To go back to the first part of the interview with Victoria Konefal, click here. Read the remainder of our interview with Victoria Konefal below.
Michelle Patterson: And then Ben could come around and save Ciara from herself. Completely flip the script and have him defending her for a little while.
Victoria Konefal: Or Ciara tries to kill Ben and gives him a taste of his own medicine. She takes the necktie and is like ‘I’m serving justice for all those you killed,’ and turns into the Dexter of the show. That would be fun!
MP: Yes! I like this idea a lot. Other than the storyline mentioned above, is there a storyline you hope the writers give Ciara in the future?
VK: I hope that Ciara finds more independence in her life in the future. Having a boo is grand, but also I feel like her individuality is getting stripped away at this point. Fans will look at Ciara’s character and go to Ciara and Ben. You can’t have one without the other. And I also think in the name of feminism, no. Let them be individuals together instead of two people who have morphed into this one thing.
The relationship is beautiful, and I love what Cin has become, but I would like for Ciara to be able to take a couple of steps on her own two feet away from the relationship. Not in a break-up kind of way, but for her to discover who she is.
MP: A mini side adventure if you will. One that gives her clarity about who she is as a person with and without him.
VK: Yeah, something away from Ben. Something that gives her more individuality on the show.
MP: In the movie Deadly Exchange, Blake Winters is a far cry from the spitfire that is Ciara Brady.
VK: Right! Ciara is a spitfire, and Blake is the sweet little innocent girl who dresses down, no makeup. She’s a very simple gal. Ciara is quite the opposite. I do not think those two characters would be besties.
MP: I kept wondering because of how different they were, what do you think Ciara would have done upon meeting Chloe if she was Blake?
VK: Oh, if Ciara were Blake in that scenario– Chloe would not have even stepped into the house. Ciara has incredible intuition, and the second she met Chloe, she would have known something was off and had a side conference with mama and been like listen we can’t let this lady in our house. There’s something off about her; I can smell it. Ciara wouldn’t be so naive and blind to Chloe’s evil. So I think there wouldn’t be a movie. I think it would be ten minutes in, and she’d say, “Nope. Go back to England. See ya later, chippy. Bye-bye.
MP: That is what was so crazy about watching it for me knowing Ciara. It was almost bizarre to watch. You did an excellent job.
VK: And also, Blake’s relationship in that movie is very innocent. They don’t even kiss on the lips. They kiss on the cheeks. It’s the polar opposite of what Ciara does with Ben in the Salem Inn. I’m surprised they haven’t to reorder their bedspreads yet because all they do is spend time in bed and the shower. They are incredibly sexual beings. And Blake is this puppy dog that is like he kissed me on the cheek, hehe.
MP: I loved the diversity, and it was so great to see the difference between the characters. Major kudos to you.
VK: Girl got range!
MP: Major range! With range comes even more role diversity, and I happened to notice you are going to be in an upcoming horror film where you play the villain, Georgia Paige. Is there anything you can tell us about your upcoming feature Fog City at this time?
VK: Yes! So insanely enough was my first ever professional project that I booked! I filmed that five years ago when I was eighteen years old. I’m much much younger in it. It’s my first professional project, so I forget exactly how I went about it. I think that my acting style has definitely grown a lot since shooting that. I almost wish I could reshoot it knowing what I know now.
That film contains my favorite character to play so far, and coincidentally it’s my very first one. I am so off my hinges in that film. There’s no rhyme or reason to the evil acts she [Georgia] does. She just goes about and makes a mess of everything and is incredibly villainous, and it was so much fun to play that, and I cannot wait for it to come out. I made some incredible friendships on that set that I still have to this day.
It’s a project very close to premiering. I don’t know what is taking it so long! Three other films of mine have come out since then, so I guess it’s true that good things come to those who wait. So we will see.
MP: In the world of horror, at least what I have noticed is that they tend to make us all wait. I don’t know why. Obviously, being a horror set is entirely different than being on the set for Salem. Did you enjoy the difference of being on the set of a horror film?
VK: For sure. The differences in not only the genre but just location. We shot Fog City on location in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. We were there for three weeks. We were put up in this little rinky-dink hotel that I loved SO much. I think there’s a different bonding experience that comes along with each project. With Fog City, we bonded very quickly because we all had the same sleeping schedules. The first thing we saw each day was each other. We’d work all day and then we’d go to bed and do the same thing over.
