Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with the incredibly talented Victoria Konefal. For those of you who do not know her, she is best known as Ciara Brady on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. She continually gets voted as the #1 Soap Actress in TV Source Magazine’s polls and received her first Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series in 2019. She has also participated in numerous interviews as well as a SAG Conversations “Ladies of Daytime Drama” panel.
Without further adieu, here is part one of my exciting two-part interview with Victoria Konefal.
Michelle Patterson: After learning of your strenuous casting process for Days of Our Lives, how did you feel when you discovered you were cast into a family dynasty of the soap opera world?
Victoria Konefal: It was very strenuous. The whole process took about two months, but once I got that call that I had booked the role, it made everything worth it. I got a phone call saying they still couldn’t narrow it down and that I needed to test again. I found out a week later that I had booked it.
Being cast as Ciara Brady and the legacy Brady family was definitely an accomplishment. It has been in my blood since I was born. There were days that my mom would ask how Bo and Hope’s daughter was doing, and I’d say fine. I would then say your daughter is doing good too!
MP: Which storyline has been your favorite so far on Days of Our Lives?
VK: I think my favorite storyline would probably be when Claire set Ciara on fire because, in real life, Olivia Rose Keegan is my best friend in the entire world. We love each other so much. To be in a storyline where she had to hate me, and I had to beg her for my life, it took us so far away from who we were and tested our acting abilities. We had to put ourselves in a headspace that was unthinkable for both of us.
It challenged us and brought out some real raw emotion because of that love that is there. I think because Olivia and I are so close it made the scenes so much better. It was painful to watch from both of our perspectives. From pain comes beauty, and that’s where I stand with that. That one is my favorite.
MP: Ciara is currently dealing with the stabbing of her grandfather, were you surprised to see that she was the only person he would wake up for when you read the script?
VK: Actually, yeah. It could have been Maggie, his wife. It could have been anyone. It was an honor. John Aniston is a force, and everyone wants to work with him. And he’s the “it” guy on our show. So me being the person to wake him up and have that special moment with him, it truly felt like a privilege.
MP: Do you think Ciara will try to investigate more into Jake considering the striking resemblance to Stefan DiMera, or will she accept he’s an entirely new person?
VK: I think she’s just going to let Ben handle it. That’s her guy. She trusts his judgment. He is the one working in proximity to Jake. She’s going to mind her own business. It’s not her issue to get involved in, so she’s going to be there for the ride and support Ben. Of course, she has her own opinions, but she isn’t going to go into full-blown investigative mode because it’s not necessarily her place in the situation.
It’s more of a Gabi responsibility. Poor Gabi. Her whole life is turned down because of that investigation. I think she is going to be doing some hardcore investigating more so than Ciara.
MP: Speaking of Ciara and Ben, Cin, what was it like having your character enter into a storyline with another who is a past serial killer?
VK: I think it was initially a shock because they brought on Rob as a love interest when I still had Tripp as a love interest. So they wanted to bring on the drama, the triangle. Typically in soap operas, there’s a pattern where the bad boy gets the good girl. And Tripp was the good boy with the good girl. I think their pairing was too boring for the storyline. So they needed to bring in somebody who added a little bit of flavor.
What I think I brought to the character is a level of strength and badassery that they hadn’t seen from Ciara yet. I think the writers noticed that and figured they should bring on someone who would be with Ciara against all odds. As an actress, I loved that. I thought it was juicy; it gave me a lot to play with.
In terms of Ciara’s judgment, I don’t really trust it. I mean at the top when she woke up she had a couple of moments where she realized he was the necktie killer and was scared and she let her guard down pretty quickly with this guy. He got under her skin somehow. I wouldn’t trust her, but I’m happy for her. Ciara made the right choice, and they are living happily ever after so far. It was very interesting to add that dynamic to Ciara’s storyline once they brought him on.
MP: And why do you think she fought so hard on his behalf outside of him saving her initially?
