When Days of our Lives made the announcement last year that soap opera newcomer Marci Miller would be taking over the role of Abigail Deveraux, fans of the NBC soap were skeptical. After all, replacing exiting portrayer Kate Mansi was a bold move that wasn't sure to pay off. But much to everyone's surprise, Miller successfully took over the legacy character and the smooth transition was part of what won DAYS' casting director Marnie Saitta her very first Daytime Emmy Award earlier this year.
Saitta made sure to mention Miller during her backstage Emmy win reaction interviews, citing the actress as one of the reasons she finally won the award -- after a whopping eight previous nominations. And Miller is extremely grateful that she was able to help the casting guru receive the respect she deserves.
"It's really humbling for me to imagine that she mentioned me during her interviews," Miller says. "I have so much respect for that woman. When I see her in the hall, I say, ‘You're the woman who changed my life.' And she did, in a lot of ways."
The actress continues: "As an actor, you spend so much time waiting for someone to see who you are and what you have, just to acknowledge that, and to have that person be someone like her is really special. I know that she's been that for all of us as DAYS, so it's awesome to get to celebrate her. She's always celebrating us, saying, ‘You did it! You're doing it!' So for her to get a little of the limelight is really, really cool."
Do you think Miller was a good replacement for Mansi? Which other casting decisions of the last year do you think helped Saitta win her first Emmy award? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
