‘Days of Our Lives’: Serena Scott Thomas Introduces Xander’s ‘Troubled Soul’ Mother

Like Sands Through the Hourglass…

For exclusive news and updates, subscribe to our Days of our Lives Newsletter:

Serena Scott Thomas will make her Days of Our Lives debut on July 19 as Fiona Cook, mother of Xander (Paul Telfer), marking her first role on a daytime drama.

“It was just an audition that my agent sent me,” she recalls. “Everything’s on self-tape, so I did that with my husband, which is usually a disaster. Never let your spouse be your self-tape partner! [Laughs] But it was lovely. Marnie [Saitta], who is the casting director, made me feel very comfortable and I absolutely loved the role. I hope the audience does, too. She is so much fun and so quirky and well-written.”

The actress says she acclimated well to the new medium, thanks to some behind the scenes help. “The professionalism of the cast and crew is staggering,” she praises. “There was a lot of language that was unfamiliar to me. Things like, ‘Look over here for your tag.’ I’m not really used to working with multiple cameras, so there were a lot of things that I had to learn. And when you have a lot of lines, it was quite the challenge.”

Once she got used to the fast pace of filming, though, Scott Thomas quickly got into a groove. “Before I started acting, I was a model and I did a lot of television commercials,” she explains. “That really helped because you have to tell a story in 30 seconds and it’s also very precise. I really love the very little rehearsal and one-take thing that is the goal with the soap opera because there’s no sitting around going, ‘Oh, I, think I could have done it better,’ which actors are prone to do. You can’t get up in your head about it. There’s no navel-gazing involved so it keeps you on your toes.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Serena Scott Thomas (@sscottthomas)

Scott Thomas’s road to Salem started in Europe, where she became a model, then did the commercial circuit. “I’d wanted to act for a long, long time but I was on track to study international law,” she says. “And then I ran off to Ibiza, ran away from the English boarding school institution thing. I couldn’t take it any longer. So I was passing through Barcelona and somebody said to me, ‘You should do some modeling.’ I thought, ‘Well, that sounds like fun.’ I started doing a lot of commercials and I went to Paris and then England and I worked with a wonderful film director called Richard Loncraine. He said, ‘Serena, what are you doing? You should be acting.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know, it’s my sister’s [Kristin Scott Thomas] thing.’ I just felt a bit silly. He said, ‘No, really. You guys are completely different and you should do it.’ So I went to the Lee Strasburg Theatre & Film Institute in London for a little bit and didn’t take me long before I started working and discovered that’s what I love and that’s when I feel the most fulfilled and the most comfortable. It just fills me with joy even if the material is tough. It’s very cathartic and it’s also very fun.”

Related

'Days': Susan Seaforth Hayes Previews Romantic Final Scene With Husband Bill

She’s having a lot of fun discovering the many facets of her new alter ego. “Fiona is a troubled soul,” she relays. “Fiona grew up in Scotland in a big house. She had a difficult childhood, Her father was an alcoholic. Her mother was a classic codependent of that generation, very emotionally immature. Fiona left home very young and moved to Europe and was always sort of looking for the daddy figure to get that fix and that security and that sense of belonging and attachment. And, of course, there she was introduced to drugs and alcohol and that carried on until it became a problem. She had her lovely son but was emotionally ill-equipped. She had no tools. She was really at sea and that’s why she abandoned her son in such a selfish way, which she came to profoundly regret.”

And when Fiona arrives in town, she drops a huge bombshell that will change the dynamics on the canvas forever. “Yes, she does,” previews the actress. “Fiona comes with her Fiona flair, large and in charge, with a twinkle in her eye. She wants to make amends with her son having been in rehab, having done a lot of work on herself. She knows that she has to mend this relationship and her goal is to start being a mother.”

Developing a bond with Paul Telfer came easily, Scott Thomas reports. “Oh, my gosh, I loved Paul from the moment I saw him in the corridor outside the dressing rooms,” she enthuses. “He held out his arms and he went, ‘Mum!’ He was so sweet — he took me to lunch and we had a good old natter [chat], and we just totally hit it off. He has that fabulous sense of humor that’s so familiar to me, the English sense of humor, and he’s probably the kindest person I’ve ever met. That man has a huge heart, and generosity of spirit. I don’t think I’ve ever come across that in an actor that I’ve worked closely with. He’s absolutely selfless and giving.”

Chris Haston/NBC

She’s equally impressed by her other co-stars. “Linsey [Godfrey, Sarah Horton] is just a doll. We laughed and laughed and laughed together,” Scott Thomas adds. “And I adore Suzanne [Rogers, Maggie Horton]. I want to be like her when I grow up. She has such a regal presence, but she’s very humble and so professional. And then Eric [Martsolf, Brady Black] is an absolute hoot. He is so funny, and also incredibly kind and supportive and helpful. I’ve never been so happy on a set.”

With her first episode set to premiere this week, Scott Thomas is planning to host a watch party. “It’s quite fun to do that and it’s nice to have your friends around you because you’re always a bit nervous,” she shares. “I think a lot of actors sort of cringe when they see themselves, but this particular role I’m really looking forward to because it’s so well-written and very freeing. I felt as though the way Ron [Carlivati, head writer] wrote it, it was almost like he knew me. It was kind of spooky in places.”

And as she looks back on her experience so far, Scott Thomas offers, “I am so blessed to have this opportunity. It’s been nothing but an absolute delight. I have to say I have a huge respect for soap opera actors now. It’s a thing of its own; it really is. And I think that every actor should do it at some point in their career.”

Days of Our Lives, Weekdays, Streaming on Peacock