Lindsay Arnold didn't have tons of prior television experience before joining Days of our Lives, but that didn't stop the NBC soap opera from giving the young performer some incredibly emotional, heavy-hitting scenes as soon as she took on the role of Allie Horton in the summer of 2020. The actress quickly proved that she could handle whatever the writers threw her way, so, they threw her a whopper in 2021: Allie went under hypnosis so she could recover suppressed memories from when she was raped.
Arnold reveals that she included the emotional scenes in her Emmy submission reel this year, which was what led to her nomination in the Outstanding Young Performer in a Drama Series category.
"I was really excited [about receiving the nomination]," she shares in an interview with Michael Fairman. "I'm not going to say I was expecting it, just because you never know, but I was definitely really proud of the scenes that I submitted."
She adds that her scenes where "when Ally gets hypnotized by Marlena and remembers the true events of the night of her sexual assault, which was honestly just a very traumatic experience for her, and you kind of saw her going through everything of remembering -- the physical aspects that you feel of remembering something like that and the emotional ones. So, I just remember doing those scenes, and it was one of those days at work where I finished and I just felt like I had done something really important and something that just really made me feel good."
DAYS fans are certainly proud of the young actress for the outstanding work she delivered during the rape storyline, as are Arnold's family and friends. She shares that everyone from her parents to her co-stars was thrilled when she told them she'd been nominated.
"I called my parents' house phone right away and my dad picked up, so, he was the first person I told, and he was like, 'Call your mom on her cell phone,' so, I called my mom," she shares. "I think they were the only two that I told, and I knew they were going to have a field day with it, so, they were calling my grandparents and they were kind of making all the calls, which was good."
Arnold reveals that following a conversation with her parents, "Raven [Bowens, Chanel Dupree] called me right after, and she was like, 'So, Champagne?' [Laughs] So, I was like, I'm kind of out of office for the rest of the day anyway... and then her and another one of our friends and Victoria [Konefal, Ciara Brady] ended up surprising me outside my apartment with balloons and Champagne, and they were, like, in a convertible, and all my neighbors were definitely like, 'What is going on?' [Laughs] It was really sweet."
In addition to her DAYS co-stars, Arnold shares that she's also celebrated with some of the youngsters from the other daytime dramas. "A few of the other nominees have actually reached out to me on social media and stuff, from the other shows, which is cool because I don't really know any of them, so, we've all kind of connected now, which is cute," she says. "I'm excited to meet them [at the Emmy ceremony]."
However, the thing that Arnold says she's the most excited about when it comes to the Emmy Awards on Friday, June 24, is wearing a pretty dress!
"I'm not gonna lie: I'm obviously super honored to have my work validated this way and appreciated, and people thought I was kidding, but I wasn't, I just wanted to be nominated so I can get a dress!" she enthuses. "I'm so happy and I'm so glad everyone enjoyed my work, and I'm glad I got the nomination, but I'm just here to have fun, I'm here to wear a nice dress, I'm here to feel really pretty and have a good time, so, that was my most exciting thing about this. I was like, literally, I got [the nomination] and I was immediately looking for dresses! I love it."
It's a good thing the actress loves looking for Emmy dresses, because a lot of DAYS viewers think she'll have to do it again next year; many fans are predicting that she'll get another nomination for her work as Allie Devil.
"That's what people have been saying, and I've gotten a couple of tweets about it, and I'm like, 'Okay, I guess,'" the actress shares. "I feel like the Devil stuff is a little bit hard because it's just kind of a little bit ridiculous sometimes when it's out of context. People [watching the reel] might not know what's going on, my voice is modulated, so, I just try to take the funnier route with the Devil because I am just this young girl and I have this deep, modulated voice. So, [I think], 'I need to make this funny [because] it's going to be a bit easier to sell it,' for me, at least, when I'm acting it. So, I'm glad that's been coming across, because I've been getting a lot of positive feedback."
She adds that playing the Devil has been her favorite DAYS storyline so far. "I had so much fun with it. You just got to be absolutely horrible and mean to everyone, and I was having the best time. It's so different than my usual character; Allie is very sweet and more quiet and just a little bit more reserved, so, just getting to be completely out of pocket, which was super up my alley."
How do you feel about Lindsay Arnold being nominated for an Emmy? What did you think about her work as Allie last year? Do you think she'll take home the gold at the 2022 Daytime Emmy Awards? 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.
