Months after auditioning for a part on Days of Our Lives, Rachel Boyd was shocked when she got the call stating she was hired. She replaced Madelyn Kientz as Sophia and was dropped right in the middle of Sophia and Tate’s teen pregnancy storyline. As fans of soap operas know, daytime dramas are hard work because of the amount of scripts they shoot in a day and the fast pace at which scenes are shot. Fortunately, Boyd found some help on the set to show her the ropes and navigate the hustling and bustling environment.
She Was Scared at First
Boyd explained to Soap Opera Digest about the intimidation that jumping into a pregnancy storyline caused her. “I wanted to do justice to an experience that so many women have without knowing it myself.” She figured that being a mother would come to her later in life. Once she got the part, she realized, “Things can happen to you at any age, and those experiences can be universal.”
This realization got her excited to dive into the role and give it her all. However, being new, she was still quite nervous walking into the studio. Fortunately, casting director Marnie Saitta greeted her on her first day, showed her around, and introduced her to everybody. When Saitta vowed, “You’re not going to walk into this alone,” Boyd’s nerves were calmed.
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She Wasn’t The Only Mentor
As Boyd tried to find her footing, she found another great help in Leo Howard, who plays Tate, the teen father of Sophia’s baby. Howard introduced her to the process of how scenes are put together on the set. “[He] helped me out with picking up on cues and understanding which cameras were on me.”
She also praised co-star Deidre Hall (Marlena), who showed her how to figure out where to stand so that she was lit properly and “could be seen by the camera and how to make sure that people weren’t blocking me.” And she instantly became friends with Ashley Puzemis, who plays Sophia’s frenemy, Holly. Boyd praised her castmate, stating that Puzemis helped her adapt to Los Angeles living.
Ultimately, Boyd was simultaneously floored and happy to tackle a pregnancy storyline. “I was excited to get to delve into something that I didn’t think I would [do] so early in my career.”
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