Dan Feuerriegel plays the bad guy everyone loves to hate on Days of our Lives. His fellow actors have bestowed upon the actor a Daytime Emmy nomination for his portrayal of EJ DiMera. Soap Hub chatted with the performer about his reel and his thoughts going into the big night.
Dan Feuerriegel: Daytime Emmy Nominee
After the Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony was postponed back in June, the industry wasn’t quite sure if the show would get on in 2023 or not. “It felt great to learn I was nominated, but to be perfectly honest, I’d forgotten about it for a bit,” Feuerriegel says. “Now that it’s happening, I’m excited. I’m nervous — all of the above!”
Billy Flynn, nominated for Outstanding Performance in Drama Series: Actor for his role as Chad DiMera, told Soap Hub that his reel is a bit lengthy. Conversely, Feuerriegel says that his is shorter in length. “I used two scenes,” the nominee says. “The first was with the legendary Deidre [Hall, Marlena]! EJ was taking responsibility for the death of his mother [Susan, Stacy Haiduk]. If he hadn’t been so egotistical and narcissistic, people would be alive.
“Then, there’s a scene with Galen [Gering, Rafe] by the crash site with EJ starring into the abyss as he was feeling the death of his mother,” Feuerriegel says. “I used those two scenes, and luckily, people who voted got me into the final round.”
Feuerriegel and EJ got the best of both worlds in that the actor got to dive deep into some emotional material while the character got his mother back after it was revealed that Susan was actually alive. “EJ will always be EJ,” Feuerriegel points out. “That’s the beauty of the character. His mother was — and is — his rock whom he could always depend on; he reverts back to being a child with his mother. I felt they’d bring Susan back [eventually] — she’s too good of a character. First, they brought on Aunt Moira. Stacy, being the pro that she is, knocked it out of the park.” (Refresh your memory on Aunt Moira here).
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The actor has brought his social media followers along with him as he’s been preparing for the Daytime Emmy Awards by posting stories about wardrobe fittings on Instagram. “Sometimes, I’m a bit of a last-minute person, but a buddy of mine, Anthony Franco [@afrancodesigner], designs suits,” Feuerriegel says. “I gave him a buzz. He’s got all his suits in a warehouse. I was able to go over and try on everything.”
Feuerriegel says he knows two nominees in particular — both of whom took home statuettes last year and are nominated again this year. “I’m familiar with Nicholas Alexander Chavez [Spencer, General Hospital],” he says. “He won [Outstanding Young Performer] last year. We met, lovely guy.”
Feuerriegel also knows Kelly Thiebaud (ex-Britt, GH), who won last year’s Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series award and is nominated again in the same category. “Years ago, a buddy of mine had a self-tape studio, which was an amazing setup,” he says. “Kelly would come over to [go on tape] all the time. That’s how I met her. She’s a lovely girl, talented as hell.”
Speaking of talented, Feuerriegel has nothing but praise for the show’s current set-up in which EJ believes not only did his and Nicole’s (Arianne Zucker) baby die but also that the infant was even his! “I’m lucky to be working with Ari,” he raves. “She makes me look good.”
The 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards air on Friday, December 15 at 9 p.m. on CBS and Paramount+.
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