One would think that since Kristen Alderson (ex-Kiki Jerome) chose to leave the world of soap operas this year, she'd want to go out with a bang and have one more Emmy win under her belt. But surprisingly, the Pennsylvania native says she'd much rather see the honor go to someone else. Say what?! Soap Central caught up with the Outstanding Younger Actress nominee to get all the juicy details.
soapcentral.com: Congratulations on your nomination! How did you find out you'd been nominated this year?
Kristen Alderson: Well, when Chad [Duell, Michael Corinthis, GH] and I woke up, we are kind of late risers, it was 11 o'clock, and I thought we would have found out already. I didn't know it wasn't going to be announced later in the day on The Talk. So Chad woke up, and he said, "They're about to announce, they're about to announce," and... then he saw that he was nominated and said, "Oh, my God, I was nominated!" [pauses a minute] Oh wait, Chad just said, "I didn't make that big of a deal out of it!" So I guess he was like, "Oh, I was nominated," and I said, "Oh, did I get nominated?" And he said, "Yeah, you did!" So it was definitely a cool realization.
soapcentral.com: It's really cool that you were together when you found out, because you were both nominated. Did it make it more special?
Kristen Alderson: Yeah, definitely. This is Chad's first time in the Supporting Actor category, so I was really nervous. That is one of the toughest categories to get nominated in, so I was so happy and relieved for him when I found out he was nominated. And then I really was so concentrated on him that I forgot about me. I was like, "Oh, yeah, that's good!" [laughs] I was rooting for him so much that I kind of forgot about me.
soapcentral.com: After you guys had your freak-out moment together, who did you tell first?
Kristen Alderson: I called my mom immediately, and she was on the phone with my neighbor, because my mom was at work and was hearing who was nominated through my neighbor, so when she picked up the phone for me, she said, "Oh, my gosh, I just found out you were nominated!" And I said, "That's why I'm calling you!" It was very crazy. But yeah, my neighbor Judy was watching it and told my mom.
soapcentral.com: You submitted some very emotional scenes, when Kiki finds out Michael was cheating on her, right?
Kristen Alderson: Yeah. My episode was when Kiki walks in on Michael and Rosalie [Outstanding Special Guest nominee Elena Tovar] sleeping together. It was basically Kiki and Michael's breakup.
soapcentral.com: Did you know immediately that's what you wanted to submit? Or did you have to deliberate awhile on what scenes to choose?
Kristen Alderson: Kiki is a less emotional character, so that was really the only real breaking point that she had in the course of that year, so I always knew that would be the one that I would go with.
soapcentral.com: Chad also submitted pretty powerful scenes.
Kristen Alderson: Yes, it was after Carly [Laura Wright] and Franco's [Roger Howarth] wedding that didn't happen, after he found out that Sonny [Maurice Benard] was the one that killed A.J.[Sean Kanan]. It is Michael holding a gun to Sonny for the whole episode and deciding whether to shoot him or not. It was Michael going through a whole lot of turmoil and emotions. He sent in a really great tape.
soapcentral.com: Did you help him narrow down his episode, or did he choose it on his own?
Kristen Alderson: It was always between the actual wedding episode when he found out Sonny was the one who shot A.J. and the episode after when he confronted Sonny about it, so it was really tough for him, deliberating between the two. But he went with the second one because the first one was more of a group scene. It was a whole bunch of people with everyone doing really great, and he felt like the second episode really keyed in on just him and Sonny, so it was more of a reel for himself as opposed to the group.
soapcentral.com: What do you think about the Emmys being held at Warner Bros.?
Kristen Alderson: It's so exciting! I'm a big Jurassic Park fan, so I hope they somehow theme it out to movies. I know that we're not in movies, but it would be cool if they made it Hollywood themed, using some of the movies that filmed in that studio, if they have some of the props and stuff. I'm kind of freaking out that we'll be in the same studio Jurassic Park filmed, and that's what excites me about it, so I kind of hope they have an homage to that in some way.
soapcentral.com: GH totally swept the nominations, but is there anyone you're kind of sad to not see on the list?
