And then I saw that Michael [E. Knight, Martin] got a nomination, too, which just blew my head right off. After I called Jocelyn, my wife, he was the first person I called, and we laughed about the fact that this is going to be the year that we both show up wear- ing tuxedo jackets and Speedo bottoms!” How did you choose your reel? “I was really dazzled by a lot of other people in scenes with me; it was kind of hard to look at me and think, ‘Oh, that was good!’ Mostly, I went with the Charlotte kidnapping by Jessica Tuck’s character [Cassandra]. I respect the category of Supporting and I wanted to choose scenes that showed I was not trying to steal a scene, I was trying to make the other actors in there better. I think I have a scene with Maurice [Benard] in there — and nobody’s stealing a scene from Maurice!” Are you preparing a speech? “I feel that preparing a speech is kind of bold, and there are enough Irish members of my family to know that you can jinx something, for sure. I would definitely kick myself if I forgot to tell Frank [Valentini], ‘Thank you for this unexpected and delightful ride,’ and to thank Michael Knight for teaching me how to do it. Other than that, I’d wing it.” Have you given any thought to where you would put the Emmy if you won it? “Oh, only for 30 years! Same place I would have put the last one, when [the late] Kristoff St. John beat me [for Outstanding Younger Actor]! I would give it to my mother.”
Paul Telfer (Xander, DAYS): This is your first nomination. Can you put into words what it means to you? “It’s a great compliment. For a good period of the eligibility, I was off contract. I was really able to submit a broad variety of material, because as a recurring villain, I was always at the center of a storyline when I showed up, but they were all very different. It felt lovely to be nominated in a supporting role. I really felt that’s what I had done that year.” Who have you gotten congratulations from so far? “Obviously, my family. We did a little Zoom call. They’re all in Britain, so a lot of them were like, ‘So an Emmy is ... what exactly?’ They were very happy for me. My buddy Goran [Visnjic] was one of the first people to reach out. He was like, ‘This is amazing.’ ” Will you prepare a speech? “Because it’s my first year and nobody knows who I am, I have no anticipation about actually winning this thing. I’m just very happy to be nominated. If I win it, I’ll just have to wing it. I’ll just thank everybody until my brain stops giving me names.” What would winning mean to you? “It would be a lovely thing to happen, and I would welcome it with gratitude and humility. But I am just very happy to be nominated and hope I don’t swear on the live telecast.” What do you think about the other actors in your category? “I know Chandler [Massey] and Wally [Kurth] very well, and I’m very excited to see them nominated. I’m a huge fan of both of them and their work. If I don’t win, I’d be very happy if somebody else from DAYS wins. If someone else wins, I just hope the other guy feels he really earned it.”