Whereas Days of Our Lives–because we film every single day for so long, I can’t really prioritize the experience. When I shoot movies, I find myself going all in, and I immerse myself in the project. People can hardly ever reach me because I don’t look at my phone. I don’t want to look at the life of Victoria. I just want to sink myself into the character. Whereas with Days of Our Lives, if I did that, then my responsibilities would never get done because this is a 24/7, 365 kinda gig.
I feel like the Days of Our Lives set is a bit more impersonal than shooting on location if that makes sense. But then again, the family aspect and dynamic between all the cast members is something I’ve never seen on another set in terms of how close we are because we’ve known each other for so long. I do prefer on-location shooting, though. It gives me more butterflies to immerse myself in a new town and that experience.
MP: It’s always so exciting to go somewhere you’ve never seen before.
VK: Meeting new people, a new script, a new character. It adds flavor to the life of an actor.
MP: Because of that, would you consider doing more horror films in the future?
VK: I would love to do more horror films in the future. I just got offered one of the lead roles in a horror film that I had to turn down because it conflicted with my Days of Our Lives shooting schedule. I’m looking forward to pursuing more horror, more villainous evil characters. I find that I’ve reiterated that a couple of times in this interview already. You know by now I love playing the bad guy.
MP: I agree. I’m the one that my friends tend to make fun of because I always fall for all the villains. There’s just something about them to me that is fascinating.
VK: Right! Enter Ben Weston.
MP: So I get where Ciara is coming from with Ben, and I don’t know that I should.
VK: It’s kind of like I want to get with the necktie killer too. Oh no! Am I crazy? Naw, there’s a certain allure of something that is forbidden. It’s the forbidden fruit. We all want it. We probably shouldn’t, but we all want it anyway.
MP: For me, it has always been the theory that you are going to regret anything you don’t try.
VK: Right. Also, low-key setting yourself up for failure.
MP: Yeah, that’s the small price in this scenario.
VK: Yes, we will talk about that on another day. That is unimportant at this time.
MP: Agreed. That is for another interview! Before we wrap, is there anything you want to convey to your fans because of COVID-19?
VK: I have been pretty vocal on my socials about this. Something I want people to remember about this is that our brains are not even wired to process this kind of collective trauma. We’ve never been through anything like this, especially the younger generation. We have technically been able to grow up in some level of privilege. Of course, this doesn’t apply to everyone, but in most of America–we are fortunate.
This is a shock, and it is crazy. And it’s okay not to be okay. That’s the one thing I really want to stress because I found at the beginning of this whole process I was down on myself and angry at myself for not being super productive. I had just wired my brain always to be doing something. I had to step back and say, ‘Look. Listen. You don’t have to do anything right now. You just need to survive and stay home and do what you can to help the world heal.
We are all in this together. At this point, each of our individual actions matter. Whether we go to the store that day or not. Whether we wear the face mask or not. Whether we wash our hands or not. We are all affecting other people directly more than we ever have, and we need to stay smart, stay safe, and stay available to whatever we’re feeling. Don’t try to suppress your negative emotions because it’s totally normal. And quite honestly, if you weren’t feeling those emotions, then I would be concerned.
The moral of the story is it’s okay not to be okay. Hang in there. Stay safe and try to stay positive. We will eventually get through this, and we will prevail.
MP: I completely agree. I actually wrote an article at the beginning of all this called It’s Okay Not To Be Okay because I had a very similar mindset in the beginning.
VK: It’s hard in a society that has conditioned us always to be participating in societal culture to be a normal human. I think that’s so wrong. I believe this is the universe’s way of telling us all to slow down and breathe and relax and observe. This moment could potentially be a blessing in disguise. I don’t want to make the situation seem like it’s unimportant or put light on it where it doesn’t need to be.
Of course, this is hard, and we are all suffering, but if there’s anything we can take from this it is that we can try to learn and reset ourselves. I think that is a positive that can come out of this. Resetting our brains and being more sensitive to what our bodies are telling us.
MP: I agree entirely. I think the mindset is something people undervalue, unfortunately, and resetting is never a bad idea. I want to thank you for your kind and encouraging words, as well as letting us interview you today for the site. It has been such a pleasure getting to talk with you today. And stay safe! I feel it goes without saying, but stay safe and thank you again for such a great interview.
VK: You too! Thank you for having me!
Don’t forget to tune into Days of Our Lives to watch Victoria in action as Ciara Brady weekdays at 1 pm EST on NBC. To make sure you are up-to-date on all things Victoria Konefal, make sure to follow her on her social media accounts, Twitter, and Instagram as well.
What did you think of the Cin proposal today? Did this interview make you love Victoria Konefal even more than before? What about her words in this interview? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
