Emmy award-winning actress Suzanne Rogers chatted about starring in the Peacock daytime drama “Days of Our Lives,” where she has played Maggie Horton for nearly 53 years.
Having been on the show continuously since August 20, 1973, Rogers is the longest-tenured actor on “Days of Our Lives.”
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” This quote applies to Suzanne Rogers.
Playing Maggie on ‘Days of Our Lives’
Rogers is drawn to playing Maggie for many reasons. “Well, first of all, she’s always sweet,” Rogers said. “Maggie is always there to help other people. Whenever people have problems, they come to her.”
“I just like Maggie because I would like to meet somebody like her… she is just a nice person,” Rogers added.
Working with Paul Telfer and Linsey Godfrey
On working with Paul Telfer and Linsey Godfrey, Rogers said, “They are the absolute best! Linsey is just like my daughter… we look at each other. We have the same brown eyes, we giggle and we laugh the same. The casting of Linsey as my daughter was perfect!”
“Paul is just so nice, sweet, and yummy,” she said with a sweet laugh. “Paul is such a gentleman. There have been very few that I’ve come across that have been as nice as Paul.”
Working with Eric Martsolf
On working with Eric Martsolf, Rogers said, “Eric and I have known each other for so long. I was sitting at the table with him on the night he won his Emmy for ‘Best Supporting Actor.’ I was so happy for him because we work so well together.”
“We hit it off well. Eric is so talented and he sings like a dream. His wife, Lisa, is lovely too,” she added.
Rogers on her historic Emmy win — the first person to ever win the ‘Best Supporting Actress’ Daytime Emmy
Rogers made history as the first person to ever win the Daytime Emmy Award for “Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series” back in 1979.
“What a surprise! I was nominated the same year that Frances Reid was nominated too, and I thought for sure, she would win,” Rogers recalled. “I mean, I just sat there. I was just happy to be in the audience.”
“When they said my name, they said ‘Susan Rogers’ and the girl in front of me was Susan Brown from ‘General Hospital.’ She turned around and said, ‘Congratulations.’ I looked at her and I went, ‘What?’ She said, ‘You won!’ and I went, ‘Oh, my God.’ I couldn’t believe it because of the mix-up with the first name,” Rogers elaborated.
“This Daytime Emmy ceremony was in New York. The fact that Frances didn’t win, and that I won over her, I was just shocked, and surprised but obviously thrilled,” Rogers added.
Rogers on the move of ‘Days of Our Lives’ from NBC to Peacock
On the move of the show “Days of Our Lives” from NBC to Peacock, Rogers said, “Well, I hope the audience has Peacock… I know my sister doesn’t have a smart TV. I just hope that there’s enough people that can get Peacock. That’s the only thing I worry about.”
“I think it’s doing great on Peacock,” she said. “I mean, I really do. Listen, I’m just glad that we are still on the air. The best part is that there are no pre-emptions on Peacock. Isn’t that wonderful?”
“So yeah, the audience can really get its fill of ‘Days of Our Lives,’ for sure,” she added.
Rogers on playing a Greek character (by marriage), being married to the iconic Victor Kiriakis
Rogers opened up about playing a Greek character (by marriage), Maggie Horton Kiriakis, being married to the iconic Victor Kiriakis (played by the late John Aniston). “When Victor came along, my first husband, Mickey Horton, had died. When my character heard a knock on the back door of her kitchen, she answered it, and it was Victor Kiriakis.”
“Maggie never really had scenes with Victor before because he was in a different echelon than she was in. Victor had brought her flowers. Those scenes were really well because the audience went crazy,” she recalled.
“They agreed that it was a great match-up, so the powers that be put the two of us together. The fans even gave us a nickname ‘Magick.’ So, that was terrific,” she admitted.
Remembering John Aniston
On working with the late John Aniston, Rogers said, “John was the nicest man, and he was always very giving. He always knew his job well and he always came to work prepared.”
“John was just lovely, and really wonderful to work with; I miss him, I really do,” she added.
