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Over the past several weeks On-Air On-Soaps has asked you, the viewers of Days of our Lives, the ultimate question that seems to have fans divided.  Who should Sami Brady end up with?  EJ Dimera or Rafe Hernandez?  Your posts and comments have been passionate, angry, playful, and extremely clever.  Then, we posted some recent comments made by Days of our Lives executive producer, Ken Corday, from a recent interview with Soap Opera Network that intimated that come Labor Day, Sami would be reunited with Rafe, not EJ.   But is this a done deal?

As a conclusion to our little, well… huge, heated debate, On-Air On-Soaps went to the man at the center of the hurricane, who stirs up so much trouble in Salem, all the while making the hearts of female fans all across America go a-flutter.   We are speaking of only one man, Daytime Emmy Nominee for Outstanding Lead Actor for the first time in his soap opera career, James Scott.  Now, as we head into the final week before the Emmys are handed out in Vegas, find out how James chose his Emmy reel, and how his Emmy nomination day was filled with a personal heartache that he won’t soon forget.   Then it’s on to what’s coming up for Ejami fans, and working with Alison Sweeney (Sami).

To the point, charming, devilish, and charismatic, are just some of the adjectives I would use to describe this one of a kind performer who has made quite the mark for himself in the daytime arena in a relatively short time.   Here’s the dashing Brit, on all the elements of EJ and what could be shakin’ in Vegas!

MICHAEL:

James, what are you feelings on EJ’s current story?  At this point he has done some incredibly heinous things!  How can you justify some of his choices?

JAMES:

I am not justifying what he did.  What he had done is completely wrong.  There were reasons for it, but it is not an excuse.  I think you can safely say, if Sami hadn’t hidden the baby from EJ in the first place, and Nicole hadn’t switched the two babies around, none of this would have happened.  Before Sami decided not to tell him she was pregnant, EJ was dealing quite well.  I think what EJ did was wrong, and the storyline for the last four months has been EJ recognizing that what he did was wrong.  He gets it.  He knows he is wrong, regardless, and he is trying to make it up to Sami in his own way.

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MICHAEL:

The posts on my website were amazing from so many fans of Ejami and SAFE, who are so passionate about who they ultimately want Sami to end up with.  One item that kept popping up in some fans minds is, that EJ did rape Sami, and how could she be with her rapist.  What are your thoughts of that wrinkle in their past?

JAMES:

I think I have answered that question enough.  And frankly, regardless of what a small number of the audience may think, the show has moved on past that and is not going back to it.

MICHAEL:

Is there still hope for Sami and EJ?

JAMES:

I think that there is always hope for Sami and EJ.  If it does not work out this time around, it does not change the fact that EJ has maintained for a long time, all the way through his relationship with Nicole, that he was in love with Sami.  Nicole kept saying he was in love with Sami and he was!  Sami is the love of EJ’s life, and when this all comes out, it does not change the fact that he has these feelings for her, and she truly has feelings for him, too.

MICHAEL:

With all the scripts you received over the last several months; from kidnapping Sydney, to involving Anna, to making it look like Sydney had died, did you ever go, “Oh, my God.  I am going to do this?”

JAMES:

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I was fine with everything until I put the baby’s clothes in the water, because that clearly crossed the line.  As an actor, when I read that, I thought it would be a tough bridge to get over when things come out.  It’s a tough one to overcome.

MICHAEL:

What does he feel now for Nicole?

JAMES:

He hates Nicole and he should!

MICHAEL:

She now has her eyes set on Brady!

JAMES:

She is welcome to him! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

EJ has to be beyond pissed at Nicole, and he is going to want payback.  Can we expect some EJ machinations soon to be perpetrated on Nicole?

JAMES:

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I think he is biding his time and looking for an opportunity to get back at her.  I am sure if he waits, one will present itself! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Do you love playing this character?  EJ is such a fun, rich character; at times it’s got to also be exhausting.  If you read all the fans comments, they are enthralled with EJ, no matter what he does!

JAMES:

I do enjoy playing EJ a lot.  I think he has a lot of latitude.  First of all, he is a bit bad, which means he can behave himself when he wants to, and that is something the good characters do. Then, he cannot behave himself when he wants to. (Laughs) That is something the good characters can’t do, which gives him a bit more to do in that sense.

