All The Days Of My Life (so Far)

by Alison Sweeney

  If there’s an extended period of time to kill in the dressing room—and there are definitely days where you have a lot of free time on your hands—I answer fan mail, or use my laptop computer to respond to e-mails or chat with fans on the Internet. It’s so much fun to communicate with my fans this way! I’m always dying to know what they’re thinking about the show and about Sami.

  From an early age, I loved curling up with a good book.

  I also usually have a book with me in my dressing room to help pass the time. Or I’ll watch TV. Or knit. Or I’ll call friends and bother them while they’re trying to get work done. Or I’ll just hang out with the other actors, sometimes running through our lines together.

  Some actors take a catnap. Others get a little exercise (can’t sweat too much or the wardrobe and makeup departments will kill you!). Or they’ll grab a late breakfast or an early lunch on the studio lot (I’ll talk later about the super-low-calorie meals that so many actors seem addicted to!). There are a thousand ways to pass the time, but I try not to allow my mind to stray too far from the scenes that I’ll be taping sometime that day.

  Practice Makes Perfect?

  Now, what about rehearsals? Well, if you’re an actor who feels the need for a lot of rehearsing, maybe soaps aren’t for you. Remember, there’s an hour show to be taped every day! So because of the time pressures, extensive rehearsals (or run-throughs) are something of a luxury. We might run through a scene once—at most, twice—before shooting, often a dress rehearsal where everyone is in complete makeup and wardrobe. And you better know your lines right out of the box, because there’s just no time or tolerance for someone to be stumbling through their dialogue after they’ve arrived on the set and shooting begins. Thinking back to when I started on the show, the limited rehearsal time was a little nerve-wracking at first, and it was really an eye-opener to be thrown into the fire with seasoned actors. Even though I always knew my lines, I’m sure my comfort level would have risen considerably if we had more time for rehearsing. But that’s when I really benefited the most from advice from Deidre. It’s amazing how fast I got the hang of things, thanks in large part to the support of the veteran cast members, as well as the wonderfully understanding producers and directors. I owe them a huge thank you.

  These days, we might get a script a week before we shoot it, but don’t kid yourself that this gives us a generous window of time to become familiar with it. Depending on how busy we are shooting previous scripts, and how much camera time we have on those days, I may not get a chance to look at the new script until the day before we tape it. To add to the pressure-cooker atmosphere, episodes aren’t necessarily taped in order, so to keep the story flowing accurately in your own mind, you need to stay focused to make sure your own character is always reacting appropriately within the context of the story line, even if the filming itself is rather fragmented.

  Fortunately, I can learn my lines pretty quickly. I’ve developed an amazing short-term memory. But there’s a catch: Don’t ask me about the script we shot a week or two ago; those lines have disappeared somewhere within the creases of my brain, probably never to resurface! (I sometimes joke that I wish I had had this same great short-term memory when I was in school; I could have learned just about anything for a test in nothing flat!—just as long as the exam was sometime within the next twenty-four hours or so!)

  Can You Do It in One Take?

  Because we’re working on such a tight, unforgiving schedule with Days, there’s also not much room for error once the “ON AIR” sign is lit and the cameras are rolling. The goal is pretty simple: Wrap up each scene in just one take (although sometimes it takes two or three). We’re moving at such break-neck speeds that, at times, mistakes are made—maybe the lighting isn’t quite right in the first take, so the scene is reshot. Or perhaps an actor stumbles over a line—never me of course. (Just kidding! They have a “blooper reel” at every Anniversary party, and I blush every year dreading how many of my stumbles, both verbal and physical, end up on that tape!) Inevitably, things happen that impede the race to the finish line, but you can’t let too many of those glitches get in the way and interrupt the flow. It really is a high-stress atmosphere, driven by the need to get it right and get it finished. And here’s the good news: We usually do.

