‘Days of Our Lives’ Star Kassie DePaiva Talks Eve Getting Jack to Say ‘I Do’
Q&A
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Soap opera weddings can go either way – the couple might exchange “I do’s” or a dramatic twist could occur, preventing the union from becoming legal.
That’s the big question on Days of Our Lives today as Eve (Kassie DePaiva) and Jack (Matthew Ashford) head to the altar. We all know Jack’s true love is Jennifer (Melissa Reeves), but Eve’s a very determined woman! And as Jack still doesn’t fully recall his past, perhaps he and Eve could make a go of it?
TV Insider spoke with DePaiva all about Eve’s schemes to take Jack from Jen, what’s on her reel that earned her a well-deserved Daytime Emmy nomination this year in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, the role music plays on soaps today, and more!
First, congratulations on your nomination!
Kassie DePaiva: Thank you! It’s so exciting!
Along with being nominated, what are you looking forward to at this year’s ceremony?
I love the Emmys because I get to see my other friends from daytime, many of the other people I’ve met over the years, and we get to celebrate what we do. It’ s always sweet when you get a nomination. They’re few and far between so I’m just enjoying the ride! I think Days has a lot of great nominees this year. I hope Days does well. It all starts on the page. The writing is so good.
It’s a great group you’re in with this year: Martha Madison (Belle), Linsey Godfrey (Sarah), Young and the Restless’ Beth Maitland (Traci) and Mishael Morgan (ex-Hilary), and Vernee Watson (Stella, General Hospital). Susan Flannery (ex-Stephanie, Bold and the Beautiful) started a tradition in which the nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress get together for a lunch before the awards show. Maybe the Supporting Actresses could too?
What’s really nice is that Eileen Davidson (Ashley, Y&R, who won last year) is hosting this year and she did include the [Supporting Actresses]. But I can’t make the luncheon because I’m going to be in Nashville doing an appearance. They are indeed getting together.
Can you talk about what you submitted for your reel?
Yes. I used two episodes. The first one was Eve’s “almost” wedding with Brady (Eric Martsolf). It aired about this time last year. Eve found out he’d gone behind her back and was in cahoots with Victor (John Aniston). He was seducing Eve just so he could get the company. Unbeknownst to us, he’d fallen in love for real. It was one of those “I wouldn’t marry you if you were one of the last men on earth” scenes. Those were some nice scenes. And, I also included the scenes where Eve confronted Ben (Robert Scott Wilson) about Paige’s (True O’Brien) death. Those are strong, too.
In the latest #DAYS, Eve comes face-to-face with Ben.https://t.co/ZsCmioRrzb pic.twitter.com/PiBNa03zht
— Days of our Lives (@nbcdays) July 28, 2018
Eric (Greg Vaughan) has come to realize he’ll never have Jennifer and tried telling Eve she’ll never have Jack. You two had some nice banter in those scenes.
I have worked with Greg before, back when Eve first came back to town. We had a friendship. She hired him to take pictures. [Greg] is one of the most physically beautiful people you’ve ever seen and he can act so, it’s a double whammy with him. We only worked together a few days in this story, but it’s always a joy to work with Greg, always fun.
Music used to be such a huge part of soaps before and it’s taken a hit because of economics. Can you talk about the role music has played in soaps and how that’s changed?
Music has always been key to every role I have ever played on a soap opera. Chelsea Reardon (Guiding Light) was a singer. Blair (One Life to Live) was a singer. Eve is a singer. I’ve been very lucky to be able to shine a little bit of that and do music within my characters. Granted, on Guiding Light we used to be able to sing songs [often].
Now, it costs a lot of money to play songs on daytime that aren’t in public domain. On One Life to Live, they played a lot of money when they’d do musical shows. I’m sure with the Nurses Ball [on General Hospital] ABC pays a great deal of money for the licensing fees for those songs, but it’s worth it. People can relate to [more popular] songs. Maybe an original song would be fitting, but it might not draw as much attention because it’s not yet as identifiable. People can’t relate to it as much.
There are opportunities for original songs which can be less expensive to air. Are you working on any?
I’m not, but I know Olivia Rose Keegan [Claire] sings original songs on the show. I’m not sure if she’s used her own or not. But I know that [composer] Brett Nelson has made original music that Olivia has sung.
How’s Jimmy [DePaiva]? Your husband played such a key role in GH’s sexual harassment storyline last year as Dr. Bensch. He did a great job in a tough part.
He’s doing great. I’m sitting him looking at him right now. I thought he did a great job, too! We’ll be at the Emmys.
Kassie DePavia and James DePaiva (Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage)
What does Eve win if she manages to become Mrs. Jack Deveraux?
If she can become his wife that’s another step in getting closer to what she wants in life – power, prestige, and love. She is manipulating Jack, but she truly believes Jack can be mayor and be happy. She [truly] believes that Jennifer that is not the right woman for him. Eve believes that she is the better fit. She points out to Jack how many times Jennifer has mistreated him.
Jack and Eve on Days of Our Lives(NBC)
Would you say Eve truly does love Jack – or is this all about wanting to stick it to her Jennifer?
More than anything, Eve is seizing a huge opportunity for herself. There are a lot of layers to that. If all goes her way, she gets Jack. She gets to marry Jack. She gets to stick it to Jennifer. She gets to gain power and control. All of those things that she hungers for including self-esteem. She’s so broken on so many levels. She’s getting a lot of things out of this. Marrying Jack will be like a good peanut butter spread over a piece of toast!
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