MICHAEL:

Do you ever watch your work back and think, “My God.  I as EJ, am such a snake in the grass?”

JAMES:

I have not seen a show in quite awhile, certainly over a year.   I don’t watch it on purpose, because I am incredibly self-conscious of my work.  I tend to be very judgmental and in a way that is not constructive.  So I avoid watching myself, because for me, I think that if I did, I don’t think it would help necessarily.  I was reading a recent interview with Angelina Jolie about movies she had been in but never watched, and it’s something that people do all the way up the spectrum of acting.

MICHAEL:

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That leads me into this question of your Emmy nomination.  First, I am beyond thrilled for you and the fact that you are being recognized for your performance of EJ, and because you carried so much of the load on DAYS last year.  What was the decision to choose the episode where you find out about baby Grace’s death, and then go visit her in the morgue, when you had a few other big shows to choose from?

JAMES:

To be completely honest, Gary Tomlin (co-executive producer, DAYS) chose it for me.  We got to the place three months ago when we had to pick shows.  I thought, well since I have not seen any of my shows, this is putting me at a disadvantage.  And so, I took home a few DVD’s.  I got two in and I pretty much called up Gary and said, “I don’t want to do this.  I don’t watch my work.”  It’s hard to watch, because I am aware of what I am supposed to be doing, which is finding a submission for an Emmy.  But in watching it; the way I see it is the way, I gather, the blue-ribbon panel might see it, since I am very critical.  So, I felt I was shooting myself in the foot by having me select my own Emmy reel, and so that was a recipe for a disaster. Gary Tomlin took some of my shows home over one weekend and he came in and said, “I think you should go with this one”, and so we did.

MICHAEL:

Did you watch the one that he ended up submitting for you?

JAMES:

No, I have not seen it.  But the DVD of it is in my dressing room.

MICHAEL:

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In Soap Opera Digest you were quoted as saying, in reference to the fact that for the first time ever the Daytime Emmys are being held in Vegas, the following, “I think I would rather crawl through glass naked in the slums of Calcutta than go to Las Vegas.”

JAMES:

In all fairness, it is like the same thing! (Laughs)  You can spot the people who really want to go to Vegas for the Emmys, because when you ask them when they are leaving, they say, Friday!  I am flying in Sunday morning.  Now, the shows in Vegas are quite impressive, but it’s not my town.  To me, New York and Hollywood are the Emmys, you know.  It’s disappointing to me the show is in Vegas this year, but maybe it’s in the general decline of the soaps.

MICHAEL:

I hear many Vegas performers and shows are being incorporated into the telecast.

JAMES:

Oh, wow!  Now, since I said the Vegas acts are pretty impressive, that could be fun.

MICHAEL:

When did you find out you were nominated?  And how was that day, finding out you were an Emmy nominee for the first time?

JAMES:

I found out at 6:am in the morning, and at 5:am in the morning I was putting down my dog.  Quite frankly, when I found out I was nominated; it was not a good day for me.  He had cancer.  He got really sick at 1:am in the morning, and then he was in a lot of pain and they put him down.  I had been up all night, and it is a tough thing to do under any circumstances.  So the day of finding out was not a good day, but in retrospect, and when you have time to recover a little bit from the dog dying, it’s nice to be nominated.   I was certainly surprised.  I don’t say that with a modesty that people throw into a statement like that, but I was genuinely surprised.  I did not expect to be nominated.

MICHAEL:

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Did Alison or Galen call and offer congratulations?

JAMES:

People did, but my cell phone was switched off, and I was not answering.  When I eventually got to listen to it, I did get a lot of calls from people, and those via email that said congratulations, and text messages.

MICHAEL:

But you are part of the five finalists who made it!  It’s a quite the group; Michael Park, Doug Davidson, Peter Bergman and Jon Lindstrom.

JAMES:

Yes, it’s a tough group, and I feel like the odd man out.

MICHAEL:

Alison Sweeney and you have these incredible Ejami fans.  They come to your defense and there are legions of them!