  By the way, there’s really neither the time nor the inclination for much ad libbing on the show. The scripts are so carefully crafted and story line-specific that you really can’t mess with them. Of course, there are occasional exceptions to the rule: Particularly in the early days when I was playing a troubled adolescent, the writers were receptive to my suggestions when the script contained teenage slang. After all, “teenspeak” seems to change almost daily, and what’s cool today can be so uncool tomorrow. So I’d sometimes tell the writers, “I really don’t think kids talk that way.” After a while, they actually relied on me to add the “whatevers” and the “likes” where it was appropriate. (Like, totally!!) Other times, they’d write a scene where Sami was using an expression or an idiom, and I’d have absolutely no idea what it meant! Before long, they told me, “Ali, if you’re completely in the dark about this piece of dialog, then a sixteen-year-old wouldn’t be saying it. What would you say instead?”

  Of course, Sami is in a league of her own. She has rarely met a wicked thought or act that she didn’t embrace, so she’s prone to saying some pretty outrageous and embarrassing things on the show. At times, upon reading the script, my initial reaction is, “C’mon, she’s not so dumb or so evil that she’s going to say something like that!” Or is she? One time my executive producer said, “Ali, I’m really happy that you’ve identified so completely with your character and taken her side. But she’s a villain! The reality is, this is the way she’d talk and behave. Don’t you see it?”

  He was right. I should have saved my breath! The script stayed untouched.

  The heart of the matter is that while we may re-shape a few lines of dialogue here and there, it’s rarely anything major. Obviously, neither I nor any of the other actors have the freedom to change the character’s logic or the direction of the story line (as in, “Well, if you really want to know, my preference is that my character doesn’t die on the operating table and disappear from the show altogether!”). But if you have trouble saying a particular line the way it’s written—if it just doesn’t roll off your tongue like it should—you can do a little fine-tuning without ruffling any feathers or sinking the ship.

  With Days being an ensemble show, the writers work hard to make sure every word is perfect and every actor gets his or her share of scenes and lines. As a result, sometimes you work five days a week; other times, just a couple. You never know what to expect until you check the schedule and then adjust your personal life accordingly. Some weeks, the pace gets accelerated into fast forward, and we’ll tape six episodes in five days, building in a little breathing room so we can take a couple weeks off around Christmas, for example. But other weeks, the pace is a bit slower.

  So like everyone else on the show, I’ve learned to be flexible. You might have to adjust to last-minute script changes during the day. Or portions of particular scenes might be designated as “tentative cuts,” which means they could be preempted at the time of taping without altering the story line itself. As an actor, you have to be so familiar and comfortable with the script and the scene that, at the drop of a clapboard, you can adjust to instantaneous cuts and never miss a beat. Ain’t that a challenge!

  As each day of shooting is laid out, you may have five scenes spread throughout the day. But if all your scenes are scheduled for morning shoots, you might be finished by 10 A.M. and be on your way home by midmorning. (I know, days like that are awesome!) On most days, though, you better be psyched up and ready for the long haul. You’ll stay on the set until you’re done, which might mean a “wrap” at 4 in the afternoon, 7 in the evening, or past midnight. It can be pretty grueling sometimes, and you have to pace yourself through the day (sorry, no yawning all
owed during the late-night shoots—the director sometimes has to remind us, “It’s a party scene…wake up!”). Then you have to get as much rest as you can that night in anticipation of a new (and full) day starting early the following morning!

  I’ll never forget one day, we were shooting a big party scene—those always take longer because the more cast members in a scene, the longer it takes to shoot. Anyway, my call time was 6:15 A.M. because they had so many people to get ready in time for the tape to roll at 9 A.M. We didn’t finish those scenes until 2 A.M. the following morning(!), and my call time for the next day was 6:45 A.M. I thought about my half-hour commute to and from work, and went to my makeup artist at the time, and said, “Nina, please call me and wake me up when you’re ready for me,” and I slept in my dressing room that night! By the end of the second day, I ended up going two full days without going outside once. It was kind of weird. At one point I even asked, “What’s the weather like out there?”

  Who said showbiz was all glamour and glitz?!

