CHARACTER STUDY: Actors Offer Insight Into Their Alter Egos

Mary Beth Evans (Kayla Johnson, DAYS)

-  Janet Di Lauro

How has Kayla changed since you first started playing her?

“I will tell you, just seeing old videos, that my voice has changed. It was so airy back then: ‘Oh, Steve.’ I can hardly handle it when I see those clips. Obviously, Kayla has aged and matured, as have I. She was a single mother for a long time and went to medical school. Having gone through that, she has taken on more responsibility. She did a lot of things and grew as a person. She became stronger and knows more what she wants, but she still likes to have fun and enjoy her life. For her and Steve, she would be as she was [in the beginning]. Their [relationship] has gone on forever. She has been loyal like a Labrador and stuck with him through thick and thin, until things got unbearable. Then she fights like she did when Stefano/Steve sent her divorce papers.”

Who has been Kayla’s role model?

“Her mother was truly her role model. She adored her. Caroline was so strong and sassy. When we did the Alzheimer’s story with Peggy McCay [ex-Caroline] a long time ago, I could barely get through it because I loved her so much as a person. I bought into it and believed she was my mother.”

Steve’s nickname for Kayla has long been Sweetness. Did Stephen Nichols run it by you initially, and do you like it?