The Days of Her Life are on Television: Actress Laura Kai Chen, Plays Melinda Trask on Days of Our Lives; Talks the Venerable Soap Opera, Acting, More
In the world of daytime television, Days of Our Lives defines longevity. The soap opera was just renewed for its 55th season. The long running NBC program has continued to entertain audiences across the United States.
Since 2013, actress Laura Kai Chen has had a chance to experience the set of Salem, Illinois where Days of Our Lives is fictionally based. Being around some of the show’s veteran performers, the woman who plays prosecutor Melinda Trask told us about a lunch she had with actor James Reynolds who plays Abe Carver. He has been on the show since 1981. That conversation made her think about some things she shared with us:
“There is such immense integrity in all of the actors that are on Days. I’m really very, very fond of them. But especially the people that have been, there’s a great appreciation for the art of what we do and it’s funny because I think sometimes because soap operas are very dramatic, people have a sense that they’re very, you know, like melodrama and I find that not all to be the case. I think there’s such care taken even when we have very outrageous storylines.”
As an Asian woman, Laura tells us she grew up without role models on television. Giving her thoughts on the current representation of Asians in film, television and the media in general and how films like the 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians are helping, she shared this:
“It’s an emotional experience for me and I know for a lot of other Asian American actors. It’s an emotional experience to get to play a character on television, maybe on a show you might have grown up watching.”
After graduating from New York University with a Master of Fine Art, Laura Kai Chen always thought her destiny would be regional theatre and not daytime television:
“I never imagined that I would have a career on TV. I never imagined that I would get recognized when I go into a deli in New York City to buy a sandwich.”
You can listen to the entire CYInterview with actress Laura Kai Chen below, where she talks more about Days of Our Lives, her role in the 2013 Oscar nominated movie Her and other topics, at the link:
Listen to the entire Laura Kai Chen CYInterview:
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