Sorel is known for her longtime portrayal of villainess Vivian Alamain on Days of Our Lives, a characters that daytime fans all over the world love to hate. “I’ve had a strange history on that show,” she said. “I did love Vivian way back because she was an over-the-top, fun to play villain. For a long time, it was great fun.”
For her stellar acting performance as Vivian Alamain, she earned five Soap Opera Digest Awards, which included wins for “Outstanding Villainess,” “Outstanding Showstopper,” “Outstanding Supporting Actress,” and “Outstanding Scene Stealer.”
When asked how she handled being dialogue-heavy in the soap opera world, she responded, “It’s called fear. They give you those pages and you need to learn them. I would hire people somebody from the outside to work with me. I would go home or at a restaurant and work with them because I had to.”
Sorel played the role of Emily Tanneerer in the digital series, Beacon Hill. “I love Crystal Chappell, she is a lovely human being and I would do anything for her. I loved working with Tina Sloan too, she was great fun,” she said. “It was a fast and a furious shoot. They are all such nice people in Beacon Hill, and the work atmosphere is so relaxed and so supportive. Hillary B. Smith and Crystal Chappell are both a hoot, and they are terrific.”
Being a theater actress, she feels sorry for the theater industry in New York (Broadway) and in London (West End). “I am a theater person and I think theater is going to die here. It is very tragic especially since the actors and the crews are out of work,” she said. “The theater is my heart.”
“I’ve lost so many friends lately, so I cherish time,” she said.
For young and aspiring actors, she shared that she started when she was back in high school. “I don’t think anybody can teach you to act. Discipline, focus and a lot of reading, and being aware of the classics. In 11th and 12th grade in high school, I did theater and it was a passion for me very early on. I think you need to do theater before anything. You just don’t walk in and become an actor. Soap operas are fine for making a living,” she said.
She revealed that she had spent nine months of her life in Greece. “My godchildren are Greek, and I have very good friends there. It’s a place that I am so in love with,” she said. “I love it there so much. It is very close to my heart, and I have such an affinity for Greece.”
On her definition of the word success, she said, “Getting the idiot out of the White House. That would be a success. Anything short of that would be a failure.”
For her fans and supporters, Sorel said, “I totally appreciate them. Sometimes, it just makes my whole day. It’s very nice because I get photographs and letters in the mail. We wouldn’t be working without the fans.”
To learn more about veteran actress Louise Sorel and her filmography, check out her IMDb page.