Working with Robert Scott Wilson
On working with Robert Scott Wilson (as Alex Kiriakis), Rogers said, “Rob is the best! He is so sweet. I have such a great job. I work with the best-looking guys on the show. For being an older person, how lucky am I?”
“Rob is just lovely and so sweet,” Rogers admitted. “After we do our scenes, Rob comes up to me, and he gives me a kiss and a big hug. We work so fast on our show and it’s just great.”
Advice for young and aspiring actors
For young and emerging actors, she said, “Listen, when you come into a show, you need to be there on time and you need to know your work, and you need to listen to what the director says and be as conductive to working with other people. That’s basically it.”
“Frances Reid told me three things: be on time, do your work, and don’t be late. It all just boils down to that,” she added.
Dialogue-heavy
When asked how she handles being dialogue-heavy (where soap opera actors have to memorize many pages of scripts), Rogers responded, “I don’t usually have that many pages at the moment. Perhaps 40 pages at most, but that hasn’t been in a while.”
“Every time we get new writers come over, it takes them a while to get to know our characters and to write for us,” she noted.
“Also, it depends on whoever you are working with. If they have a storyline and you are a part of it, that means that you are a part of that storyline,” she said.
“If you are not part of that storyline, then you don’t work as much. You may work, but you may not have as much dialogue as you would if you had the main storyline,” she noted.
“Right now, Paul Telfer and Linsey Godfrey have a great storyline, so they are working a lot, and I am on the peripheral… I’m her mother and I’m his mother-in-law, and I’m there, but I don’t work as much as I would if I were to have the main story,” she explained.
“That’s okay because soap operas are cyclical. I always say that soaps are like a roller coaster. You know you’re up and you’re down, you’ve got a story and then, you don’t have a story… and that’s just the way that soap operas operate,” she expanded.
The digital age
On being an actress in the digital age, Rogers said, “Well, I’m not sure I understand very much of the digital age. I’m just glad that I’m a part of it, that’s all.”
“I mean, I don’t really know a whole lot about it,” she admitted. “I’m sort of one of those people kicking and screaming into the 21st century, if you know what I’m saying.”
“I think life right now is wonderful as far as all the things that have opened up to everyone, to make everyone available and accessible to everything that’s going on… good, bad, or indifferent,” she explained.
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of her life, Rogers revealed, “She Did It!” “I came from a small town, and I went to the big town,” she said.
Superpower of choice
If Rogers were to have any superpower, it would be “to make the world a happier place.”
Career-defining moments: Working with Katharine Hepburn and winning the Emmy
On her career-defining moments, Rogers shared, “When I won the Emmy for ‘Best Supporting Actress,’ and also when I worked with Katharine Hepburn.”
“Working with Katharine was thrilling, nerve-wracking, and shocking, and I couldn’t believe I was on the same stage as this icon that I had watched in movies, and that I was actually standing right next to her,” Rogers acknowledged.
“That was a turning point in my life. Katharine was also very professional… she wanted no talking on set, she wanted nobody standing in the wings, she had some rules that everybody had to follow, and that taught you what to do and what not to do as a professional,” Rogers elaborated.
Success
Regarding her definition of the word success, Rogers said, “I don’t think I ever thought I would be where I am now. I mean, I came from a small town, and I never thought that I would be where I am now.”
“I went to New York as a dancer, and I ended up in California as an actress, and I never thought that circle would happen,” she noted.
“I just thought I would be a dancer in New York, and then I’d go home and get married and have kids, and that’s it. God had different plans for me, you know? So, I’m thankful for everything that I weigh… the good, bad, or indifferent,” she explained.
Message for her fans
For her fans and supporters, Rogers expressed, “I am very grateful to the fans. They have struck with me through thick and thin, and they are still there, and they still love the character of Maggie!”
“I want the fans to know that we are the family that they see on their screens. We really like each other and we get along well,” she noted.
“The show has maintained its core, which is about family, love, and it’s about drama, hate, and it’s what life is all about. It has these ups and downs, and I think we have done it very well over the decades,” she concluded.
