Interview: Days of our Lives’ Kristian Alfonso

Days of our Lives stars Kristian Alfonso (Hope Brady), Bryan Dattilo (Lucas Horton) and Molly Burnett (Melanie Jonas) were in Toronto last week to meet fans and promote Days of our Lives 45 Years: A Celebration in Photos. We got a chance to speak with all three stars and here is our first interview, where Kristian Alfonso discusses her latest storyline involving the return of Hope’s alter, Princess Gina, what went wrong with last year’s Hope/Bo/Carly triangle and her special message to the loyal fans of the soap.

It looks like Stefano (Joseph Mascolo) will be turning Hope and John (Drake Hogestyn) into Princess Gina and The Pawn shortly. What’s the deal with this “Anastacia Egg” artifact that we’ll be hearing about?
We come to find out that Stefano really needs them to acquire this Anastasia Egg that is worth quite a bit of money, and there’s not just the Anastasia Egg…but also something else! He needs Princess Gina and The Pawn back to uncover it.

So there’s more to this than just the egg. Will we see Princess Gina’s infamous blonde streak again?
Absolutely!

How are Hope and John buying into this? That Stefano would actually harm Marlena (Deidre Hall), his “Queen of the Night”?
That is an excellent question! Well, Hope and John believe that Bo is lying in a hospital bed because of Stefano. That was the first strike. We are actually watching on television as he’s threatening John and Hope and that, there’s someone following her [Marlena]. There’s a live feed that we’re watching. This guy is right on her tail and she has no idea that someone is following her.

Soap opera super couples always find themselves with some interloper. Billie’s (Lisa Rinna) back, but it’s safe to assume that she’s not after Bo (Peter Reckell), for now. But, we did have Carly (Crystal Chappell) come between Bo and Hope last year. What were your thoughts on that triangle?
The storyline with Carly…That could have been an interesting and fascinating story with a lot of twists and turns. Unfortunately, I think it all happened so fast. There were so many things that didn’t add up as far as character-driven [storyline]. Why would all of a sudden this woman [Carly] be sleeping in not just her [Hope] house, but in her bed? Why would it not be the guest room? Or Shawn’s room? Or Ciara’s? Why would that not happen? There were too many things that were contradicting and that didn’t flow but it could have been a very interesting story.

Was the writing to blame?
[Former Headwriter] Dena Higley’s a good writer, she’s a very good writer. I think things just got pushed too quickly so there were beats that were greatly missed.

You’ve been on the show for almost thirty years, give and take a few. That is quite a long time! What have been some of your favourite storylines? Your least favourite?
Has it really been almost thirty years?! Nooo!? Well, you’re also counting the years I’ve been off, with Falcon Crest and Melrose Place…

Days of our Lives is a staple in my life. I so enjoy being a part of such a tremendous show and it’s a legacy. To be able to do something that I’m passionate about, I feel very blessed.  Honestly, I have really enjoyed everything I have been involved in. I’ve never repeated a storyline, shockingly enough, with the amount of years that I have been on the show. I think every story has brought something different and has been a different challenge for me.

Even the storyline that I was not madly in love with but I found it really interesting, it was a different beat and a different way to learn about the character and that was “Nighttime Hope.” I mean, that was kind of fun. I think Dena did a great job writing that portion. As far as trying to kill him [Bo], I didn’t understand that. That is just like an out of body experience. But at the same time, I come to find out that she wasn’t really too off the mark either. I have to give her kudos for that. These sleeping aids really alter you’re personality and you do things that are insanely crazy.

Is there any storyline that you’d like to see? Maybe have J.T. come back all grown up.
He can’t come back. I would like to see my son return — my oldest son.

Brandon Beemer’s off The Bold and the Beautiful now. Or would you rather have Jason Cook even though he’s currently on General Hospital?
Well, Jason Cook is the original! Either of “my” sons. I just spoke to Jason the other day – he’s my boy! I’ve known him since he was a teenager. Whenever I sit with him, I go “You’re my boy!” He’s such a sweetheart. He’s very talented. He’s a director as well and he writes. It was wonderful working with Brandon as well though. I think Hope needs that connection to her son as well. We need to get him off the boat and back to Salem!

What about Belle?
Belle as well!

The soap landscape has changed quite a bit in recent years.
It has unfortunately.

Luckily, Days has survived.
[Knocks on wood]

With the “reboot” last September with new head writers Marlene McPherson and Darrell Ray Thomas Jr., do you think NBC has thought twice about cancelling their last soap as a result of the backlash ABC has received this past year after the cancellations of All My Children and One Life to Live?
Days of our Lives is a part of people’s lives. [It’s a show] they find comfort in. It’s something that they go home at night [and continue to watch], whether they’re DVR-ing it or still VCR-ing it, watching it on SOAPnet, watching it live. A lot of people watch TV during their lunch hour, whether in the lunch room or at school. I can go into Best Buy and Days of our Lives is on every channel. So, it’s everywhere. I think NBC has been incredibly supportive of Days of our Lives. I have to also say that, not just our cast, but our crew, from our grips to our props, to our security guards, we all come together every day to try to make the best possible show we can produce and make sure that the audience enjoys it. When we walk through those doors, we’re ready to give 110%!

The show films about three months ahead, do you think this can hurt the show? Especially if the audience isn’t responding well to a certain story.
It’s true, you’re right about that. Unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of cutbacks, as a lot of companies have. It takes a lot of money to run a show and in those cutbacks, we have a lot more time off now because we will shoot between seven to eight episodes in one week.

Thank you so much for chatting with us during your visit!
Something that I would like to say to the fans: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I bow to you all for staying with us and being so loyal and so supportive through the storylines that you’ve loved and cried with and laughed with, been on the edge of your seats and also sticking with us when it wasn’t a happy place and you weren’t enjoying it. But you stayed there because you believed in us!

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We also got a chance to speak to Kristian Alfonso about the new jewellery line she debuted The Shopping Channel this past weekend. Here’s a clip of Kristian as she introduces her Believe line, which is available here.

Days of our Lives airs weekdays on Global and NBC. Canadian fans can also catch up with the series online at GlobalTV.com, on demand or on their mobile devices. The TV Watercooler’s Days of our Lives week continues tomorrow, with an exclusive interview with Bryan Dattilo (Lucas).

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