Daytime Soap Opera
Actor Of The Week

Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie, Days Of Our Lives)

Another week, another performer where you’re just like, how does this person consistently miss out on nominations when nearly every time you see them on the show, you’re left thinking, wow, that was beautifully done. Susan Seaforth Hayes is one of the queens of beautifully done. How great and real did Julie’s conflicted emotions seem opposite would-be suitor Foster this week? Seaforth Hayes was sublime in conveying how Foster’s company brings welcome light into Julie’s life, but Doug, the man she lost, still very much owns her heart, he always will. The actress nailed every nuance of Julie’s complex circumstances, and like that wasn’t enough brilliance for one week, Seaforth Hayes brought a rare sense of gravity to one of those absurd back-from-the-dead plots, when she tearily asked Lexie what heaven was like, longing to hear that she might someday reunite with Doug. Popular culture doesn’t often explore this phase of a woman’s life, and if they do, it isn’t always done with this level of thought, care, and maturity, luckier still for viewers, is that we get to see it played out by an actress of this caliber.