JAMES:

There are legions of them?  Well, somebody might want to mention that to Ken Corday! (Laughs).  Yes, there are a lot of Ejami fans. There are huge numbers of them and they have stuck with it through thick and thin for a long time, and they are wonderful. They are very supportive of us as a couple, and the actors individually, which is nice.

MICHAEL:

When you were at the DAYS Fan Weekend 2010, just a few weeks ago, was there something that they asked you the most?  Is it personal or storyline driven?

JAMES:

Oh, it’s always about story. They always ask a Samantha question, and it’s the one question that I cannot answer, and it’s an exercise in frustration for both of us.

MICHAEL:

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You and Galen Gering (Rafe) have such a great competitive dynamic on the show.  Can you speak to working with Galen?  On our On-Air On-Soaps Daytime Emmy Nomination Podcast, Galen co-hosted and had nothing but praise to heap upon you!

JAMES:

I think in terms of having somebody to butt heads with…I love butting heads with Galen.  I am sure you are familiar with stories that actors come with big egos, and when you have characters that get in situations where they butt heads, typically one person loses in those situations, and sometimes actors don’t like to lose.  I have certainly had some problems working with other men on our show in the past.  You will do things to them in a scene, and they will really not respond to it very well, and be quite angry and take it quite personally. The scene ends and there will be words or, something. The wonderful thing with Galen is he absolutely none of that.  It is fun to work with Galen, in the capacity we work with each other, and to know you can do those things, and use your strength as an actor to sort of get the other character.  And when you finish taping it’s. “Oh, you got me.”  Or, it’s funny, and it makes coming to work a pleasure. Galen is also a very good actor, which helps a great deal.  If I am trying to be the bad guy, then the good guy can’t hold his own.  But, Galen makes it tough for me, and he is very strong.

MICHAEL:

There is really a “hot” competition going down for Sami!

JAMES:

I was happy when he came to the show.  I don’t know if you remember, prior to when Galen came to the show, I was really the only guy in my category.  And, it was not good for the show.  And Galen coming really helped fill that gap, and he has done an excellent job and brought a lot of laughter to the set.

MICHAEL:

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When do we get the payoff where EJ is going to get his comeuppance?  Do you feel it’s everything the viewers will have waited so long to see?

JAMES:

Do you mean sometime after Labor Day weekend, that Rafe and Sami will be having a happy ending? What? (Laughs) Those scenes are coming.  If you ask me that question next week I can say some heavy stuff is coming.  This material I have not taped yet, but I would say fans of EJ and fans of Ejami, SAFE, Rafe, the whole thing; there is a very big thing that is going to happen.  Well, we know the information about Sydney is going to come out, but in addition to this, there is a huge, huge twist that is brilliant.

MICHAEL:

You did not see it coming?

JAMES:

No, no, not at all.  A good twist you never see coming, and if the show can keep a lid on it, it’s really good.  I would think from the viewer’s perspective, it will be some of the most exciting and engaging material that they have seen in the last year.

MICHAEL:

But will EJ go through mass heavy drama and feel some remorse, some guilt for all his chicanery?

JAMES:

This will be the heaviest drama EJ has been through since he found out about Nicole’s pregnancy, which was a year ago.

MICHAEL:

How was that recent on-screen kiss that happened between you and Ali Sweeney?  It’s been a while since EJ got to have a kiss from Sami!  Ejami fans were jumping for joy.

JAMES:

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(Laughs) Alison is just wonderful.  I can’t think of a better way to spend your time than kissing Alison Sweeney.   It’s just a perfect way to spend an afternoon.  And if things do go south sometime after Labor Day weekend, then that will be the one thing I will miss most.

MICHAEL:

The pace of daytime is so challenging now with little time to rehearse.  Do you and Alison get to go through your scenes before you hit the set?  Many soaps are working so fast now that no one has time to rehearse with their scene partner. They just hit the floor and do it all on the sound stages.

