Red Carpet Interviews: 38th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards

Your favorite daytime stars were glammed up and dressed to impressed during the 38th Annual Daytime Emmys.

The red carpet was full of beautiful women and handsome men, eager to discuss everything from the new locale for the Emmys, to the goings on at their shows.

Debbi Morgan (Angie, AMC) discussed the difficulty of playing someone who’s blind. “The eyes are the window of the world. So much acting comes from your eyes, when you’re feeling happy or sad and having this darkness in front of me was a big challenge for me. I wanted it to be over.”

Morgan said reuniting with Darnell Williams was like, “putting on a pair of old slippers. It just felt right. We fit right into it. Darnell has been my best friend and we never lost contact with each other. He was the best man at my wedding.”

With AMC ending soon we were curious what stood out most for her as an actress during her time on the show. Surprisingly, she chose something more recent. “I would say my very best storyline was when Jesse came back from the dead. There was a train sequence; it had a feeling of gone with the wind. I loved that. That was my favorite.”

Morgan doesn’t know how AMC will end but does have an idea of what’d like to happen. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I want to see her get her eye sight back and have everything work out with baby. Wrap it up in a nice bow, not just for Angie but for the fans.”

Lauren Koslow (Kate) says fans can more than likely look forward to more scenes with Kate, Stefano, Victor and Maggie with the new writers. “It is such an interesting dynamic,” Koslow said of the scenes between Kate and Maggie. “Maggie and Kate are very different women and at this point Kate is trying to warn Maggie about Victor, as it is a different kind of life. [Maggie & Victor] was really unexpected and I think Kate is amused by it. Victor and Kate have their own separate relationship. I do think there is a concern for Maggie.” Lauren also said that she enjoys that the Kate and Victor dynamic has been re-established over the last couple of years.

Conversation soon turned to another one of Lauren’s cast mates whom she has enormous chemistry with, Alison Sweeney. “That’s my girl! I love her,” Koslow exclaimed. “[The relationship between Sami and Kate] is so rich and I hope to see more of it.”

We were blown away by scene between Koslow and Sweeney a few months ago, that saw an interesting dynamic play out between Sami and Kate. Koslow and Sweeney played the scenes with much subtlety, allowing a hint of concern and care from Kate to Sami to translate through their performances. I had to ask Lauren about it. I pointed out that Kate seemed to show some compassion for her longtime rival while suspecting (without asking) if Rafe was abusing Sami.  “Yes, absolutely. You totally got it right on. We very much wanted that to come through. It was a huge scene. I think that was my favorite scene in a long time.” In discussing everything that went into those scenes – the looks and body language, Koslow said, “It was with our subtext [we wanted to express that]. And I want to say that with the new writers, that scene… that is the kind of story they are going to be telling.”

Koslow shared some of the insight that goes into playing Kate. “Kate is about power, the power of her family. She does have an enormous heart too. I want to keep her strong. There is a reason she is the way she is. She is a damaged person.”

Before our time concluded, I asked if any of Kate’s many children would be returning to Salem. “I certainly hope so! I can not confirm or deny but I have great hope of that. That is a huge part of her life.”

Since 1985 John Aniston’s played Greek business tycoon (and sometimes criminal) Victor Kiriakis. No one was more surprised by the popularity of his unexpected pairing with co-star Suzanne Rogers than he was.  “I think everyone was surprised by that pairing,” said Aniston of the Victor/Maggie storyline. “But when the magic works, the magic works.” Indeed! As for what the future holds for Victor, the actor expressed a desire to continue working with Suzanne and Lauren Koslow (Kate).

The actor said his favorite storyline involved Bo, Hope, Patch, Kim and Shane heading to Florida to get the goods on Victor’s criminal activity, but in typical Victor fashion, be blackmailed his way out of it.

Suzanne Rogers was more than happy to talk about her the surprisingly popular pairing with her character Maggie Horton and John Aniston’s Victor Kiriakis.  “I think they were all surprised. I think the writers were shocked. We sure blew the demographics out of the water.” So how did Maggie and Victor come to be after being on the show over 25 years and rarely interacting? “We never worked together, and [then] they had him cheering me up when Mickey died and the audience responded.”

Suzanne also gushed about her personal relationship with another co-star  Molly Burnet (Melanie). “Molly is like me when I was 21. I really feel that.” The formation of the bond between Maggie and Melanie was something Suzanne spoke about a lot. She was quick to point out that the friendship formed between the two women is what helped fans warm up to Melanie, and bring Maggie off the backburner. The show established Maggie as the “go to” person in Salem, upping her screen time and creating story for her long ignored character.

