Kassie DePaiva (Eve, DAYS)
How does it feel getting nominated again? “It’s always sweet, and I’m very grateful. It’s an honor to be acknowledged. It’s more of a privilege to do what I get to do every day. Getting a nomination is just icing on the cake.”
How did you find out? “I saw it on Twitter. I was upstate in the Catskills. I knew they were coming out, but I was always under the impression that they came out in the morning. When nothing happened in the morning, I thought maybe I got the date wrong. I had skied that morning. Afterward, I saw it and was like, ‘Oh. Ohhhh.’ ”
Who did you tell first? “My husband [James DePaiva, ex-Dr. Bensch, GH et al] was taking a nap in the other room. I took a screenshot of the announcement in Variety, with a picture of me and Maurice Benard, and sent it to him so when he woke up from his nap, he would see it. He came out all groggy and said, ‘Well, congratulations, honey. I know that must make you feel good.’ ”
What did you submit? “I felt my strongest material, and I even asked my fans on Twitter what they thought, was from two episodes. One was the almost-wedding with Brady, where Eve finds out he has betrayed her with Victor and they don’t get married. Then there were two scenes with Robert Scott Wilson, where Eve confronts Ben about Paige’s murder in the park and attacks him.”
Who are you bringing? “The plan is to bring my husband with me. He’s always been a great champion of mine. And heck, the two times that he’s gone to the Emmys with me, he’s gotten a job out of it. He got a role on THE BAY series from the first time. Another time, [EP] Frank Valentini offered him a role on GH, where he was recurring for about a year.”
Martha Madison (ex-Belle, DAYS)
How does it feel to get your first acting nomination? “I’ve been an actor my entire life. I can’t remember a day when I wasn’t performing. So it’s definitely something that you dream about, being recognized for your work in that way. It was a little girl’s dream come true in that regard.”
How did you find out? “I saw it live. I work from home. I took a break and started folding some laundry and was watching THE TALK. I was kind of hoping, but not expecting. I was the third person announced from DAYS. I was really in shock. I started hysterically laughing. Then I was overwhelmed with texts, calls and emails. It was a little princess moment.”
Any memorable messages or calls? “Deidre [Hall, Marlena] was one of the first people to reach out to me. She said something like, ‘That’s for pulling the plug on your mom.’ It was so funny.”
What scenes did you submit? “I really wanted to tell the DNR story, so I selected scenes that were more about telling the story than wowing the audience. I picked some scenes with Greg Vaughan [Eric]. Then there were scenes with Drake [Hogestyn, John] where we face off over it. One of my favorite scenes was with Mary Beth Evans [Kayla] where I’m confiding in her that I’m not sure what to do. There’s also a bedside scene where I’m really sharing my feelings with my mom.”
Who did you tell first? “I called my husband [A.J.]. He was at work. It took me a few seconds to get it together, and he thought that maybe I didn’t [get nominated]. He was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. Are you okay?’ I said, ‘No, no, no. I’m on it.’ He was equally surprised. It was really nice.”
Linsey Godfrey (Sarah, DAYS)
You’re so new to DAYS in terms of the time frame that’s eligible
for consideration. Were you surprised to receive a nomination?
“I literally was in shock. My mom was here and I told her, ‘There’s no way.’ I started airing the end of October [2018]. I didn’t really have much. I only had six weeks of show dates that I could choose from.”
What was your reaction? “I was at a loss for words. I laughed. I laughed really hard. No sooner had I finished my tirade that it was absolutely not going to happen, it happened.”
Who was the first person you told? “I was with my mom and niece when I found out, so they found out when I did. The first person I told was my boyfriend, Breckin [Meyer]. He was super-excited.”
What did you submit? “The scenes with Sarah and Rex at the Kiriakis mansion after she finds out that he cheated on her and had a baby with Mimi. I followed it up with the drunk scenes with her and Eric at the Brady Pub, where she throws a drink on some dude. I’d submitted comedy before. The first time I was ever nominated [for Caroline on B&B], it was for a comedy submission. It was a short submission. I always try to keep it short and sweet.”
Did you receive any memorable congratulatory messages or texts? “I got a bunch of lovely texts from a lot of people. Victoria Konefal texted me right away. I got a really sweet, very supportive message from our co-executive producer Albert Alarr that made me really happy. Eric Martsolf had some lovely things to say. Coming on to a new show, I was pleasantly surprised how supportive and welcoming and loving everyone was.”