Kristen Alderson: There are definitely so many incredibly talented people on our cast who weren't nominated, and it's hard to pinpoint one person. I don't want to say someone and then feel bad for not saying someone else. I tweeted about this, because I feel that the Emmys, as exciting as they are, and to be able to get dressed up and then the fun of it, the Emmys do not define your talent, and winning a statue does not necessarily mean that you were way better than everyone else. Everyone is special and amazingly talented in their own way, and there were 15 years where I was never even nominated. And now for the past three years, I've luckily been nominated and won one year, but in those 15 years that I wasn't nominated, I just had to know that my talent was enough. Like Kassie DePaiva [Eve Donovan, Days of our Lives; ex-Blair Cramer, One Life to Live], for instance, has never won an Emmy, and that's the most insane thing. Kassie has never won an Emmy, Trevor St. John [ex-Todd Manning/Victor Lord Jr., OLTL] has never won an Emmy, and so many insanely talented people have never won, so that right there tells you that it's not necessarily always about [talent]. And not to down the Emmys or anything, but you just never know why things happen that way, and it's not why we do it, and it's not necessarily what defines us. I don't know how else to explain it.
soapcentral.com: I think that was good. A beautiful way to answer the question. You know, it feels like every time I interview you, you know yourself more and more. And that's really cool to witness and be a part of.
Kristen Alderson: Thank you so much! Thank you. I mean, I had a lot of change in my life recently. I moved out from my mom and brother, and I live with Chad now, and I left a job that I've been doing since I was six. I've had so many huge steps in my life recently, and I feel like it has been positive for me. I've learned so much about myself and grown so much in a short amount of time. Which is kind of freaky, but at the same time is good. I've learned a lot about myself in this time period for sure.
soapcentral.com: This must be such a trip for you, because you left the soap world, and now that you've been nominated for an Emmy, you're kind of pulled back into it.
Kristen Alderson: Yeah, it feels a little awkward. Well, not awkward, because everyone at the show is so sweet, and I've visited General Hospital since, and everyone is like, "We miss you! We love you!" And I still obviously care and love all of them. But it definitely is a little weird, because I'm not on an actual show right now. So being at the Emmys will be like, "Hey, yeah, so I'm not actually on a show, but I'm here representing the show kind of." So it's a little bit of a strange feeling, because I've never had that feeling before, but I mean, it'll still be cool, and everyone is still a family to me, and I'm just proud of everyone and happy that they're all being recognized, because there are just so many talented people on our cast, and they really all do deserve awards.
soapcentral.com: How do you feel about going up against Haley Pullos [Molly Lansing]? I don't know how close you are or if it feels weird to compete with a friend.
Kristen Alderson: We were never in a storyline together, so we haven't really spent much time together at all, but she is so sweet. And she has always had really beautiful and talented scenes with Nancy Lee Grahn [Alexis Davis] on the show and Rick Hearst [Ric Lansing]. I've seen her episodes, and I feel like she's grown so much as an actress. I'm really proud of how much she's grown, and I really do feel she deserves her nomination. [Her scenes are from the episode in which] Rick Hearst's character dies, and I know that I was really taken back and affected by her work and was really proud of her, so she 100 percent deserves to be in the category. And of course it would be so exciting for her if she did win. It's such a strange feeling, and I don't know if anyone else ever felt this way, but I always feel like because I already won my Emmy, I feel like someone else can win it. It's nice to have my work recognized and to be nominated, and it would be lovely to get another Emmy, but again, I'm always really happy for other people to have that moment. It's something so special and was such a blessing for me, so it would be cool to see someone else get that, too.
Are you hoping to see Alderson take home the gold, or is your thinking similar to hers in that you'd rather see another young lady experience winning the statue? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
