Tamara Braun (ex-Kim, GH) How did you feel upon learning that you were nominated? "Shocked and grateful. I found out from a friend who sent me a text that said, 'Um, would you look at that, congratulations,' and she told me I was nominated. Then I received an excited call from Alicia Minshew [ex-Kendall, AMC] with congrats. She let me know Rebecca [Budig;, ex-Hayden, GH] and Thorsten [Kaye] were nominated, too. The AMC gang! I am so happy for Rebecca. So excited to be in the same category with her! She's wonderful.! I'm bummed not to have a ceremony to go to because I'd want her to be my date. I think she would have been my date?"
What are your thoughts about having a virtual ceremony? "I think it's great! So much of our lives have become virtual nowadays. I think that it will be nice for the fans to have a place to watch the awards during this time. It will certainly go down in history, that's for sure. Quarantined Emmys. Strange times. [A ceremony] would have been a great reason to wash my hair and pretty myself up! I find all kinds of reasons not to since quarantine. Wait — will I be on camera? I still may have to wash my hair and pretty myself up! Do I need to get some fancy sweats? Awww ... The pressure!"
Might we see a cameo on Emmy night from your pups, Little and Pearl? "Ooh! Maybe. I should talk to them about washing their hair and prettying up too, huh? Fancy collars?"
Do you think you'll prepare a speech? "I think if I am wise I will learn from the last time [when she won in 2009 as DAYS's Ava] — unprepared/deer in headlights — and prepare something. But the verdict is out on whether I am wise or not.
Rebecca Budig (ex-Hayden, GH) What does this nomination mean to you? "You know, I don't put a lot of weight into awards, but it does feel really nice to be nominated by my peers. I was incredibly flattered, to be honest."
How is Greg Rikaart (Kevin, Y&R, her night) taking the news? "Well, he vandalized my house, so what do you think? I'd love to win so I could use the Emmy as a weapon against him!"
Who were the first people to congratulate you? "My first call was from Alicia [Minshew] who was, like, screaming her head off, so excited. Then Frank [Valentini] called, which was very nice, and we ended up talking for about 40 minutes and catching up, since we hadn't talked since I left the show. Michael Easton was the first one to text me. He was very happy for me."
The Emmys are on your birthday — thoughts on that? "Well, birthdays are just another day, right? But it could make a birthday celebration better!"
How was your social-distance celebration with Jason Thompson? "It was great! He lives right up the street. It felt odd to be, like, out of the house and having a drink with someone, but it was really nice."
Tamara Braun wants to know if you would have been her date to the Emmys if they'd been in person this year. "Ha! Probably, if my husband would have let me! He might have wanted to go with me."
What would mean more to you, this Emmy or your SKATING WITH THE STARS trophy? "You forgot to mention my Soap Opera Digest Award! I mean, an Emmy would mean a lot to me. It would be really nice, for sure. But I worked hard for those golden skates, let me tell ya!"
Susan Seaforth-Hayes (Julie, DAYS) It's your second nomination in three years. How do you feel about that? "It's a surprise and very pleasant. It's nice to be contemporary as well as historical. This nomination means I can still act. I can still deliver. It's very life-affirming for me to think that the juices have not all dried up."
How did you go about picking your reel? "I didn't want to show another murderous quarrel again. That didn't work. And I had a lot of murderous quarrel material. But I also had the 'death' of Julie, the last gasp with Doug, the last moments.... I believed the scenes were honestly played. We were both deeply involved in the scenes. I didn't put up anything funny, witty or hysterical."
Who will be with you at home on the big night? "It will probably just be hubby [Bill Hayes, Doug] and me."
Will you prepare a speech? "I'll give it a little thought. I"m glad I have a grandson living with us who will be in the house and can help us Zoom, if that's how it turns out [it's being presented]."
Who is the person you want to be sure to thank if you win? "The writers, the head writers and also the entire production crew and cast of DAYS, who have become extremely supportive of Billy and Susan Hayes. They're very loving and encouraging. It's probably because of our antiquity. There's a sweet feeling on the set now that I really appreciate, because I went through decades when it wasn't always there."
Aside from the Lifetime Achievement Award, you've never won an Emmy before. What would winning an acting award mean to you? "It would be lovely, just lovely in the truest sense."
Christel Khalil (Lily, Y&R) How did you find out you were nominated? "First of all, I completely forgot the nominations were coming out. I had no idea until I got a call of, 'Hey! Congratulations!' I think it was even better because I wasn't expecting and completely forgot about it. It was this amazing, pleasant surprise."
What scenes did you submit? "I knew that I wanted to use Neil's funeral scenes. Was on recurring last year so I didn't have many episodes to begin with. I knew the ones where I was in prison would be good and I also had this amazing scene with Jason [Thompson]. But this nomination is for Kristoff [St. John, ex-Neil], for sure."
Are you bummed that the awards presentation will be virtual? "Of course! I haven't been nominated in so long and this is my first time being nominated in the Supporting Actress category. What's nice about the awards ceremony is you get dressed up and have a night out celebrating with your people. I definitely am sad that I'll miss out on that."
Who will be with you at home on the big night? "I don't have my friends and family here, so it'll probably just be me and the boys [son Michael Caden and boyfriend Sam]."
What would winning mean to you? "First of all, it's nice to just be recognized by your peers and that people appreciate your performance. I'm so grateful for that. It will also mean that we respected Kristoff's memory and did an amazing job for him. That would make me so proud."
Will you prepare an acceptance speech? "I'm more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants person but I probably shouldn't do that. I'm very against long speeches so I'll probably say something short and sweet."
Annika Noelle (Hope, B&B) How does your first Emmy nom feel? "I am honored. I gave so much of myself to this story so to be recognized for that, it means a lot. And, congrats to the fellow nominees, too! I'm excited for all of them."
Are you familiar with your competition? "Yes. I try to keep up with everyone else's work If I have some downtime, I'll flip through the channels. Doing daytime television takes a lot of talent and I have nothing but respect for my peers in this category."
How did you get the news? "I was trying to get my family in Boston to watch the announcement live, but apparently the mayor decided to interrupt THE TALK right before they got to the nominees. All of a sudden, my phone was ringing and I see Brad Bell in the ID, and your heart skips a beat thinking, 'Is this going to be a good call or a bad call [laughs]?' I picked up and Brad was like, 'Congratulations!' and I proceeded to completely flip out. It's something you dream about as a little girl trying to become an actress."
What did you submit? "I wanted to tell the story, so I picked the scene where Hope loess the baby; then went into scenes with her mentally checked out when Sally tries to cheer her up with the puppy. Then, it's the rooftop confrontation when Hope realizes Beth is alive. Then, this beautiful, quiet moment when they're finally reunited with Beth The final scene was when mama bear Hope slaps Flo. I tried to take everyone on an emotional journey with me. Hopefully, it worked."
Thoughts on the virtual telecast? "Burrito Man [her cat] might just be making an Emmy appearance!"