  A Heartbeat Away from Death

  Despite the hard work, the payoff comes in fabulous letters from fans, who tell us how much they love the show and how important it is in their own lives. They’ll often describe their favorite Sami story lines and ask me about mine. In this and several subsequent chapters, I’ll tell you about some of my favorite Days scenes and story lines, and some behind-the-scenes experiences with them. (If you’re caught up on your Days history, feel free to skip ahead to Chapter 7, or bear with me as I describe the details of several of the more intriguing plotlines…. Grab a pen and paper if you need to take notes!)

  When I think of my own favorites, the reason they rank so high is often because they were particularly challenging for me. They pushed me as an actress, motivating me to achieve new heights and reach a new level of performance.

  With that in mind, do you remember the death row story line in 1999 where Sami was on the brink of execution? And I mean falling off the brink!

  Of course, Sami’s no angel (trust me on this one!). But she also may not strike you as a hardened criminal whose photo belongs on a Post Office bulletin board. In this particular story line, however, she did end up convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Her downfall began with an ugly custody fight with Lucas (played by Bryan Dattilo), the father of her child. But, of course, there was a lot more going on in Sami’s life as well, including her obsession with Austin and her lifetime chase after him. As if that weren’t enough, enter Franco Kelly (played by Victor Alfieri). Sami was at a particularly vulnerable place in her life, and Franco decided to exploit it. He saw Sami as his ticket to a green card that would allow him to stay in the country and avoid a contract on his life by a Mafia family in Italy, and he promised to help Sami drive a wedge between Austin and Carrie. (Stay with me here…) He also started to seduce Sami, and she began to fall madly in love with him. Before long, and to save his own skin, Franco proposed marriage—and (leave it to Sami!) she jumped at the offer. Sami was clueless, and she convinced herself that with Franco, she could finally end her preoccupation with Austin. So she answered “yes” to Franco faster than you cay say “You’ve got to be kidding, Sami!”

  Let me digress a moment and tell you about one of the more unforgettable moments in this Franco storyline. At one point, when Sami thought that Franco was cheating on her, she struck him on the head and knocked him out in the Titan building complex, then stripped him of his shirt, wrote “DOG” in red lipstick, and pushed him out onto a window washer’s platform. When Franco regained consciousness, he began begging for Sami’s forgiveness from the sky-high platform. With Sami peering out at him from a window, he desperately tried to sweet-talk his way back into her good graces, hoping to convince her that he had actually been loyal to her. At one point, he pulled Sami’s head forward to kiss her—and accidentally banged her (aka” my”) forehead into a post on the window.

  Ouch!

  My head practically bounced off the window pane, and the cracking noise must have nearly shattered an eardrum or two of the sound man! It was another klutzy Sami moment—and I can tell you that there have been quite a few over the years. We had to reshoot that scene with stars still spinning around my head!

  Before the passion could be cooled down a bit on Sami’s love affair with Franco (and before the forehead bruises could completely heal), events began spinning out of control. Other Salemites had a much clearer vision of Franco’s real motives, and at one point, as Kate was on the brink of exposing him to the INS, Franco started to attack her, and Lucas grabbed a gun and killed Franco.

  What a mess!

  As you’ve probably guessed—(this is Days of Our Lives, after all)—the story didn’t end there…not by a long shot. Austin had confronted Sami on her wedding day with proof that Franco had been cheating on her. Enraged, Sami had stormed off to confront Franco, screaming “I’m going to kill him!” But she was too late! She walked in and saw Franco’s dead body, and fainted…and that gave Kate an absolutely malicious brainstorm. She hurriedly wiped the murder weapon to remove Lucas’s finger-prints, and placed the gun right in Sami’s hand.

  As some of you may remember, when Sami woke up she didn’t remember a thing about what had happened. But there was the murder weapon cradled in her hand, and Franco was lying dead next to her. Could she really have killed him?

  Almost immediately, the wheels of “justice” began turning, and Sami was the prime target. In all her insecurity, Sami wondered if she might have actually pulled the trigger and murdered her fiancé (“Maybe I really did do it,” she said). But she just didn’t know. She couldn’t remember.

