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I told you all about the fun I had with my photo shoot over at the "Days of our Lives" set last week and as promised, I am back!

In between taking photos and wardrobe changes, I had the chance to sit down in the NBC commissary and talk to Roscoe Born about taking on the recent role as the mysterious man with a past, Trent Robbins.

First off, I can honestly say that it was truly an honor to sit down and talk to such a talented daytime vet. It's refreshing to see him back and playing such a menacing role in Salem. Don't you all agree?

Here's Roscoe checking out the photos from his shoot.

Days Insider: What does it take to play a great villain?
Roscoe Born: It takes knowing yourself and all the facets of your personality and then you bring those facets to life.

D.I.: Do you have fun playing the bad guy?
R.B.: Yes, I do. The bad guy is the guy who makes things happen. Everybody else has to react. He's the one who moves the story along.

D.I.: Any particular actor on "Days of our Lives" that you are looking forward to sharing more scenes with?
R.B.: I can tell you that great stuff is happening. I am working with Stephen Nichols next week and I have more stuff coming up with Deidre Hall. I look forward to sharing more scenes with the "vets" of the show. But, for the time being, I am having a lot of fun with the young people, too. I love working with Ari (Zucker). She's got a great sense of humor, she's real smart, and she's real quick-witted. She listens and we react to each other very well in scenes. If I say something that wasn't originally in the script, she plays along and adapts very well.

So, what do you all think? Who would you like to see Roscoe share more scenes with? I don't know about you, but I am really looking forward to those scenes with Deidre!

I had the joy of joining Darin Brooks, Blake Berris, Molly Burnett, and Roscoe Born on a "Days of our Lives" photo shoot near the set the other day.

Now, working in the business, I know that photo shoots take a long time. It's easy to say actors have it easy, they just have to sit and look pretty, but that really is not the case. There are wardrobe changes, lighting changes, hairstyle changes, and different poses. What might look good on an actor in plain view isn't always the best look on camera. Just look at the clothes brought from wardrobe.

Believe it or not, Blake still had to have wardrobe run back to the set to grab more clothes.

Continue reading "A "Days" Photo Shoot" »

Well, "One Life to Live" won a Daytime Emmy for writing last night. I was included in the list of writers, as was Mark. I worked on the show last year for half the year and Mark was on staff a little longer than that.

I didn't go because it wasn't my moment. I'm so happy for Ron and his team.

I'm glad I have this blog so I can, in a cyber-public way, thank Frank and everyone at One Life for a great (almost) three years. They were good to me even when I wasn't good back. Sometimes I buckled under the pressure and wasn't... um... always pleasant to be around. I guess I can still be that way. But I'm making more of an effort these days to be aware of the graciousness being poured out on me by others and responding in kind.

I love being back at Days. I sometimes complain on this blog because I always want to be as honest as possible. You all deserve that from me. But that doesn't mean it's all bad. There's a lot of good too.

Continue reading "We're All in This Together" »

The Days Insider is here, barely, after surviving yet another round of Emmy season. But this was no ordinary awards season; "Days of our Lives" received four acting nominations this year. That was a first in a very long time and the show was very proud of that accomplishment.

I had the honor of sitting with nominees Darin Brooks and Rachel Melvin during the ceremony. I also noticed it was a great opportunity for a lot of the cast to get reunited with actors who had been on the show in the past. It's easy to forget that there is a special bond that actors form with one another when working together on a day-to-basis. Farah Fath stopped by to say "congratulations" to Darin for his nomination and play catch-up, and Kyle Lowder snuck in visits with his wife Arianne Zucker at her table, and had a chance to play catch-up with some of his old co-stars.

Continue reading "Emmy Night" »

Hello Everybody!
After reading your comments, I can clearly see that you want more from your favorites at Days of our Lives. Well, you are clearly in for a treat, because I am bringing you not only your favorite stars but also bringing them to you from the beach!

Continue reading "Days Insider #3" »

This last week I’ve run the gamut of emotions. Saturday CK (aka Connor) graduated from one of his high schools. He’s duel enrolled. He goes to a very small, individualized school for his first two periods (forgive me if I’ve explained this before) and then went to his normal prep school for the rest of the day. So on Saturday May 31st, he graduated from prep school. It was very emotional for me… for all of us. I thought of how he had worked so hard for this moment… Tutors and educational therapists and occupational therapists and special computer programs and classroom aides and more tutors and speech therapy for hours on end. At the ceremony, I watched him smile as he flipped his tassel and suddenly the past 19 years washed over me. I held it all together pretty well during the ceremony and subsequent days. I mean, there was still so much to focus on. Jensen had yet to graduate from her high school (in two weeks) and my little ones were still in the throes of end-of-the-year activities. But when you try to sit on that much emotion… it’s bound to escape. Here’s what happened to mine...

Continue reading "Dena's Blog" »

Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback on my first Insider Blog entry. I enjoyed all of your comments and am taking all of your suggestions into consideration. Trust me, the more time I have to spend face to face with dreamboats like James Scott and Jay Kenneth Johnson, the better. Sigh.

But, back to my fun interview with Ari Zucker. Ari does share something in common with her alter ego Nicole; they are both full of surprises! I asked Ari what would be the most surprising fact her fans could find out. You ready for this? Ari knows how to change her own car's oil. I have to admit that when she told me this, I laughed. Can you all imagine Nicole in coveralls with grease on her face, changing the oil under a car? I couldn't help but ask if Ari would help me out when my oil change date comes around. She happily obliged!

Ari was also sweet enough to give me a rundown of some of her favorite things. Do you share some of the same?

Favorite Movie: "Young Frankenstein" and "Blazing Saddles." Anything Mel Brooks, for that matter!
Favorite TV Show: She admits it, she's a "Grey's Anatomy" fan.
Favorite Song: Anything by Tim McGraw.
Favorite Actor: Daniel Craig (How can you disagree with that one after seeing the latest James Bond?)
Favorite Actress: The one and only Madeline Kahn.
Favorite Book: Any of the classics by Ernest Hemmingway.
Favorite Guilty Pleasure: A nice glass of wine with her husband.
Favorite Cocktail: A dirty (very dirty) martini.