This marks Morgan’s second consecutive career Daytime Emmy nomination in the “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series” category. “That feels pretty awesome,” she admitted. “I feel blessed and honored to be included, especially this year since there are so many great women this year. We will see.”
“When I first got on the show I thought that the talent was on a different level. I am so honored that my peers are putting me in that circle and they are welcoming me in that circle,” she said. “I am really proud that the work I’ve done on this show has resulted in me getting recognized in this industry and among my peers.”
Morgan shared that she is stoked that her fellow co-star Bryton James, who plays her on-screen husband, also scored an Emmy nomination in the “Outstanding Supporting Actor” category. “I am really happy for him as well,” she said.
The actress is drawn to her character Hilary Curtis, due to her ambitious nature. “Hilary is determined in everything that she does and she never takes ‘no’ for an answer,” she explained. “Sometimes, Hilary doesn’t think things through, so that is both her strength and her weakness.”
For Morgan, it is a “fun” task to learn lines and churn out pages and pages of scripts. “I’ve always picked up dialogue really quickly. When I started on The Young and The Restless, the dialogue wasn’t the hard part. The nerve-wracking part was how quickly we have to deliver it. You have all those pages but you don’t have many takes,” she said.
She acknowledged that being on a soap opera such as The Young and The Restless has made her better over the years. “You need to commit to the choices that you’ve made. The pacing and the discipline make you want to go forward and you can’t second guess yourself,” she said.
Morgan feels privileged to have been a part of a show that has been No. 1 for 30 years. “I’ve watched the show for so many years when I was a kid. I’ve watched it since I was five,” she said. “Everybody that works on this project has such great commitment. I was honored to have been a part of it as long as I was.”
She noted that she is motivated each day as an actress simply by “telling stories.” “Being an actor is one of the most empathetic art forms because you don’t just look at people and judge them. You can’t be a great actor if you judge your characters. You are trying to understand somebody else at a deeper level,” she explained.
When she was in high school, Morgan envisioned pursuing a career in international law. “I would have been an international human rights lawyer and working on a case somewhere around the world. I would have been surrounded by a lot of books and a lot of paper,” she said. “That is very similar to being an actor and being on The Young and The Restless. I am surrounded by a lot of words and a lot of paper. It’s a totally different life now.”
On balancing motherhood, a family and acting career, Morgan said, “You stay present in everything that you are doing. You need to be in the moment and enjoy every single second of it.” “That’s the only way you can get through the day,” she said, with a sweet laugh.
Her advice for young and aspiring actors is to “do acting because they love it, and find a reason why they love it quickly.” “The industry can eat you up and spit you out. Unless you know why you are doing something, then you are not going to really enjoy it,” she said.
“There are so many things to enjoy as an actor and in this industry. If you don’t know yourself and the reason why you are doing it, then the industry can break you really quickly,” she said.
Digital transformation of the entertainment industry
On the impact of technology and streaming on the entertainment business, Morgan said, “Technology has made things accessible for a lot of different people. It is giving actors so many jobs and it is allowing different voices to be heard that were never heard before. You have shows that would probably have never gotten seen before if it weren’t for the digital platforms. A lot more diverse stories are being told, which is awesome.”
“Technology and streaming are opening up new doors and they are really bringing people together. All of these streaming platforms are the ultimate form of globalization for our industry. They are helping us better understand each other and the world we live in,” she added.
In her spare time, Morgan enjoys spending it with her family and her kids. “That’s the one thing I love most in the world, other than acting,” she said.
For her loyal fans from The Young and The Restless, she said, “Thank you so much for teaching me so much and giving me the opportunity to play Hilary. It’s the fans that really matter and without them, Hilary would not have lasted the five years that she did. I just appreciate the fans supporting her in all of her antics, and allowing me to have this journey with her.”
Morgan defined the word success as “being able to do what you love to do every single day.”
To learn more about The Young and The Restless, check out the official CBS website.