  In seemingly no time, Sami was indicted and went on trial. But her memory gradually began to return, and during a Christmas Eve church service, she started having flashbacks and memories of seeing Franco upon his demise, and she finally pieced it all together. She vividly recalled walking in and seeing Franco already dead on the floor. In the middle of the church service, she suddenly yelled out, “I didn’t do it!!” It was her Christmas miracle.

  Maybe Sami had realized that she was innocent, but no one believed her. After all, she had lied so many times about so many other things. So why would anyone believe her now?

  Waiting for the verdict, Sami was a wreck. High anxiety. Tight throat. They really wouldn’t convict her, would they?

  When the jury finally cast its votes, Sami was convicted of murdering Franco, her fiancé. Her sentence: Death by lethal injection.

  Sami, stunned and distraught, was transported to death row and waited for the inevitable. But she also decided that she wasn’t about to die without a fight—and not a run-of-the-mill fight at that. Crushed when Lucas married someone else (it was Nicole) to get custody of their son, Sami’s scheming shifted into overdrive. She pretended to collapse from an anxiety attack and was rushed to the hospital. Then, in typical Sami style, she poisoned the guard assigned to watch her (not fatally) and escaped from the hospital. In no time at all, she had snatched her son Will and crossed the border into Canada, along with perhaps the only person who believed she was innocent—Austin.

  Still paying attention? If your brain is overloading, please feel free to take a break and regroup!

  Okay—so, Roman tracked down Sami in Canada, and convinced (well, forced) her to return to Salem and fight to clear her name. She finally agreed, but as soon as she was back in custody, the district attorney persuaded the court to have her executed immediately. (Yeah, thanks, Dad!)

  The story continued to build (it took more than a year for the entire saga to be presented on Days). Audiences across America were tied in knots and became glued to their TV sets. VCRs were working overtime. Would Sami somehow escape her ominous fate? Or would she finally die (and in the process, exile me to the Hollywood unemployment line!)?

  As the clock ticked, Sami’s demise seemed like a dead certainty (no pun intended!). But as her despair deepened, events continued to unfold in an even more bizarre fashion. Kate became worried when Fr
anco’s friend threatened to reveal incriminating information, and she panicked. Kate’s solution: She gave the hapless friend an injection of saline, and he lapsed into a coma.

  Sami’s crunch time finally arrived. Just before the stroke of midnight, she was led to the death chamber, and was strapped down with her arms stretched out to her sides in a Christ-like pose. She was in tears, hysterical, anticipating the worst.

  But wait a minute.

  Before I tell you how it all ended, let me tell you about how challenging it was to play Sami as her execution approached. There were schmaltzy but very demanding scenes where Sami said a tearful goodbye to her son and the rest of her family. What agony! All the while, as Sami stared death in the face, she finally realized how selfishly she had behaved for so many years, and how her anger and bitterness had created upheaval in the lives of so many of the people around her. With death looming, she and her mother, Marlena, finally reconciled. After so many years of being go-for-the-jugular enemies, Marlena cradled Sami in her arms within the prison walls. Sami suddenly seemed so fragile. Marlena sang her a lullaby. Both of them wept. Both were able to forgive the other and forgive themselves. And Sami grew up a little—but perhaps too late.

  I’ll never forget those scenes with Deidre. They were high-stakes, highly emotional scenes, beautifully written and wonderfully directed, and Deidre was absolutely amazing. I had to draw from deep within to reach the emotional intensity that the script called for, and I’m so proud of those episodes and how moving they were for millions of viewers.

  To make the execution scene itself even more challenging, here’s something that most people don’t know: I’m very claustrophobic in real life, and being in that make-believe death chamber, strapped down on the execution table and pleading for freedom, it was actually extremely traumatic—both for me and for Sami! Yes, I knew that these events weren’t happening in real life, but let me tell you, there were moments where I absolutely experienced every ounce of terror that Sami was feeling. I felt truly threatened. I was petrified. Real tears streamed down my face as the fatal drugs were injected into my veins.