Winning a Daytime Emmy is always special, but for several of this year’s honorees, the victories carried extra significance.
For Lead Actor winner Scott Clifton (Liam Spencer, The Bold and the Beautiful), picking up his fourth Daytime Emmy was particularly meaningful. His character was originally scripted to die at the end of his brain tumor storyline, but a change of heart from the show’s executive producer/head writer, Bradley Bell, ultimately gave Liam another chapter.
“This is probably the most symbolic Emmy that they’ve given me so far,” Clifton reflected. “It has, I think, a weight to it that perhaps previous ones didn’t even. And there’s some parallels with my own life and the sort of state that I was in at the time that we were telling this story. I was supposed to really die, and I took that very seriously. It was such a cathartic story to tell, so yeah, I’m very proud of it.”
Despite the weight of the storyline, Clifton wasn’t convinced he’d be taking home another trophy. “Everybody who’s nominated has the people that love them telling them constantly that they’re gonna win, and it’s not cool because most of them are not,” he pointed out. “So, I kind of do this trick where I just convince myself that I’m not going to, and then I don’t have to stress about anything. I literally didn’t write a speech. I mean, that was that was unwise of me, but I guess that did make it all the more surprising, and I just feel so complimented.”
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Now that he has four Emmys, Clifton faces a new challenge: finding room for his latest award. “I have the other three sitting on a bookshelf; there’s no more room on that bookshelf,” he noted. “I need to ask Heather [Tom, Katie Logan Spencer, B&B, who has won six]. I think she’s got an entire room full of them. So, I’ll seek her advice.”
Lead Actress Tamara Tunie (Anita Williams Dupree, Beyond the Gates) had an entirely different kind of milestone to celebrate. “First nomination and first win. That’s pretty incredible,” she marveled.
Beyond the Gates, which was in its first year of eligibility, entered the evening with 15 nominations and took home four awards. Tunie was thrilled with the recognition for the show and her castmates. “It’s been an incredible night for us, so I’m so happy for all of us,” Tunie added. “And even though we didn’t take statues in some of the other categories, it does not negate the beautiful work that our family is doing for the show. Everybody works so hard, and they bring 200 percent, and it shows. So, it’s just all fantastic.”
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Tunie began her daytime career on As the World Turns, playing Jessica Griffin in 1987, before finding primetime success as medical examiner Melica Warner on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Receiving this honor at this stage in her career felt especially fitting. “I feel like it’s the perfect time, I feel like it’s the right time,” she observed. “It’s the right show. Everything is right.”
Roger Howarth (Matt Clark, The Young and the Restless) had a memorable return to the Daytime Emmy stage. He won Outstanding Younger Actor in 1994 for his portrayal of One Life to Live‘s Todd Manning and was last nominated in 2005, when he played Paul Ryan on As the World Turns. To find himself back in the winner’s circle 32 years after his first victory was a lot to take in.
“It hits really hard,” he said. “I’m really pleased. I’m so lucky. I love Y&R, and I’m happy to represent.”
Howarth has been selective about submitting himself for Emmy consideration over the years. “It would be a lot to try and sort out, and a lot to try to sort out publicly, because it’s tied in with how I feel about what I do,” he explained. “It didn’t really occur to me to submit myself until it was, and then it was.”
As for what made his winning submission stand out, Howarth couldn’t say for sure, though he had plenty of appreciation for the material. “I gave up a long time ago trying to figure out what people like because you just can’t please everyone,” he said. “But I liked it. I thought that Josh [Griffith, former head writer/executive producer] wrote a really complex relationship between Sienna [Bacall, Tamara Braun] and Matt, and as it was unfolding, he revealed his feelings about the affair with Noah [Newman, Lucas Adams]. Josh had a way of writing dramatic moments that were kind of funny, and then to soothe himself, [Matt] would say really kind of crazy things that I thought were pretty smart. I think Matt had been on the show for four or five weeks at that point, so it’s pretty crazy.”
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The moment his name was announced was one Howarth won’t soon forget. “I was so happy,” he said. “I was next to my wife [Cari Stahler] and for us to be together was really sweet. And then I kind of lost my footing for a little bit. Eric Braeden [Victor Newman, Y&R] was really sweet to me, and it was nice to see supportive faces like Michelle [Stafford, Phyllis Summers, Y&R] on the way up.”
Howarth’s costar Beth Maitland (Traci Abbott, Y&R) also had a night to remember, winning her second Daytime Emmy 41 years after her first, for Supporting Actress in 1985.
“Lightning strikes twice!” she enthused. “First of all, my piano has been a little off kilter all these years, so to actually have it weighted on both sides is so meaningful.”
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For Maitland, the recognition meant much more than adding another trophy to her collection. “Honestly, after all of these decades and then some, to feel relevant, to feel acknowledged, to feel seen, it’s the most incredible thing, the most incredible evening, and the most incredible surprise,” she admitted. “I dreamed of it, but I don’t know if I knew it would happen. What an amazing ride it has been!”
Even with a previous win under her belt, Maitland was caught completely off guard when her name was announced. “I was actually waiting to clap for someone else,” she revealed. “At first, I thought, ‘Wait, me? What?’ If they had been close on my face, it was about 10 emotions all in a row in, like, a minute and a half. It is so amazing to me at this late juncture, at this time in my life, in my career, just to have them call and want me to show up and to still be able to bring something that is acknowledged by my peers as something excellent. It’s very meaningful.”
