The Daytime Emmy reels for Best Actress are available for viewing online. I’ve watched all four. Eileen Davidson (“Days of Our Lives“) submitted the only villainous performance in the category. Will she crush her more virtuous rivals?
Watch her rivals’ reels:
Katherine Kelly Lang, Heather Tom, and Arianne Zucker
Length of Reel: 7:31
Synopsis: Kristen DiMera (Davidson) has been caught in a lie and as a result lost Brady, the man she schemed to get. But when Marlena (Deidre Hall) comes to gloat, Kristen fights back by revealing that she seduced Marlena’s husband.
Analysis: Davidson’s reel runs a gamut of emotions. She begins on the floor, crying in defeat, and shifts naturally to rage, then pettiness, and at last a surprising moment of sincerity when she reveals that loving Brady had turned her away from feelings of revenge.
Because Davidson plays a villain — and is one of the few nominees in any category with a dastardly performance — she may be less sympathetic than her competitors, but that also means she stands out from the pack, playing markedly different emotions and motivations than her rival nominees. And in the era of the TV anti-hero, it might be especially advantageous to break bad.
The last time Davidson was nominated for this role (1998), she lost to another scenery-chewing villainess, Cynthia Watros (“Guiding Light”). Might it be Davidson’s turn this year? Watch her submitted scenes below, then predict Best Actress and discuss all the episodes in our forums:
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