Wally Kurth isn’t your typical daytime star in that he plays a character on two different sudsers, on two different networks. Yes, on any given day you might see him doing his damndest to dispense justice on Days of our Lives (as legal eagle Justin Kiriakis) as well as doing his damndest to referee his other alter-ego’s squabbling kin on General Hospital. His work on the former nabbed him a primo prize — a Daytime Emmy Award nomination in the Supporting Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actor category, but Kurth could very well have made history if things had really gone his way.

Wally Kurth On His Daytime Emmy Nomination

As he explained to Michael Fairman, Kurth also submitted a reel of his work on GH in the hopes of snagging a nod in a second race, namely, Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actor:

“I thought the DAYS reel was a little more dramatic, much more emotional. I had thought with the way the judging goes that it might be a little bit more, winnable, if you will. I enjoyed and was proud of my work at General Hospital, so it’s all good. I’m thrilled. It’s always nice to be nominated.

On what he cut together from DAYS: “I started chronologically, as always, trying to tell a little bit of a story. I actually started with a scene where Justin has to tell Maggie (Suzanne Rogers) that Victor’s (the late John Aniston) plane went down and it was not found.

“Then, the scene with Bonnie (Judi Evans) where I sort of have to let it all out, and grieve the loss of this man who was practically Justin’s father, but it was his Uncle Vic. We have a little scene talking about Victor, and then there is a short snippet at the funeral where Justin eulogizes Victor.

“Next, we jump to the scene where Justin discovers the letter where Angelica admits that indeed Victor is Alex’s father (Rob Scott Wilson). So then, Justin has to tell Alex, and then I also sort of grieve the fact that I’m no longer his father. Justin basically lost his son. It was very dramatic and very emotional. I was guessing the judges would be like, ‘Hey! Enough with the crying! Stop, you big baby!’ But, they didn’t. They must have thought that it was convincing enough that it felt really truthful at how Justin was upset about these two unfortunate realizations.”

On his fellow nominees: “l love Robert [Gossett; Marshall Ashford, GH]. I worked with the character…on General Hospital, and we had so much fun. He’s a great guy and a really good actor. A Martinez [Nardo Ramos, The Bay] is the best guy ever. I have such admiration for him. Whenever I see him, we always really connect, and to be included with him is great. Bryton James [Devon Hamilton, The Young and the Restless], I don’t know, but I know he beat me in this category in 2020. Mike Manning [Caleb McKinnon, BAY], I didn’t get the opportunity to know when he was at DAYS as he weren’t in scenes together, but I hear good things about him, too.”

On pulling double duty on two soaps as beloved legacy characters: “I didn’t plan on it. I must have done something right. Back in 2009, Ken called me up and invited me back to DAYS. I really jumped in. I’d been out of work for four or five years. I went back with a whole new attitude about the work, about the genre.

“In 2004, when I left General Hospital, I was kind of burnt out. Looking back on it, I didn’t have a good attitude and I was just done. I was kind of tired…

“Believe me when I tell you that every time I leave those sets, I’m like, ‘Thank you. I love it. See you the next time I see you.’ I know how lucky I am to do both shows and to have this opportunity to act at my age and still be sent scripts. I love the art of acting. I’d do it for free. The fact that they’re paying me and I am able to do this and work with these great, wonderful, talented actors every day, it’s kind of mind-blowing.

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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