Chatting with Linda Dano: Emmy award-winning actress

Linda Dano. Photo Credit: Sven Boecker, Hallmark Media

Emmy award-winning actress Linda Dano (“Another World”) chatted about her latest endeavors.

She opened up about the digital age, her podcast, learning lines (being dialogue-heavy) and she furnished her advice for young and aspiring actors.

Background on Linda Dano

She is an actress and TV host. She began her career appearing in films, and primetime TV. In 1978, she was cast as Rae Cummings on the ABC daytime daytime drama “One Life to Life.”

From 1983 to 1999, Dano starred as Felicia Gallant in the NBC soap opera “Another World.” In 1999, she returned to “One Life to Live,” where she stayed until 2004. 

Winning the ‘Lead Actress’ Emmy Award

In 1993, Dano won the “Outstanding Lead Actress” Daytime Emmy Award for her acting work as Felicia Gallant in “Another World” for the alcohol storyline. Dano was nominated for an Emmy six additional times for her acting on that show and for playing Rae Cummings in “One Life to Live.”

“It was a great script and a great character,” she reflected about her iconic role of Felicia Gallant.

On winning the 1993 “Lead Actress” Emmy Award, she remarked, “I just couldn’t believe it. Everyone said I was going to win, and I kept saying ‘I’m not, don’t say that.’ I couldn’t even imagine winning.”

“I didn’t prepare a speech to say because I never believed it was going to happen. I cried, and it was just overwhelming. What a moment for me,” she exclaimed.

‘Attitudes’ talk show

In 1989, she was nominated for the Emmy for “Outstanding Talk/Service Show Host” for hosting the talk show “Attitudes” with Nancy Glass. “I did that too,” she said. “Looking back, I did a lot of things. That was fun, and the fans that would come were so excited to be in that auditorium. I would stay after, and I would talk to all of them. Again, I am very blessed.”

“The more like a family, it is… the most comfortable I am. That’s how I grew up and that’s what I know. It has really been a great ride for me all my life. I will be 81 this year, and it hardly seems possible,” she added.

Playing Vivian Alamain on ‘Days of Our Lives’

A few years ago, Dano filled in for Louise Sorel in the role of Vivian Alamain on “Days of Our Lives” for a brief stint. “That was a lot of fun, especially for a two-week gig,” she admitted.

“It was a very different character than I usually play. I knew some of the people there, and the crew was outstanding. They were just so generous and great,” she explained.

“They treated me like I was a legend, it was just overwhelming,” she added.

‘A Little Daytime Drama’ Hallmark movie

Dano recalled doing the Hallmark film “A Little Daytime Drama,” where she starred opposite Ryan Paevey and Jen Lilley. In this rom-com, Dano played the role of Alice Hamlin, the creator and producer of the long-running daytime series.

“I had so much fun doing that,” she said. “Everyone was so kind. I would hang out with the extras. It was a whole family affair, and it was great fun.”

Upcoming virtual fan event

On January 21, Dano will be a part of a virtual fan event, produced by Coastal Entertainment, where she will talk about her respected career in daytime television. “I am a little excited about it,” she said with a sweet laugh. “I do a podcast and I’ve really enjoyed doing it. It’s fun and I get to talk with my old friends… so it’s like home again. Now, this upcoming Zoom event is getting me excited too.”

“Daytime was always such a great community of people,” she acknowledged. “It will be fun if the fans will come to this Zoom. We will all talk together, tell stories, and I am really looking forward to it.”

“I am thinking I will wear a feather boa for one of the scenes… that will remind them of Felicia,” she added.

Dialogue-heavy

When asked how she handles being dialogue heavy, she said, “I would spend a lot of time with my grandmother. We would all adore her… she did everything, she was fabulous. She taught us a lot, and a lot of it is because I learned very young.”

Dano continued, “My grandmother had a photographic mind, and she worked as a salesperson, and she never wrote anything down. She would get in her car and drive to three states. She would never write any orders down. When she got home, she would take her coat off, take a pad, and write down all the orders that she took that she never wrote down when she was on the road. Can you imagine?”

“Now, when I went to work in daytime, and had all those pages to memorize, I did it quickly,” she said.

“I did it quickly in school, and quickly in my work as an actor,” she said. “Everybody on set couldn’t believe I could learn all my lines simply by reading them twice… They would ask me: ‘how is this possible?’ The only thing I can figure out is it was because of my grandmother. She could do it, and I inherited that quality. That’s how I was able to learn all those lines.”

“Some of those lines were horrifying,” she admitted. “Oh my God. I’ve been present when new actors would come on a daytime show, and they wouldn’t even last a day. They would get rid of them because the show can’t afford to teach them how to learn lines. It’s so quick and it has to go quick.”

The digital age

On being an actress in the digital age, Dano said, “It’s scary. I am glad where I am right now at this age. I’ve done it, I’ve had a career, I’ve loved it, and it was great fun. I’ve had many memories, and now, I have my little dogs and I am living the good life.”

“Life is good for me, life is very good,” she attested. “Now, I am enjoying doing my podcast. It is fun and the fans just love them. I get lots of letters sent to me about it.”

Advice for young and aspiring actors

For young and aspiring actors, she encouraged them to “pay attention.” “Study the people that are really worth studying. Don’t be so full of yourself. Give yourself time to learn, to really learn what it’s about,” she said.

“It’s not about being famous or going to parties, it is going to ‘you’ being the best that you can be. That’s what being an actor is all about. If you can’t do that, don’t do it, do something else,” she added.

Stage of her life

On the title of the current chapter of her life, Dano said, “Helping people, being happy, and being grateful.”

Message for her fans and supporters

For her fans and supporters, Dano said, “The fans are one of the most important things that have happened throughout my life. They are so generous and overwhelmingly kind.”

“The fans are just unbelievable. They’ve sent me letters and gifts. That made a difference, at least it did to me. The fans were a part of the whole family. It takes a village, and I love them for it,” she concluded.

To learn more about Linda Dano, check out her IMDb page, and follow her on Instagram.