Stacy Haiduk Previews What’s Next for Kristen on DAYS OF OUR LIVES (EXCLUSIVE)
As if taking over the role of DAYS OF OUR LIVES’ Kristen wasn’t challenging enough, Stacy Haiduk has also been turning in convincing performances as the supervixen impersonating Nicole in the moments before removing her oh-so-convincing mask. Recently, the soap-hopper has also been playing wackadoodle Susan Banks and Kristen pretending to be both Susan and her sister, Sister Mary Moira. Got all that?
“I prayed. I literally went to the heavens and the universe and was like, ‘Okay, I really want to go back to DAYS,’” Haiduk confided to Soaps In Depth of the months leading up to this demanding return engagement. “I’ve had such a blast with these characters and the cast and the crew… I’m thrilled to be back.” To viewers, the alumna of THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS (as Patty and Emily) and ALL MY CHILDREN (as Hannah) appears to switch effortlessly between all of her DAYS personas, but she admits that when it comes to channeling other people’s characters, there is some tricky technicality to it. “You have to remember certain physical things that an actor will do or does,” she explained. “It gets a little complicated, but actually, it’s so much fun!”
“I don’t think people realize that it’s not like those rubber masks that you get from a Halloween store,” the actress said of Kristen’s Nicole disguise. “It’s so heavy!” (Photo Credit: XJJohnson/jpistudios.com)
Kristen hit a speed bump in her scheme to remain presumed dead upon parting ways with her cohort, Xander. “When she got the mask back from him, their alliance was done,” Haiduk reflected. “A lot of that is because neither one of them trusts the other at all.” Worse yet, the mercenary is now in a position to become her nemesis! “He’ll hold all the cards because he can go to the cops if he wants to,” Haiduk suggested, “and say, ‘You know, I’ve been working with this person, and she’s really Kristen DiMera!’” However, much like Gone With The Wind heroine Scarlett O’Hara, that’s something she’d rather think about tomorrow. Right now, the schemer’s got other irons in the fire to worry about, like ousting her father’s son, Stefan, from DiMera Enterprises. For someone who holds family in high regard, doesn’t that seem disloyal? “Kristen doesn’t like Stefan in a lot of ways,” Haiduk observed. And besides, “they’re not blood-related because Kristen is adopted.”
No matter what transpires with the business, the No. 1 item on Kristen’s agenda remains winning Brady back. But how long can she keep on impersonating Nicole to do it? “Kristen, in her wonderful, sick mind, believes that one day, she’s going to be able to reveal to Brady [her true identity],” the actress theorized, “and that he’ll still love her. Honestly, it’s so bizarre!”
But with folks in Salem starting to grow suspicious and her plans fast unraveling, Kristen is understandably starting to panic. Haiduk admitted her alter ego is feeling frazzled. Yet “she still tries to keep it together and always tries to find a way to make it work for her. But yes,” she admitted, “little by little, she’s falling apart, and it’s not good. I’ll tell you that!”
For more from your favorite DAYS stars, keep reading the CBS edition of Soaps In Depth magazine.
Reporting by Michelle Moro Parkerton
This story originally appeared in our print magazine