VK: She fought SO hard! I think the reason she fought so hard is that he was an outcast, and she felt like an outcast as well. Ciara has been through so much, and she loves seeing the good in people. She saw bits of herself in him, and she loves fighting for the underdog. That’s her whole philosophy is to fight for people. She has so much love in what she does.
And she realizes that bad people need a little bit of love to push them in the right direction. Once she realized they had opened up to each other and had some beautiful soft moments with each other, she realized she was the only person in Salem who would fight for him. So she kind of felt the responsibility to clear his name because she was the only one who had faith.
MP: She is far more admirable for having that faith. It says a lot about her character.
VK: For sure, Ciara is a great woman!
MP: Speaking of them living happily ever after from before, considering everything that they have been through together, everything that the two have been through together with jail time and kidnappings.
VK: Kidnappings! Multiple kidnappings!! He’s lifted her from the fire.
MP: Rumors are floating around that we might be getting a proposal or wedding in the future. Do you think they are going to catch a break finally? Is there anything you can tell us about these rumors?
VK: Listen, this is Salem no one ever catches a break. I can disclose there will be a proposal soon and it is hopefully going to be what the fans have been imagining. I thought the sweetest thing in the world in the way he proposes and what ends up happening. So they do have a couple of moments of bliss before the hurricane strikes again.
MP: I like the way you put that. I feel like it is not a Salem wedding unless someone objects.
VK: Right, right. There has to be some hiccup.
MP: This leads me to another question because I was reading about a possible return from Clarie, which I think we would all love.
VK: Yeah, I would especially love that.
MP: If there is ever a Cin wedding in the future can you imagine that being her return would Ciara be able to embrace Claire after all she did to her?
VK: I would love if Ciara and Claire put all that drama behind them for the sake of womanhood and feminism. I have had enough of women being portrayed as caddy and brats toward each other. At the end of the day, they’re family. They’re best friends. Yes, they have their differences, but they need to support each other and uplift one another.
In an ideal world, I would love it if Claire was on Ciara’s side, and they planned the wedding together. I would love to see some love and light between them. Who knows. I can never confirm or deny anything.
MP: The more I thought about it, I kept imagining that as a heck of a way to bring her back into Ciara’s life.
VK: Claire just shows up. Does anyone object? Speak now or forever hold your peace—I OBJECT! She comes in dressed in the Bayview medical gown. She just broke out to ruin the wedding. That would be something.
MP: I don’t know if she would get cleared by the Bayview staff to stay around Salem if she did that, but yes, it would be an exciting turn of events at a Cin wedding. Is there anything you have envisioned for a Cin wedding if it should come into fruition?
VK: If they do ever have a wedding, I would like it to be an on-location shoot. We could potentially get married in Greece or Bali or Italy. I know that Bo and Hope’s wedding was a location shoot. So I think it would be nice to follow in Ciara’s parents’ footsteps and have some romantic beach wedding.
MP: Speaking of Hope, Days of Our Lives is known for having their characters take on different personas, much like Princess Gina, is there a particular persona you would relish in taking on for the daytime drama?
VK: I’m totally dreaming about that. That would be a best-case scenario, in my opinion. I’ve said this before in interviews. There is something beautiful about playing the same character for so long. I get to know her so well, and she truly feels like a person that I’m protective of and I care for. However, at the same time, it becomes less challenging as an actress.
Ciara is great; the show is wonderful, but at the end of the day, I’m an actor, and I need to work that fulfills my artistic hunger. I’m starting to feel not as challenged as I was in the beginning. I think that would be an excellent plot twist to introduce a split personality or an evil psyche where she blacks out and wreaks havoc across Salem, especially since she’s the daughter of Salem’s finest police officers and detectives.
I think that would be a head-turner for sure, and I would have a blast playing the villainous role. I always say that the villainous role is my favorite because it allows me to play with the script truly and really find interesting aspects of myself that I could bring into the character. Ultimately, I would love for that to happen.
To read the remainder of our interview with Days of Our Lives Victoria Konefal, click here.
