A First Time For Everything: John Aniston’s Surprising Reaction To Emmy Nod

After four decades in the soap business, Days of Our Lives icon John Aniston earned his first Daytime Emmy nomination this year and wonders what took so long.

The actor has played the formidable Victor Kiriakis on DAYS since 1985, but got his soap start as a different character on the show. He then rose to soap fame on Love of Life, soon moving onto Search For Tomorrow.

But, fans mainly know him as Victor, the crotchety old crime lord who has something to say about anyone who’s anyone in Salem.

When TV Insider’s Michael Logan asked why it took so many years for the Emmys to sit up and take notice, Aniston answered like Victor would, with signature humor.

“You got me. I really haven’t a clue. But this is very encouraging,” he said.

Aniston admitted that he’d be disappointed when he’d learn he’d been passed over, but also acknowledges the work that goes into getting an Emmy.

“It’s a lot of work to get an Emmy,” Aniston said. “You have to sit down for hours and watch a whole bunch of your episodes to find just the right one to submit to the judges. Are you kidding me? Who has time for that at my age? This time I let the producers do it.”

The 83-year-old actor considers Victor and his wife, Maggie (Suzanne Rogers), the new Tom and Alice Horton of the show, dishing out sage advice–but with a different kind of edge.

Of course, now that Aniston has the Emmy nod, he has to think about what comes next, so he told Logan, “I’m going to have to start the Benjamin Button phase of my career and work backward.”

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