Beth Maitland (Traci, Y&R)
How did you find out you were nominated? “I happened to be at work that day doing the thing that makes me feel complete. I was in my dressing room and Mr. Matt Kane [publicist] called me when it was announced on THE TALK.”
How did you react? “I can’t repeat it because you can’t print it. It was a lot of cussing! I’ve had a difficult couple of years personally and not being under contract for probably 25 years at the show, so for this day to have come is mind-blowing. I’m so grateful. It feels like a complete gift. I am not speechless, but I am completely grateful.”
What did you submit? “I only used three episodes. The Walnut Grove reunion show in which Traci endows a scholarship in the name of her fallen daughter, Colleen. And then a lovely scene with J.T. following that. And there was this other episode later on about how Dina’s Alzheimer’s is impacting the family and impacting the character. A scene where she doesn’t recognize Traci and it breaks her heart. Everybody else comes to comfort Traci. And then fast-forward to the fall when they had hired all these actors to play the Abbott family and we get to kind of look back at how Ashley and Jack got this way through Traci’s eyes.”
Who did you tell first? “The first call I made was to my cute little dad. My father just celebrated his 82nd birthday and he was with me in New York all those years ago [when she won in 1985], so I wanted him to know. My sister had already heard. I’m bringing them both to the Emmys. The first person I texted was my daughter. She’s over in London. She said, ‘I’m jumping up and down in the pub.’ And I said, ‘You get home right now!’ ”
Do you have a speech planned? “I don’t go off the cuff. I prepare
something.”
Mishael Morgan (ex-Hilary, Y&R)
How did you find out you were nominated? “It was actually Matt Kane, our publicist at Y&R, that called me and told me. I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh!’ I was so excited. It’s my final year to experience this. It’s nice to kind of go out with a bang.”
What did you submit? “I think I submitted what felt right in my heart. It was basically Hilary’s final scenes, her final hours. I felt they were written so well and there was so much material there that I could choose from, and whatever I chose would’ve been great. I just remember feeling great about the scenes that I did with Gina [Tognoni, Phyllis], with Hilary finding out that she wasn’t going to make it. And then also the scene with Kristoff [St. John, ex-Neil] where we decide to just be each other’s confidants and get over the past and close that book. And then my last two scenes with Bryton [James], so just Hilary passing away in his arms. I felt like those scenes were just really touching. I’m just happy everybody else felt that way, too. We’ll see what happens.”
Are you bringing your husband, Navid? “Maybe. We’re still trying to figure that out, but probably. I’m assuming so.”
Will you prepare a speech? “Last year, I did nothing. I just was not prepared and I was almost terrified if they did call my name because I was like, ‘I have no idea what I’m gonna say.’ This year, I’m just going to write a skeleton of a speech, like the people that I want to thank so I don’t forget anybody, and then just kind of go from there and wing it after that. I’m going to calm myself down by jotting down a few names so that I don’t have a panic attack. And then we’ll see what happens if I need it or not.”
Vernee Watson (Stella, GH)
You won last year as Guest Performer; this is your first nod in Supporting. How do you feel? “I feel grateful, appreciative of the opportunity to do the work and happy that it was up to par! The writing was so good and I had meat to work with. It’s cool. I’m very excited about it. I’ve been in the business so long and now, two years back to back? It’s pretty unbelievable.”
How did you learn of your nomination? “I was in London. My son was performing at the Tate Museum and Nneka [Garland, a GH producer] called and told me. I was pretty surprised. I know there are a lot of strong actresses in daytime. I know I have some competition, but I’m ready for it! Bring it on!”
A bunch of people in your storyline got nominated, so you won’t lack for company that night! “I know, it’s pretty amazing and we’ll all be hanging out together. I called Max [Gail] to congratulate him. We have fun working together so I know we’ll have a great time that night.”
If you were to win, where would this statuette go? “I don’t know! Last year’s Emmy is on my piano, and it’s pretty big. I don’t know where I would put another one! I haven’t gone that far in my thinking.”
Are you planning to write a speech? “Last year, I had a list of people to thank in my pocket, but I also had chips and a sandwich in my pocket, and I didn’t want to pull the list out and have all that stuff fall out. That’s the truth! I had been warned, ‘They don’t feed you, and it’s a long night.’ And I want you to know, I ate all of it throughout the night [laughs]! There are people that I have in mind that I want to thank, but I’ll probably wing it.”