Actress Julie Dove chatted about being a part of the Peacock daytime drama “Days of Our Lives.”
“In light of recent news, I feel very lucky to say I had a very positive experience on ‘Days of Our Lives’,” she said. “The entire cast, crew, and production team were all very friendly and professional each time I came to work. I care deeply about this show and I want everyone to be treated with respect and feel safe.”
Playing Connie in ‘Days of Our Lives’
On playing Connie on the show, she said, “I like that Connie has a fun outlook on life and she’s not afraid to put herself out there. I love that Connie like is me gluten wary and a True Crime Podcast fan.”
“I want to see more of Connie around Salem is the only thing I would ever change about her,” she said.
Dialogue-heavy
When asked how she handles being dialogue-heavy on the show, she revealed, “You have to strive for word perfect delivery to honor the writers. If I even change one word I want to start over, but as we all know that’s not an option in soaps.”
“I was anxious about the first episode I shot back in 2021, but once I got through that audition, callback, and the actual shooting I felt really confident. Memorization for the last two episodes including the most recent dialogue heavy one came really natural and I just had fun,” she said.
‘The Office’
She opened up about filming “The Office” and “Criminal Minds.” “I’m a self-professed fan-girl and I was regular viewer of both these shows when I booked them which always makes the work even more special,” she said.
“‘The Office’ was the second job I ever booked and it’s still one of few jobs that had more than one shoot day,” she said. “I got to shoot a scene with every actor on the show and anyone that had played their extended family. Rainn Wilson was so kind and generous.”
“B.J. Novak was the writer and director of the episode and he is brilliant. I feel so fortunate to be a small part of the history of this groundbreaking show,” she added.
‘Criminal Minds’
“One of the things I remember most about Criminal Minds is it was one my mom’s all time favorite shows and she was ecstatic that I was going to be on the show. It was a very intense episode with a huge cast. I remember at the table read Joe Mantegna walked around and introduced himself to each of us on the guest cast.
“The director Félix Enríque Alacá was someone at the time had been directing several episodes of ‘The Good Wife’ so I felt very privileged to work with him,” she said.
“Another high point of this show was the costumer B.J. Rogers. The care and time the wardrobe department gave to every character no matter big or small is an example of the attention to details that can make a show have long term success,” she added.
The digital age
On being an actress in the digital age, now with streaming and technology being so prevalent, she said, “I love streaming, but traditional network TV and basic cable need to continue to grow and thrive. Part of the appeal of streaming was there would be no commercials and it was ‘new media’ which meant lower pay/residuals for everyone involved.”
“Now most all streamers have a plan with commercials,” she said. “I love commercials because I know they pay the bills for more content creation. But if the streamers are going to have commercials then they’re participating in the traditional network/basic cable model and the pay/residuals need to reflect our traditional model.”
Future plans
Regarding her future plans, she said, “I’ve been developing a True Crime podcast the last few years that I hope is something I can share more about soon. Unlike Connie, I’m not rooting for the bad guy.”
Success
On her definition of the word success, Dove said, “Success means getting through each day and getting another chance to do it again tomorrow.”
“At one point, I would think that statement sounds like such a low bar, but the older I get the more I realize every day we get to be here is truly a miracle,” she said.
“Another part of success for me is knowing I am enough which maybe seems easy, but some days it’s not. I don’t think you can see it on screen but when I shot this last episode I had a new tattoo (my first) on my inner left wrist that reads I am enough,” she added.
Closing thoughts on ‘Days of Our Lives’
“‘If you’re reading this and you’ve never watched Days or haven’t watch it in years then do yourself a favor and start watching,” she said. “There’s something for everyone in today’s soap operas and I think it’s a great escape.”
“I want to thank the ‘Days of Our Lives’ fans for welcoming me. Soap fans are honestly the best fans. I love following the fans and seeing all their theories and thoughts. The passion they have for the show and for the actors past and present is a joy to see,” she concluded.
To learn more about Julie Dove, follow her on Instagram.
