Please welcome Patrika Darbo from Days of Our Lives! Let's start with our first question...

Question: What do you think of your "husband" on Days?

Patrika Darbo: It's wonderful. He's very giving as an actor and just wonderful. He's never let my size be a problem which is very generous of him.

Question: Hi Patrika. I've been a fan of days for about 8 years now and run a website about the show. How do you like working with the cast?

Patrika Darbo: It's terrific, everyone has been very nice welcoming me. The ladies are darling. The men, of course, are gorgeous. When you're the new kid on the block, everyone is very giving. Everyone has been very nice. I'm not your typical soap opera actress but I've been treated as if I am one.

Question: Ms. Darbo, I absolutely love your performance as Nancy, and my friends and I swear that we've seen you in other roles. Where could you have been seen before Days of Our Lives?

Patrika Darbo: Well, just last Monday I was on LA Doctors and played Phoebe and had fun, about Viagra. I was also on the first year of Step by Step as Suzanne Somers' sister. I was on Roseanne. Roseanne said I did a good job, but I cried too much. And film too, you saw John Malkovitch break my neck in "In the Line of Fire."

Question: Is Patrika your given name?

Patrika Darbo: Yes, Patrika is my name, my mother gave me. She didn't want just Patricia, she wanted something more unique. And Darbo is my husband's name.

Question: We're all fans and happy to see you here, can you tell us what is the most rewarding part of your acting career?

Patrika Darbo: I think being a celebrity, in the sense that I have been able to get people, in a situation where I work for cancer or the special Olympics, I think one of the nicest things is - I got a fan letter the other day which said it was nice to see an overweight female in a role that was great.

Question: What was it like to work with Clint Eastwood in the movie in the line of fire?

Patrika Darbo: Actually, I didn't work with Clint because my scene was with John Malkovitch.

Question: I just LOVE Kevin Spirtas, what's it like to work with him?

Patrika Darbo: As an actor and an actress, it's wonderful because he's very talented and very giving. Not just when the camera is on him, but when the camera is on me he's very giving. I'm blessed to have him as my leading man.

Question: What was your first acting job ever?

Patrika Darbo: If you're talking about before I ever did anything, that would probably be doing community theater, and I can't think of what the first role would have been. It would have been back in Georgia. Professionally, my first film was Keanu Reeves first film, in which, it's very funny, I played a bimbo.

Question: You're a fabulous actress and you are great with Dr. Craig. But are you going to turn good like a lot of the bad do?

Patrika Darbo: To be honest, I have really no idea what the long term is for me at this point. I will do whatever they want me to do, of course, because they're in charge. I hope I stay as a bad girl because I'm having such a good time.

Question: Patrika, do you really enjoy playing Nancy since you are very good at it?

Patrika Darbo: I have the best time playing her. She says the kind of thing that everybody wants to say or everybody wants to do. I'm sure everybody wants her husband to be the boss and be in charge. I see my own self in her, but I don't think I would do the things that she does. Would I go have coffee with Nancy? Yes, I'd go have coffee with her, but I think what would happen is I'd see what was going on with her.

Question: Who is Eric going to end up with?

Patrika Darbo: I don't know. I truly, truly do not know!

Question: How did you become involved in soap operas?

Patrika Darbo: Well, I guess about eight or nine years, maybe longer, I did a little stint on General Hospital as a waitress and the casting director for Days of Our Lives and I would throw diamonds at her feet and bow down to her. And she said would I be interested in doing this role? And I said certainly, thinking I was going to play another waitress. And I auditioned and got the part of Nancy. And if Fran hadn't asked me I wouldn't be here. So I believe work begets work and that's how it happened. It was a blessing, absolutely!

Question: Hello you are awesome! Do you go online a lot? Do you have a screen name?

Patrika Darbo: The computer terrifies me! No, I don't go online. A friend was talking to me about setting up my own website which will come in the future and then I would have my own screen name. But, no I don't venture in there.

Question: We just saw you in LA DOCTORS last week. Very funny role. Do you have an out in your contract which lets you do other roles?

