INTERVIEW: Vincent Irizarry on his Emmy nomination and future in daytime

Former Days of our Lives star Vincent Irizarry (Deimos Kiriakis) opens up about the special Salem moments that landed him yet another Daytime Emmy nomination as well as whether or not fans can expect to see him be back in daytime.

Hot on the heels of the upsetting news that Vincent Irizarry has wrapped his time as Days of our Lives' Deimos Kiriakis comes the fantastic news that the talented actor has been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor for this year's Daytime Emmy Awards race. Soap Central spoke with the actor about the special scenes that landed him the nomination as well as whether or not fans will see him back on DAYS or another soap opera in the future.

soapcentral.com: Congratulations! How did you hear the good news that you had been nominated?

Vincent Irizarry: I was speaking to someone on the phone for a long time, going over some things, and when I was doing that, all of a sudden all these calls started coming in and texts were coming in, and I was on my computer, looking around, and I saw all these tweets coming up, congratulating me for being nominated. That's how I found out. It was kind of funny because all of these people were calling, but I was on this phone call and had to stay on for a while, so it was kind of weird. I was like, "Oh, my gosh, all of these people are calling me, and I can't even pick up the phone." And then, I didn't respond [to the messages] right away, because I kept thinking, "Is this real? Did it really happen?!" I didn't want to respond until I knew for sure and it wasn't a mistake or something.

soapcentral.com: What scenes did you end up submitting?

Irizarry: I submitted some scenes from an episode where I found out that Nicole [Arianne Zucker] shares with me that Chloe [Nadia Bjorlin] was carrying my baby, that she had lied to me. At first I'm very happy to hear that; I'm stunned that it's true. But then I come to realize that Nicole knew about it for two months and didn't tell me, and I realize that she was lying to me the whole time. So those were some of the scenes I submitted, and then there were a couple of other scenes from an episode where Nicole thought I was dead, and she goes to Chloe's cabin, and I'm there. They were very nice scenes because Nicole first came into my life, working with my brother, Victor [John Aniston], to try and bring me down. She was manipulating me, and I knew it, but the scenes that we had this year were basically me challenging her, saying I know that her feelings have changed for me and that we definitely connected, and I needed to know from her the truth, how she really feels about me. And then I did one scene of me playing the piano after Nicole and I made love, when I was playing Beethoven's "Fr Elise." That was the last scene.

soapcentral.com: Did that last scene make the nomination more special, just because you've always been nominated based solely on acting before, and this time, you were able to showcase some musical talent, as well?

Irizarry: Yeah, honestly, the way that I constructed the reel is that even for those who maybe don't watch the show, it told a story from beginning from to end, which was really nice. It showed a journey from beginning to end, and it was a nice ending, her waking up hearing me playing "Fr Elise" and coming over and sitting on the bench and putting her head on my shoulder and just fading out. It was really nice. I really liked those scenes. They were very touching.

soapcentral.com: You had the chance to work with John Aniston quite a bit, and he just received his very first nomination -- ever.

Irizarry: Wait a minute, this is his first nomination?!

soapcentral.com: Yes, and I was just as shocked as you when I learned that.

Irizarry: This is stunning! I cannot believe that. I'm sorry, but I never would have imagined that was the case. That's fantastic! I'm so happy for him. He's so deserving. Ridiculously so. I mean, come on. I loved working with John. I loved working with him. And I'm so grateful that the first scenes I got to do on DAYS were with John. It was an immediate connection I felt with him. I can't speak for him, but I felt an immediate connection with him. And he was very welcoming and right there, very present. It was a great kickstart to the entire story that I had with him, that first day. And it was like from the first moment I worked with him straight through the entire time I was on the show. I couldn't feel more grateful and privileged to have had the opportunity to work with who's now an Emmy Award nominee. That's just fantastic. I'm very happy for him. I cannot believe it, though. I'm still reeling from the fact that he's never been nominated. I just find it so absurd. He's such a great talent. I mean, honestly, even last year, I remember when Mary Beth Evans [Kayla Brady] won for best actress, and I was talking to her at the Emmy party we had after the show, and I asked her, "How many has this been?" And she said, "Oh, it's the first time." And I said, "Are you kidding me?!" She's such an incredibly talented actress. I was like, how could that be? So I'm incredibly happy for him.

soapcentral.com: Okay, so is it really true -- are you really not with DAYS anymore?

Irizarry: Well, that's the word, honey. Yes, it is. It's true. I'm done. And I think I'm going to be airing into August, I think. We're so far ahead. But at the moment, I'm not in Salem. I've departed, unfortunately. It was a great run during the time that I had, and I loved every moment. I'm sorry that it came to an end, but it did.

soapcentral.com: You have an interesting career, because you've been on almost every soap in existence. Because of that, do you feel like it will be more difficult for you to return to the genre? Do you feel DAYS is kind of your swan song?

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Irizarry: No, there is always a chance. The great thing about it is that I've worked with so many people in this medium throughout all these years. I mean even coming off of DAYS, honestly, I've worked with pretty much every director that was on the show, everybody. For the most part; I think there was one I hadn't worked with before. But all of them I had worked with, I had great working relationships with. And I've worked with so many producers and so many writers and some of the actors, obviously, who have moved around to different shows. So I certainly believe there's a chance I could be back on another show or back on this show, who knows. Anything is always possible in this medium. You never know.

What do you think about Irizarry nabbing a Daytime Emmy Award nomination? How do you feel about his time on DAYS coming to an end? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.

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