If you’re worried the changes at Days of Our Lives will result in less Maggie (or Victor), you have nothing to worry about. The former Rockett says she feels the new writers will keep writing for her, showing no fear of being ignored once again.

We certainly hope so as Suzanne’s more frequent screen time was one of the bright spots of the past era of Days.

I always say you can judge a lot about a person based on how they treat their friends.  If you believe that as well, then Stephanie Gatschet (Madison, AMC) is a class act. “I’m sorry, I was supposed to do this [red carpet] with my best friend, let me text her real quick,” said the All My Children actress after we approached her on the red carpet. “Oh, she texted me and said she is running late,” she stated before introducing herself. The best friend she was talking about was AMC co-star Denise Vasi (Randi).

When asked what she’d like to see Madison at the end of AMC, she said she wanted happiness, as that is the one thing the girl hasn’t been able to hold on to. As for plans post-AMC, “I’ll go anywhere they will hire me!” she exclaimed with a laugh. She went on to express her gratitude to the fans that have support efforts to keep the show alive. We think she would make a great addition to any soap opera younger set, but would love to see her career take off into primetime or film.

All My Children’s Denise Vasi recently made her second guest starring appearance on USA’s White Collar. Of the difference between working on White Collar and doing AMC, “You have more time. Quite a bit of time to do your scenes,” and added that everyone on the set was welcoming.

She said being a part of AMC meant a lot to her, and working with the likes of Debbi Morgan, Susan Lucci and everyone will always hold a special place in her heart. As for the future, Vasi plans had some things in the works. “I have a little bit of a plan; I am out there auditioning and have a few things coming up.”

The actress also stated that she hopes that Randi and Franky get a happy ending.

Tracy E. Bregman is thrilled she was given the opportunity to help launch her shows cosmetic line, Jabot, into reality. “It is absolutely incredible to take something off the television and into the hands of the people who watch it. I am happy to do it.” Bregman is also pleased with Lauren’s longstanding marriage to Michael. “Can you believe it? I love working with Christian. It would be very sad for me if they ever broke us up.”

The actress, who won an Emmy in 1985 and was last nominated in 2008, spoke about what she’d like to see for Lauren. “I think Lauren needs a business storyline. But I enjoy anything with all of the Baldwin/Fishers because we all have such chemistry together.”

You can also catch Tracey E. Bregman selling the Jabot line on the home shopping network.

Kristen Alderson (Starr, OLTL) has literally grown up on One Life to Live, where she has played Starr Manning since 1998. In her 13 year history she has taken Starr from spoiled brat to devious pre-teen to a caring teen mother. She took a moment to speak with us about the big two Todd’s storyline, “Right now we are doing the whole real Todd thing, trying to figure out what one of them is really Todd and that has been really fun. It would be nice to see the Manning family all come together, with whoever is the real Todd, and have these Manning [family] scenes again where we are all together.

On working with Rodger Howarth again: “It has been amazing! I loved when Starr was a big brat with Rodger’s Todd. It was so fun [with] the dynamic between the two of us so it will be fun to see what the dynamic is now because I loved it back then.”

On what the end might hold for Starr: It will be interesting to see of Cole comes back. That would be really great.

Jordi Vilaluso (Griffin, AMC) said the cast of All My Children is one of the main reasons he enjoys working on the show. “You get to work with some of the best people. Not only actors, but human beings.” He confirmed he would be with the show for the finale, and was grateful to be a part of the cast.

Vilaluso said one of the main differences between AMC and his former soap Guiding Light is the quick pace of filming. [AMC] is faster. We do five shows in four days or seven shows in five days. But in terms of coming to work, it is the same or better. I am older now, so I appreciate it more — being here, with these people.”

Adrienne Frantz reflected on the changes Amber has faced over the course of her return to The Bold and the Beautiful. “I think Amber has gone back to her wild ways. I think in Genoa City she calmed down a little bit and then came back to Los Angeles and got wild and into trouble again. Amber has a way of finding trouble and then trying to get herself out of it.”

She says her current storyline is her favorite. “[Amber] just gave birth on Friday, so that is always fun.”

Mark Hapka’s (ex-Nathan, DAYS) has been keeping busy since leaving Days of Our Lives. “I am still working my butt off. It seems I am busier now than even when I was on the show. I am wrapping up this movie, Beyond the Mat that’s been in the works for awhile. We have so many sponsors and people involved.”