Patrika Darbo: I'm pretty sure that almost all of us have an out that says that we can do 2 or 3 things a year like film or commercial. The problem is, is that a lot of times we don't have the time. An example is that I also auditioned for the Magnificent Seven and I booked that one but I'm working every day this week and there was no way I could get out to do that one.

Question: What has been your favorite acting job?

Patrika Darbo: That would be the first, it's called Daddy's Dying, Who's Got The Will. I got to reprise my role in the film. It was a wonderful thing. It got me put under contract to ABC when I did Step by Step and a lot of good things came out of it.

Question: Ms. Darbo, will you please settle a dispute with my friends and me? Should Carrie be with Mike or Austin?

Patrika Darbo: Hmmm. Now, the part of me that just loves a love story says that Carrie should be with Mike, but the other side of me says that Carrie should be with Austin. The Nancy part of me wants Carrie to be with whoever behooves or helps her to get Craig.

Question: Who are your inspirations in life?

Patrika Darbo: My stepfather was my biggest inspiration He was only four foot two, he was a midget. He taught me not to judge a book by its cover and that anything I wanted to do, I could do. And unfortunately he passed away. I'm sorry, I'm going to cry.

Question: What other roles would you like to be in if you could?

Patrika Darbo: I'm not really sure. I love to work and, as I said, work begets work. I would love to have been able to work with Katherine Hepburn. I have always admired her. She's been around forever and I just think she's wonderful. And she's one of those people that's been around and she's always around. Everybody knows who she is.

Question: What was the coolest thing you ever got for Christmas?

Patrika Darbo: When I was a kid, the best thing I ever got, my mother one year bought ballerina dolls that one was a blonde and one was a brunette for me and my sister And my second would be my engagement ring when I got married. It was just around Christmas.

Question: Does Days have a 1999 calendar coming up and are you and Dr. C. in it? Where do we get one?

Patrika Darbo: I don't know if they have one. Right now we're shooting things that go on over Christmas. I'm pretty sure that we're into 1999, so I haven't heard anything to the difference.

Question: What do you see in your husband in days?

Patrika Darbo: I see a very smart, intelligent, caring man. And if you look back at the episodes where he deals with Will in the hospital. He's a very caring man when he deals with his patients and that's what Nancy sees in him.

Question: Which cast members would you like to work with that you haven't had much screen time with yet?

Patrika Darbo: Well, of course, working with the bad guys, Mr. Damira and Louise would be fun.

Question: Are you online? I think I'm going to vote for you for the YOU'VE GOT FANS awards for BEST HAIR

Patrika Darbo: That's very sweet, thank you very much. When I tell Gary about that, he's my hair person on the show, and he always loves to get up in there putting in curls and I'm, "No, No no." He'll be very excited.

Question: Do you enjoy being kissed by on the show? How can I get a chance to kiss you?

Patrika Darbo: I guess at the fan luncheon next year, I'll be there with my lips pursed.

Question: Did you watch soaps growing up?

Patrika Darbo: No, really I don't think I did. I think I was outside and was involved with sports and stuff like that.

Question: I LOVE YOU!!! You have to be the sweetest thing alive. I'd love to meet you one day, so I'd like to know if you have any NYC appearances scheduled in the near future. If not, could you arrange some?

Patrika Darbo: Thank you very much. I don't have anything planned for New York coming up. I know that Craig and I are going to be in the Hollywood Christmas parade. I think we were going to be in the Macy's Day parade and so I hope we get to meet. I don't know.

Question: I saw you on Growing Pains. Did you like working with Kirk Cameron, Ashley Johnson, Jeremy Miller, Allen Thick, Joanna Kerns and Tracy Gold?

Patrika Darbo: The answer to that question, is YES! I didn't really work with Ashley because she was the new baby I saw them all grow up, as a recurring character on that show.

Question: Can you give us some information about what's coming up in 99'?

Patrika Darbo: I'm sworn to secrecy, so I can't tell you anything. Just stay tuned. I'm locked into Days, and I don't want to say "Locked In" because I'm very happy to be there. But I'll be working on a film in '99.

(c) 1998, Entertainment Asylum & America Online. All rights reserved.

Thanks to Silvia108 for this chat.

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