This will be Tognoni’s fifth Daytime Emmy nomination, and third win if she snags the award!
Three Could be the Charm!
Tognoni won the Daytime Emmy in the Outstanding Supporting Actress category in both 2006 and 2008 as Dinah on Guiding Light. Will a third win be the charm, this time for her role as Y&R‘s fabulous but fraught Phyllis Newman? And was Tognoni surprised upon hearing of her nomination? Hear the full audio below.
“It’s always an honor, and really a role of the dice,” she told Laurie Baker of Outtakes. “You never get used to it!”
The actress learned the happy news while she was on set. “I was trying to find it [the nominations announcement]on TV,” she recounted. “I got a text from my mom, then one from my husband who told me I got it. I was overjoyed!”
Challenging Scene Submissions
Tognoni chose scenes for her Emmy submissions that highlighted the tumult in her character’s life. The first scene was when Phyllis testified at Victor’s (Eric Braeden) trial.
“Half her life had been turned upside down by this man, and he should go to jail,” Tognoni said. Telling Phyllis’s emotional story on the stand was a difficult but rewarding process for Tognoni.
“It was challenging to keep this all very controlled within the performance of it, but to let it [also]just fly,” she said.
The second set of scenes Tognoni submitted were between Billy (Jason Thompson) and Phyllis. “Phyllis falls in love with Billy, Jack’s brother. These were the reveal scenes, and it showed a struggling married couple.”
Tognoni said that this particular scene submission was her favorite storyline. “It was so difficult to play, because (in real life) I’m a happily married woman!”
She also said that all of her submitted scenes were “loaded with so much emotion.”
Emmy and Apparel Excitement
Tognoni is almost ready to attend the Emmy ceremony on April 30th. “I realized when I came off of that great cloud [of being nominated]I thought, ‘Man, I have to get a dress!'” She said that she is looking to choosing the perfect frock for the big night.
A Word of Advice
This two-time Emmy winner has some sage words for budding actors. “You have to love it,” she said simply. “Maybe it [success]isn’t overnight – maybe it’s over a period of time. Acting is an expression, the art of telling a story. Your instrument is going to get better and better each year, so start practicing now.”
Tognoni said that practice could include a scene study or an acting class, for example. “If it’s your passion, it will come to you. Keep going. Fame is a bonus, but just get good at telling a story,” the CBS sudser fan fave shared.
Give us your input in the comment section below. Check back with Soap Cities for more Y&R spoilers, recaps, news, and fun! Follow us on Twitter at @soapcities, on Instagram at @soapcities, and come chat with us in our Facebook group. Catch “The Young and the Restless” weekdays on CBS.