When asked if he’d be open to a return, “Of course I would be open to it. The show has undergone a lot of changes…I think for the better.”

Days of Our Lives’ Camila Banus (Gabi) is happy with her role she’ll play in the upcoming storyline with Chandler Massey’s Will. “I’m pretty sure we all know for sure that he is [gay],” commented the actress on the red carpet. “I am so excited [to play this storyline]. I think that it’s going to be really good for all the characters, not only the young people but everybody around them. Will and his whole family are very religious. I think it is good and exciting. It is something relevant to all of us and it is being done in a very tasteful way.”

Banus shared that she would like to see Gabi really fall in love, “I know that she really loves Will, but she is the only girl left in her family. [She] needs someone to really love her back and take care of her because she puts everything she has in [her relationships].”

Perhaps after dealing with the Will situation Gabi can set her sights back on Chad?

Francisco San Martin called his exit from DAYS “very bitter sweet.” He said Dario’s exit is “Happy and leaves the door open for a return.” He also had nothing but great comments about his experience at the show, especially working with Molly Burnet and Galen Gering (Rafe).

It’s been quite the year for The Young and the Restless’ Julia Pace Mitchell (Sophia). When we first saw her last year on the red carpet, she hadn’t debuted on Y&R yet. The actress summed up the last year as a whirl wind. “The audition process was long. At first I [wondered] if it was possible for them to cast a girl who looks like me.”

She noted that she’s a rarity – a full figured and dark skinned African-American woman, someone that’s rarely seen in not only daytime but across the board of American media. She said she’s approached by a lot of women who express happiness over seeing a woman on-screen that’s relatable to who they are.  Mitchell quite enjoys the two attractive Winters brothers fighting over her but expressed a dire for Sophia to enter another corporate storyline as well, hoping tossing it up with the likes of Peter Bergman and Eric Braeden.

We were a little surprised at how much we fell in love with The Bold and the Beautiful’s Kim Matula (Hope) when we interviewed her at last year’s show, so we jumped at the chance to do it again. In the midst of another great story, we asked Matula what she’d like to see for Hope. “I’d like to see her stand up for herself. She stands up for her family often but I want to see her stand up for her,” she asserted. “She can be very emotional and she can crumble and fall apart and I want to see her pull herself together. Be happy.”

When asked who she would like Hope to be happy with, Matula expressed her preference. “Personally I would love to see her with Liam because with Oliver she’s always going to see [him as the guy] who slept with her mother and that is kind of hard to get past.”

Matula couldn’t be happier working on B&B. “I know everyone says they have the best cast and a great crew, but we really do. Our show is very family orientated and I know on some of the other shows they get catty and on this show that never happens. There isn’t any [drama].” She went on to praise her cast for being so wonderful and professional.

Matula said she was disappointed she missed the opportunity to work with the legendary Betty White, as she was cast shortly after White left B&B.

In our past interviews with Casey Deidrick, he’s made it clear he wanted his character Chad to be a bit darker. Now that he is a DiMera, will Chad follow in his families footsteps? “I hope so!” he exclaimed before noting that Stefano does a lot of bad things and has a heavy influence over his children – whether they want it or not. Even if Chad doesn’t go dark, Deidrick seems fine with that. “Right now I am just really enjoying the character and exploring who he is every day.” The young star also shared how much be enjoys working with co-star Kate Mansi (Abby) and hopes to see their characters’ relationship continue.

Kate Mansi (Abigail, DAYS) was asked if she had worked with the returning Matthew Ashford (Jack). “No I haven’t. I have heard a lot about him and I am looking forward to it.”

Kate made fun of the height difference between her and co-star Casey Deidrick (Chad). “Oh, you noticed? It’s funny because we joke, we call him the jolly green giant and I am the hobbit. It is a big height difference, but that’s why god created platforms.”

On the difference between her Abby and past ones and what’s to come for her character: “I think [Abby] has such a sense of fire to her and the writers have really taken note to that and its something I bring that’s a little different than Ashley Benson’s Abby. I think that it works. But really I am just excited for what’s coming up: there’s a death in her family, the storyline with Will and her father’s coming back.”

We’re inclined to believe Elizabeth Hendrickson (Chloe, Y&R) when she says she loves working on The Young and the Restless and couldn’t ask for better co-stars.

Chloe’s gone through a lot over the last two years, developing into a multi-layered character. “Chloe has changed a lot. She is a little more reasonable, a little less conniving but I am still having fun with it.”