JAMES:

We don’t go through a full rehearsal on stage.  For example: Alison and I have big scenes coming up next week to tape, and so this week we spent a lot of time working together on that material.  Daytime is really simple.  You cannot sink your teeth into every single script, you cannot, it moves too fast.  But the way you do it is you go through the days when so much is going on and you recognize it on those days that you are able to learn your lines, and come on board and do your job, but you don’t have to go the extra mile.  However, when you have important scenes coming up, that is when you have to make sure you put in the extra time. You sit down a week in advance.  You sit down with the people you are working with, and Alison and I talk about it, and talk with Gary and the directors a day in advance, and know our blocking ahead of time.  You really have to do as much preparation as possible, and Alison is good at doing that.  I am very enthusiastic, too.  So we put in a good deal of time into that, and when you see scenes that carry weight or substance, these are not scenes that we just showed up on the sound stage and put together.

MICHAEL:

Well, viewers and fans always talk about how EJ and Sami ‘sizzle’ when they are together on screen.   They think that these two can both be so bad, so it’s so delicious and sexy to see them together.  What would you say to that?

JAMES:

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I would say this about the chemistry and the sizzle; either you have that or you don’t. That does not come from rehearsal.  It comes down to the actors if they have chemistry.   Chemistry is really a nice and polite way of saying, you know, they are attracted to one another.

MICHAEL:

So we know or hear through Ken Corday’s statement to Soap Opera Network, that on Labor Day, it seems that Sami reunites with Rafe. Would EJ then have a new woman on the horizon in Salem?  If so, who would you like it to be?

JAMES:

Let’s think about this for a second.  If you ask that question in the land of reality, the answer is no, because if you are in a relationship or in love with somebody, you are really in love with someone.  So, let’s say you break up with them.  How long does it take you to have sex with someone else?  How long does it take you to go out on a date?  How long does it take you to go back into a relationship?  It does not take you a week, or six month or maybe even a year; it could take you a long time.  I don’t know what they plan to do.  I know they always think there is some chemistry or love interest possible for EJ. Personally, I don’t think that is necessary for EJ, because he has other aspects of his life going on.  As far as another female character on the show for a romance with EJ, I don’t know, no one comes to mind.

MICHAEL:

Are you ever concerned with all the horrific things EJ has done, that the writers will box him into a corner, and then he would be written off the show?

JAMES:

Constantly!  Frankly, I think the intention at one point in time was to write me off the show, and essentially after a while, you just have to not create that opportunity. Sometimes writers put you there, but you have to be making strong choices, looking for new opportunities, and trying to communicate new things to the writer and to the audience.  It is kind of those choices that will open up opportunities for you, and you should always be looking to do those as an actor.

MICHAEL:

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How is it after these last several years still working with Joe Mascolo (Stefano) as your on-screen, dad?

JAMES:

I love working with Joe.  With Joe, I do some of my best work.  Sometimes he wipes the floor with me! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

OK, James, we really need to get back to prepping you for the Emmys.  Now, what you are wearing? That’s the first order of business we need to take care of.  (Laughs)

JAMES:

I was intending on wearing the same tuxedo I was wearing for the last four year’s, but I have someone in my ear telling me it’s not the right thing to do.  You may see me in something new, but it’s more likely you will see in the same thing in that I wore for the last four years.

MICHAEL:

OK, second. Will you prepare a speech in case you win?

JAMES:

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I would definitely prepare something.  I will prepare something and put it in my pocket.  I say that because, as much as I think my chances of winning are small, if it did happen there is a responsibility to be able to thank people and tell them how much you appreciate their support.  It’s a very small window of opportunity, as they are counting down 20 seconds on the live broadcast before you time is up.  If I were to win, there would be many people I would like to thank, and I would not like to leave anybody out.  And so, I would take a little small card and put it in my pocket and write down some names.  You know the other thing is, frankly, if I won, I would probably be so surprised I would not remember my own name.

MICHAEL:

Alright James, as I leave you to get ready for Vegas and the Emmys, do you think DAYS viewers can expect EJ’s house of cards, finally… finally…going to come crashing down around him in the coming months? And, how is he going to handle, when, and if the time comes, losing Sami?

JAMES:

First of all, I think the writing is some of the best stuff I have ever had to work with.  If EJ’s house of cards does come crumbling down, and as always, if it does, it won’t be for very long.  He has got all the money, and the situation with the underworld empire that he is connected to.  None of that is going to be impeached, but his heart may get broken, and he is going to fall as far as his heart lets him.  But the rest of his life won’t change.