Kristian Alfonso: Insight about Jailed Hope on Days of our Lives

While her alter ego Hope Brady is in prison – “she’s a cop among the general population [of prisoners], so it’s dangerous,” points out Kristian Alfonso — the actress, who plays her, is enjoying the Days of Our Lives plot twist.

“I’m having a ball, and I get to work with some really amazing woman. There are a lot of special guests,” says Alfonso, referring to the actresses portraying her fellow inmates.

Among them, Dot-Marie Jones as Chillie, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins as Sheila, and Deidre Hall as Hattie. “It’s never dull. There are a lot of surprises. It’s different than being in prison before and where it leads Hope.”

Slammer Sequel
It’s Hope’s second time in the slammer in the past five years, a stunning turn for a character who had long been depicted as an upstanding heroine and law abiding police officer. Not surprisingly, the switch has been “tough” on Alfonso.

“First, it was the sleeping pills and that whole debacle,” recounts Alfonso about the story that had Hope beating and mugging Salem citizens and even attempting to kill her late husband, Bo.

 

“Then, they told me Hope was going to kill Stefano…It was so difficult doing those scenes with Joe, who I love and admire, and Stefano being the icon that he is. It was hard. Really hard.”

Losing Hope
Alfonso admits there were things she “was questioning big time.” After all…continue reading on the next page —>

Continue reading on the next page…

Losing Hope
Alfonso admits there were things she “was questioning big time.” After all, as an actress she wanted to be true to her character’s core.

“I believe everyone can go off the beaten path a little bit, but…” says Alfonso, admitting there were times she didn’t recognize Hope. “Hope made a lot of bad choices, a lot of bad decisions.

There were things that were incredibly difficult for me to embrace and do, but I knew I had to. There were parts of it that I felt were brilliant and very well done, too.”

Paying for Her Crimes
One of those things was Hope owning up to what she’d done in the end and taking responsibility for murdering Stefano (Joseph Mascolo).

“Hope was not looking to get off for this,” insists Alfonso. “She felt that she needed to go [to prison]. She made a deal, and she was not looking to get out of it. And that was to protect Rafe, who she pulled into it, and Roman. What she did was wrong. She lost control and pulled the trigger.

Yes, she covered it up. Absolutely. But she was panic-stricken, and Rafe showed up and protected her. I don’t think she looked at [going to prison] as selfless. She thought of it as the right thing to do.”

In the end, Stefano’s murder and all the twists and turns the story took “led to good stuff,” acknowledges Alfonso. “It’s been a challenge, and I feel that now things are coming to fruition. I’m recognizing Hope again. She’s a fighter. She’s passionate, but sometimes she jumps before she thinks.”

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