One of the perks of working at Y&R is being able to see her longtime friend Eden Riegel (Heather; ex-Bianca, AMC). “Having your best friend on set is a dream come true. She just had a baby and I am so happy for them. I love that woman like no other. We don’t get to work together all that often, but just to see her in the studio makes it all good.”

Hendrickson says she’d like to see Chloe get back into fashion. “Maybe [she] can take over Restless Style. Just get back to what she does best. I want to see her more hands on. Maybe Chloe has her own line?”

Hendrickson also shared some of her fondest memories of working on All My Children. “My most stand out moment, by far, is the first day I got to work with Susan Lucci and she had to hit [Maggie] with her car. And my last day, leaving with [Bianca].”

Did you know? Liz Hendrickon is friends with General Hospital’s Andrea Bogart (Abby)?

Eric Martsolf loves the shift in Brady’s persona over the last couple of months. “It’s fun to play a character that you don’t know what he’s going to do next. He is a very spontaneous ball of fire right now,” says Martsolf. “The whole beating up of EJ we did recently was very violent. It was an interesting turn for [Brady]. He literally let his feelings and emotions direct his behavior, and that is fun for an actor to play.”

The actor, who joined Days in 2009 after a ten year run on sister soap Passions, added, “[Brady] is literally doing things that people think about doing but hold back on.”

Martsolf played coy when asked if the rumors of his on-screen father’s return were true, but indicated he would enjoy it. “Can’t confirm or deny, but I have heard rumors of it. That would be fun; I would love John returning with all of the issues Brady has. That would be cool.”

We put him on the sport about the prospects for Brady Black’s love life. “He’s sampling the rounds. What a great guy,” Martsolf joked, referring to Brady’s on-again, off again relationship with Nicole and budding friendship but maybe more with Melanie. Could there be a new woman entering his orbit? “You never know.”

Daytime newcomer Freddie Smith had not yet aired when we interviewed him on the red carpet. However, he’s coming onto Days of Our Lives as a much buzzed about character, playing Jackson “Sonny” Kiriakas, the openly gay son of supercouple Justin and Adrienne (Wally Kurth and Judy Evans).

Rumors of DAYS taking on its first full-fledged gay character started months ago. The series flirted with it in the past with characters like Mike and Julie, but never went forth with the storylines. After it was confirmed that Will Horton (played by Chandler Massey) would be the character, casting began for his potential love interest.

“He’s a very cool, confident, upbeat person and it’s very exciting to play,” said Smith of Sonny. “He keeps me on my toes. Sonny’s the first gay character on the show and he just came back from traveling the world. He’s taking a break from college.”

Smith couldn’t say enough about working with veterans Judi Evans and Wally Kurth. “I literally feel we have the best chemistry because they are such nice people. We have the same chemistry as I have with my real parents, so that makes it great”.

When asked who Sonny might be hooking up with, Smith played it close to the vest. “They are taking it easy; they are doing it really well.”

When Wally Kurth (Justin, DAYS) returned to Days of Our Lives in 2009, he worked steadily on recurring before being seen a little less often. That seems to be changing for the actor and he’s fine with it. “They didn’t promise me anything except for twelve shows when I first [came back] and it’s years later and I have not been let go, so [it’s good.” Kurth says he feels likes no time has passed after Judi Evans again after all these years, except they were a little older.

“We are both ready for a big story,” he said of the show bringing on the couple’s son, Sonny, who will be the shows first main gay character. “It’s already being told well. [Justin & Adrianne] are ok with him being gay. Our characters get it and are moving on, but we will see what happens when he gets involved with other people but we have accepted and love our son.”

He also revealed some of his favorite DAYS memories of past. “That whole first year was magical and the incredible romantic stuff that went on there. The Greek wedding was beautiful.” Kurth also has fond memories from his time on ABC’s General Hospital, where he played Ned Ashton. “The musical days — anything with Ned and Lois. What I guess I am saying is the best stories are always the beginning of romance — that first year or two after that where you see the characters evolving in that relationship.”

DAYS has undergone extreme changes in the past few years, especially to its taping schedule. “Behind the scenes, we go so much faster. Back in the old days they would block it, do a camera block, a dress rehearsal, and then tape. Now it is block and tape. You get one take and you’re done. If anyone screws up you go back to where they screwed up. I think it keeps actors on their toes. It makes actors come more prepared. I think sometimes scene work suffers because you don’t get to do it a second time to make it just right.”

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