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.
Eric Martsolf On His Nomination
Eric Martsolf (Brady Black, Days of our Lives), one of the five thespians competing for the Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actor trophy, tells Soap Opera Digest that, should he prove victorious on awards night, he’d love the award just as much as the Supporting Actor one he won back in 2014.
“I always thought that the idea of a lead actor versus a supporting actor was silly because I truly believe that we’re all supporting each other,” he detailed. “Whether it’s in a scene or in a cast or even in the genre altogether, we support each other…I would be just as proud receiving an Emmy in the supporting category as the lead category.”
On the competition in his category: “Every gentleman has an Emmy or multiple Emmys on their shelves. They have them for a reason. They’re all good. They’re all strong…We’re all Seabiscuit in the sense that I think everyone in this category can win. I don’t think there’s one giant favorite horse in this race, and that makes it really interesting…My mother was such a fan of Eric Braeden [Victor, Young and Restless]. She just loved Victor her whole life. My biggest regret is that she’s not here to see that these two Erics are going to go up for the same trophy.”
On how he learned of his nomination: “I actually opened my phone on a day that was hard for me, because I was going through my parents’ inherited cottage that my brother [Justin] and I had decided to sell…We were in the attic looking through photo albums. We were taking silverware out of the drawers. We were taking [my mother’s] own watercolor artwork off of the walls and putting them in bins…
“We went to lunch, and there were tears and angst. But then all of a sudden out of the blue, there was this little text from Andrea McKinnon, our publicist, and it said, ‘Congratulations.’ In true fashion, I had forgotten that the announcements were happening that day. I had other things on my mind, and that’s when I realized, ‘Oh my God. What a beautiful cherry to put on a tough day.’ ”
On the scenes he submitted: “This year, Kristen and Brady have had some really come-to-head moments, and it’s been all about Rachel and the custodial fight for her…The scene that I started my reel with was Brady’s breaking point. He literally takes his father’s gun, goes over to Kristen, points it at her, and says, ‘Give me my daughter.’ He’s breaking, and you don’t know whether he is going to pull the trigger or not… I felt my reel was strong.
“Stacy Haiduk [Kristen] is in probably 80% of it. And when she and I get fiery, it’s just fun because she gives it right back. We play some fiery ping pong with each other, with these two very unstable characters. I think it makes for good TV at times. I think my reel is kind of a compilation of Kristen and Brady’s greatest hits last year as far as their frustration for one another.”
And as for whether or not the male nominees should follow in the footsteps of the “Nominated Ladies Who Lunch” Martsolf proffered, “I’m so jealous of that. I wish the boys would do it. It should be [hosted by] one of the giant vets, who’s been on soaps for over 40 years. We should all go over to his house. We should all go over to Eric’s [Braeden] house.”
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+).
Catch up with Daily Drama on Social Media!
Subscribe to the Daily Drama Podcast on YouTube!
Follow our main Daily Drama Facebook page.
Check out our Daily Drama Instagram page.
Find us on our Daily Drama Threads
Spend time with Daily Drama on TikTok
Tweet with us on our Daily Drama X account
Exclusively for DAYS Fans!
Like us on Facebook at Days of our Lives Daily.
Connect with other fans in our DAYS Facebook community group.
