Emmy-nominated actress AnnaLynne McCord of “Days of our Lives” sat down and chatted with #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos at The Burbank Studios about her latest endeavors.
Wedding
Most recently, in her personal life, she got married. “My wedding was magical,” she admitted. “It was really, really special. It was in our backyard. It was just sweet and intimate, and it felt like a fairytale.”
“Ironically enough, I forgot my shoes but I had them for the second part… the reception. It was a Cinderella moment, for sure, and I was Cinderella,” she added.
Greatest lesson that ‘Days of our Lives’ has taught her
McCord revealed the greatest lesson that “Days of our Lives” has taught her. “I’ve never told this story to anyone before but ‘Days of our Lives’ saved my life,” she underscored.
“The day that I was offered the opportunity to come be here in this magical place, I had a phone call that was a very unsettling phone call. I was told that I could not pay my credit cards. You live in this town and you work in this industry, and it’s sobering because you can be at the highest highs, and then life changes and things shift,” she elaborated.
“I remember being at this place in the morning, and just getting the phone call. I thought it was crazy. I’ve spent so much of my life working in charity and doing all these things, and now I’m in this moment and I’m facing this really, really human experience of, ‘Am I going to be okay?’ That afternoon, Marnie, the casting director of ‘Days of our Lives,’ called me asking if I want to come on the show, and I said, ‘yes, I do’… in more ways than she would ever know,” she expanded.
“I think it was a foundational moment of what ‘Days’ would go on to offer me. It offered me lesson after lesson after lesson of what I thought this industry was and what it can actually be; who I thought the people in this industry were and who they can actually be. I feel at home here. I feel family here. I feel that people genuinely care about your well-being,” she explained.
“I felt genuine support in each life moment, like my wedding happening and the Emmy nomination and a career moment. It has just been a lesson of what it can be to go to work, and actually love what you do and love where you are. So, that has been the gift that ‘Days’ has been for me,” she added.
2025 Emmy nomination for ‘Days of our Lives’
She recalled her Emmy nomination last year for the inaugural “Emerging Talent in a Drama Series” category. “That was very exciting. It was super fun to get ready with everybody, and do all the fun things with this whole cast, in a historic category,” she said.
“It was really nice for me because ‘Days of our Lives’ in a lot of ways has felt like a reset for my life. Then, I was in the ‘Emerging Talent’ category. So it was like I was having my rebirth. It was like a renaissance,” she added.
Working with Conner Floyd
On working with Conner Floyd as her leading man, she said, “Oh, my goodness. I don’t get to work with him enough.”
“We love our Billy Flynn but I feel that Conner has brought a little bit of Texas to Chad, and I am not mad about it,” she said. “We always love when we get to put the Chad and Cat energy together. It’s always really nice, and he is wonderful.”
McCord on the evolution of her character Cat
McCord opened up about the evolution of her character Cat. “Cat has evolved a lot,” she admitted. “I think she keeps me on my toes…. the ever-evolving mystery that is Cat. I keep asking, ‘Who is she going to be next time?’ or ‘Is she really who we think she is?’ Cat is always changing.”
“I love that she can go toe-to-toe with EJ,” she said. “EJ is the big villain of the storyline, but she can meet his energy, and she doesn’t back down. She’s got that center in her, and I enjoy those scenes with him.”
Stage of her life
On the title of the current chapter of her life, she revealed, “Newlywed.” “That’s the chapter I am in,” she admitted.
Success
Regarding her definition of success, she said, “Success, for me, now is daily quality of life. I have this little ritual when I get to work. I wave at hair and makeup as I walk by the room. I turn the corner, and when I put my foot on the step to go down the stairs to my room, I skip on the steps and I say, ‘I love my life. I love my job.’ It’s a silly little thing that I do with myself, but success, to, me is going to work every day and wanting to be here, enjoying every moment I am here, and not racing to leave and get onto the next moment.”
“I enjoy working. I enjoy being in the hallways with the cast, and just catching up. Success, to me, is the little moments in life,” she added.
Message for her fans
For her fans, she said, “I am so grateful for the welcome that Cat Greene has received. I know that ‘Days’ has the most amazing, most dedicated, most loyal fans, and multigenerational fans. It goes on and on, and the legacy is so vast.”
“So to be embraced, to be welcomed into the ‘Days’ family, and that is inclusive of the fans of ‘Days,’ has been an absolute pleasure, so thank you very much. I love the fans in return,” she concluded.
To learn more about AnnaLynne McCord, follow her on Instagram.
