Daytime Emmy Nominee Q&A: Kevin Spirtas (ex-Craig, DAYS OF OUR LIVES)

How did you find out you were nominated? “The night before, [DAYS’s publicist] sent us all information saying, ‘Tomorrow when the Emmys are announced, if you are nominated, I will reach out to you beforehand.’ I texted her that morning about an hour before and said, ‘I don’t know where to listen for the Emmy noms.’ She didn’t get my text, but called me a little later and told me the news.”

What scenes did you submit? “There are two scenes where Chloe is bringing Craig a coat outside and overhears him talking on the phone. She confronts him about who it is and says, ‘Why are you lying to us [about having an affair]?’ Craig says, ‘I’m not lying. There’s no other woman.’ He admits to her that he’s gay. There’s also a scene where Craig is in the Horton Square, and Johnny DiMera runs by without a shirt on. It was when he was the devil. He stopped, put Craig’s hand on his chest, and said, ‘Hey Doc. I think I strained a pectoral muscle.’ It was funny. Then Chloe showed up and asked why Craig was even talking to him. Craig said, ‘For so many years I stuffed down my feelings. I will not do that again.’ There’s also a scene between Craig and Nancy. I wanted to tell a story, show the progression the best that I could. Nancy has found out that it’s not a woman that Craig is having an affair with, and he tells her that they had a wonderful marriage and he loves her and that he never acted outside their marriage until now. She says, ‘You married me based on a lie, because you just happened to forget you were gay?’ Then there’s the scene at the dual wedding, where Craig asks Leo when he fell in love with him, and Leo starts to backpedal. Craig finally says, ‘I’m done’ and goes back to the hotel room. Chloe comes in to try to console him, and Craig breaks down in her arms. In the final scenes, Craig gives Leo his walking papers. He tells him he doesn’t hate him, but cannot be with him; yet, because of him, he’ll get to live his truth. Then Nancy is consoling Craig over what he went through and tells him he’s a good guy, and he grabs her hand.”

Did you do anything special to celebrate your nomination? “I called my peeps [to] share the news. I called my agent, my manager, I called my mom and dad.”

Did you get any memorable messages from any friends or co-stars? “I got many emails. I got a beautiful text from Patrika [Darbo, ex-Nancy]. She said, ‘Very proud of you. Congratulations. Now go get it.’ I was very surprised that she was not included [in the nominations].”

What are your thoughts on the work you did in this story? “I’m really proud of it. Greg Rikaart [Leo] was great to work with. So was Patrika, as always, and Nadia [Bjorlin, ex-Chloe]. We all sort of supported each other. It all came full circle. Who would have ever thunk?”

What does this nomination mean to you? “I can honestly say it felt like a fitted suit. It felt like I had done my work. I had paid my dues. I asked questions about certain things the character was being asked to do. I felt like the storyline was handled with real delicacy and, at times, some outrageousness, because it was Craig and Nancy. But I felt seen, and I felt that it was an important theme to be seen for. I’m very proud.”

What are your thoughts about the other nominees? “I know Steve Burton’s [Harris, DAYS] work and saw a little bit of his storyline. I also know Robert Newman [ex-Ashland, Y&R]. I’m sorry to say I’m not familiar with Alley Mills [ex-Heather, GH] or Cassandra Creech’s [ex-Grace, B&B] work. It’s a good group of people. We’ve all been around. We’re all veterans. When you have work that’s given to you, it’s a good story, and you take it on, you hope that this is the kind of moment that you get out of it. And you want to take home the statue.”