With the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards show fast approaching, the gaggle of nominees is being rounded up and put under the microscope. When they learned and how they learned that their performances were for the gold, what thoughts sped through their heads, what they’ll wear to the kudos fest, who they’ll thank when they’re at the podium — seemingly nothing is off limits.
Emily O’Brien “Speechless” After Receiving Nom
“The first time I’d ever been nominated for an Emmy, I was so young,” recalled nominee Emily O’Brien (Theresa Donovan, Days of our Lives; ex-Gwen Rizczech, DAYS) to Soaps.sheknows. “I’ve been on Days of Our Lives four years now, and I didn’t think an Emmy nomination was gonna be my future again.
“I submitted myself thinking, ‘Oh, why not?’ I didn’t think I had any real solid material. I don’t know. And I just thought, ‘Oh, let’s see what happens.'”
Color the actress of kinds of shocked when her reel netted her a non for Supporting Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actress. Not bad considering she hasn’t inhabited the part of Gwen for quite some time.
As surprising, if not more so, was learning that the lovelorn, schemestress she’d long since shaken actually had a raft of admirers. Said O’Brien, “I feel very proud knowing that the nomination was for Gwen because I think she’s always sort of been an underdog. I haven’t had that many fans. In fact, I didn’t even know I had fans until I started playing Teresa and I thought, ‘Where have all these Gwen lovers been?’ I thought so many people just disliked me and the character. And so to have the nomination is really nice.”
The majority of O’Brien’s submission is made up of two scenes: Gwen’s emotional blasting of Xander (Paul Telfer) and her contentious convo with ostensible bestie Leo (Greg Rikaart).
The first she describes as, “This really sort of heartbreaking scene where you realize that [Xander] doesn’t love her. He kind of leaves her there on her own.” The second is where “she’s realizing her friend has stabbed her in the back with her husband, and she’s once again left alone to her own defenses. It’s right before she leaves town. In fact, I think it’s the day that she decides to leave.”
O’Brien ultimately concluded that “[This nomination] feels great. This is enough of a win for me. I’m just so incredibly shocked and grateful and, yeah, speechless. I don’t know what else to say.”
The 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony will be telecast on Friday, June 7 at 8 PM EDT/Delayed PT on CBS (with a concurrent live stream and the ability to watch on-demand on Paramount+).
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