“Days of Our Lives” star Robert Scott Wilson chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos about his latest endeavors.
Bestselling author and world-renowned athlete Tim Tebow once said, “Success comes in a lot of ways, but it doesn’t come with money and it doesn’t come with fame. It comes from having a meaning in your life, doing what you love and being passionate about what you do. That’s having a life of success. When you have the ability to do what you love, love what you do and have the ability to impact people. That’s having a life of success. That’s what having a life of meaning is.” A person who is worthy of this inspirational quote by Tim Tebow is actor Robert Scott Wilson.
Wilson opened up about playing Ben Weston on the NBC daytime drama “Days of Our Lives.” He is drawn to his character for several reasons. “I love the diversity of the character, especially the story where he came from doing all of these bad things to his road to redemption. All of that has been pretty gratifying in totality,” he said.
Working with Victoria Konefal and other fellow actors
He had great words about working with Emmy winner Victoria Konefal, who plays his on-screen wife, Ciara. “Victoria is great, we have been working together for a long time,” he said. “Victoria is a good actress.”
Wilson also complimented actors Kassie DePaiva and Michael Teh, who were a part of his torture storyline last summer. “They are both great,” he said. “Kassie and I go back a long time, she is just a fantastic actress. I am grateful every time I get to step on set with her, she’s a rockstar. Kassie always brings out the best in me.”
“Michael is a great dude, I never met him before, he was new to the soap world but he came up and showed up and he did great work,” he added.
He claimed Ben’s redemption storyline as one of his favorites over the years. “Taking this guy that has done terrible things, and playing this anti-hero was one of my favorites, for sure. It has been a long process and a great journey. I am very grateful for it since it has been a blast,” he explained.
Soap Hub Award winner: ‘Favorite Actor’
At the 2nd Annual Soap Hub Awards, he was honored as “Favorite Actor” for “Days of Our Lives.” “I am super grateful for back-to-back wins,” he said.
“I am thankful to the fans for voting for me, and hopefully, we can do a three-peat next year. It means more to me that this is fan-voted since there are no politics involved, and there is more value in that. The fans are what keep the machine running, and they keep us on the air. To get the fan acknowledgment means more to me than anything,” he expressed.
‘Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem’ on Peacock
He enjoyed being a part of the Peacock limited series “Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem” on Peacock. “That was a blast,” he exclaimed. “It was nice to do something a little more outside the box, and it was a fun little adventure, especially to work with some new faces. It came out really great, we got some great feedback and hopefully, we can do it again.”
Life during the quarantine
On life during the quarantine, he said, “Luckily, we made it through, and we experienced it. It was a test, and it was a different time in the world but we made it on the other side.”
He saw a silver lining during the pandemic. “It makes you more grateful for the things you have, especially our rights, our privileges, and our freedom, all of which were stripped from us for a while. It was nice to get those back slowly but surely, and that makes us not take time for granted,” he said.
During the pandemic, he shared that he honed his “chef skills.” “I am always cooking,” he said. “I also tried to stay as fit as I could within the confines of my house.”
On the title of the current chapter of his life, Wilson said, “New Beginnings and Fresh Starts.”
Career-defining moments
When asked if there were any moments in his career that helped define him, Wilson remarked, “They all helped define me, the good and the bad. Going back to ‘Days of Our Lives’ was defining and leaving the show was also defining. It has all been fantastic.”
Star Image Entertainment Zoom events
He always looks forward to doing Zoom fan events, which include one tomorrow, on March 23 for Star Image Entertainment, where the proceeds benefit Cedars CanSupport. “We are going to hop on a Zoom call tomorrow, and we will chat it up with the fans for an hour or so. It is always a good time. Penny always puts on good events,” he said.
‘As The Leaves Turn’ fan event this fall
On Saturday, October 29, he will be a part of the “As The Leaves Turn” fan event in Clearwater, Florida, which is produced by SoapThis. He will be joined by actors Eric Martsolf, Brandon Barash, Nadia Bjorlin, and Jacob Young. “I will be there as long as my schedule permits,” he said. “Any excuse to get into a nice fan event is always fun.”
‘Papa’
Wilson starred as Ben Freidman in the film “Papa,” which was written and directed by Dan Israely. Dan served as an executive producer of the movie along with Zahava Israely and Emilio Roso. “I got to play another Ben, it follows me around,” he said. “Ann-Margret is a legend, and Daryl Hannah is a star. There were great names attached to this film.”
In “Papa,” 23-year-old Ben (Robert Scott Wilson) starts his own search and learns that his biological mother died during birth, and his father (if it is his biological father), might be living in a home for mentally challenged individuals.
‘All My Children’ online reboot
He recalled his time on the “All My Children” reboot, which afforded him the chance to work with such actors as Eric Nelsen and Jordan Lane Price. “Eric is a good friend of mine to this day, we don’t see each other as much since he lives in a different state, but he is a great dude and we’ve had some pretty awesome times,” he said.
“Jordan Lane Price is a great actress. We clicked right away and the story took off. I know she will do great things,” he added.
“My training on that show was a bootcamp in itself, and it certainly prepared me for ‘Days of Our Lives.’ Towards the end of that run, we were doing 30, 40 to 50 pages a day,” he said.
‘Ladies of the Lake: Return to Avalon’
For Wilson, it was fun to be a part of the Ken Corday production “Ladies of the Lake: Return to Avalon,” which was written by Michael Caruso, and directed by Sonia Blangiardo. “Days of Our Lives” star Kyle Lowder and Michael Caruso served as two of its co-executive producers.
“We shot it pretty quickly but that was fun,” he said. ” Sonia Blangiardo is the best. We go back to ‘All My Children’ as well. It was awesome. I got to work with Arianne Zucker and that whole crew. I love Michael Caruso and Kyle Lowder, they are both great dudes.”
Alternate career choice
If he weren’t in the entertainment field, Wilson would be a “lawyer” as his alternate career choice. “I would be going to school for law,” he said. “That would be intriguing to me.”
He listed Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, and Ben Affleck, as his dream acting partners. “Working with Leo would be fantastic,” he said. “The Boston crew would be awesome. The list goes on.”
In the sport of swimming, he noted that the “breaststroke” is his personal favorite stroke.
If he were to write, direct, produce his own short film, he shared that it would be on the drug and opioid epidemic in Central Massachusetts.
When asked what superpower he would have, he revealed that it would be “time travel.” “I would go back to the ’50s and ’60s and live there a little bit, and then pop back into the future,” he said.
Success
Wilson defined the word success as “being happy and loving yourself.” “Also, being proud of the work and the life you’ve created, and making sure you can take care of the loved ones around you,” he said.
“Peace of mind is probably the biggest part,” he added.
Fans
For his loyal “Days of Our Lives” fans, Wilson concluded, “Thank you and I hope you continue to ride with me. There is a lot more to do in this career, and I am excited for them to hopefully stick around for the ride.”
Rapid Fire Questions
Wilson also took some time to answer a few “Rapid Fire” questions.
Waffles or pancakes? Pancakes
Flying or driving? Flying
City living or country living? City living
Summer or winter? Summer
Library or museum? Museum
Bath or shower? Shower
Pepsi or Coke? Coke
Texting or calling? Texting
Half-full or half-empty? Half-full
Curly fries or normal fries? Curly fries
Skydiving or scuba diving? Scuba diving
Tea or coffee? Coffee
Rain or snow? Snow
Singing or dancing? Singing
Burgers or tacos? Burgers
Money or fame? Neither… “money,” he said with a laugh
To learn more about Robert Scott Wilson, follow him on Instagram and Twitter.
