With the imminent Days of Our Lives double wedding of Sonny Kiriakis to Paul Narita and Abigail Deveraux to Chad DiMera, Carolyn Topol Talk had the opportunity to chat with co-stars Freddie Smith and Christopher Sean. Freddie and Christopher are as enthusiastic as the fans about the upcoming nuptials and shared some of their thoughts with us!
Carolyn Topol Talk: We’re very excited about the wedding story! While it wasn’t a complete surprise that Sonny and Paul are getting married, what was your reaction when you learned you would be part of a double wedding for two super couples on the show?
Freddie Smith: I think it was great. It’s such a good angle for the show to take. It showed how close each couple is to one another, and they could celebrate this big day together. It played out incredibly amazing.
CTT: It really did appear seamless. The story didn’t seem like there was anything forced since everyone involved were close to each other.
FS: I also think it was a good hybrid because everybody who would’ve come to Chad and Abigail’s wedding would also have come to Sonny and Paul’s — or most everybody. It was really fun to put them together. Counting down the hours!
CTT: Both of you were wonderful during the emotional scenes between Sonny and Paul as they were talking about Will. Thinking back, how were you able to bring up those emotions? It played out so realistically onscreen.
Christopher Sean: For me, I would say, just having been on the show for my limited amount of time, half the time Freddie has been, I’ve invested a lot into the character, so I really understand that this is everything for Paul. This is his first love, the one that got away; finally coming out, and being able to say I love you, I want to be with you. Finally getting the man he truly loves — this is everything. Understanding all of that, and investing time — finally reaching this moment and being able to dive into that, and truly feeling everything leading up to this wedding. Having Freddie as a base —who wouldn’t want to have Freddie there at the altar —he’s so professional and so friggin’ awesome.
FS: Thanks, man! Being with this character for seven years, and going through all this emotional stuff, I would tap into what I understand the journey is and be able to pull from the experiences and what I know about the character. Being able to live with this character for so long, I have an idea of how he would respond.
CTT: Since this was filmed six months ago, and you’ve moved so far ahead, is it hard to back up, to recall your feelings about the wedding and be excited about it, and bring that enthusiasm to the fans with all the current media coverage?
FS: It’s actually amazing to sit back as an audience member and just watch it. So much emotions, so many different storylines, so many people interacting, all around this wedding. When you film it, you understand what’s going on in the head of your character, so you’re only hearing and seeing things the way the character does, but when I watch as Freddie, as an audience member, I’m able to go on the journey with the audience so when you put together this kind of work, it’s really cool when you get to watch it. I just can’t wait; I’m excited!
CTT: So, you are going to watch it?
FS: I am. I’m not going to watch it live because I’m probably going to be flying, but I’m going to check it out Friday night. On Monday, I’ll be able to watch it live, depending on my work schedule. Monday is going to be another big episode.
CS: I’ll be watching — absolutely! Freddie and I were trying to figure out ways we could live stream ourselves as we watch together and talk to the fan base at the same time. If we don’t do it together, I might do it solo. It’s exciting — I’m really excited to see how they edited and put it all together. I’m looking forward to seeing how it comes together. Everyone was masterful that day — Freddie, as Sonny, Chad, and Abigail, and everyone in the pews. Everyone was watching adamantly, seeing what we did, and how we reacted. I look forward to seeing it altogether. I loved everything Ron [Carlivati], and the writing team did, and how directors, Albert Alarr and Steven Williford put it all together.
CTT: It sounds great! We’re all very excited about it! The fans can’t stop talking about the upcoming wedding. Is there any one moment that’s a special, not-to-be missed moment?
CS: Friday and Monday — the whole thing!
FS: Absolutely! Friday and Monday!
CS: First is the love; the second part is the havoc.
CTT: Now that you’ve done a wedding on TV, and Freddie, we know this is your second time… both of you have significant others who are wonderful women — should you decide to ever tie the knot, will this experience, even though it was scripted, help make it easier if you want to go through it in real life?
FS: I wasn’t nervous filming the wedding for Sonny because you can yell, “Cut,” and redo it, but for any live event, you’re going to have those jitters. You know, Christopher, we should talk about a double wedding maybe. [All start laughing]
CS: Yeah, that’s a great idea! As for me, I love Laneya dearly, and if we were ever to get married, if we were to do a double wedding, it would definitely be with Freddie. [Ongoing laughter — clearly Freddie & Christopher play off one another perfectly!]
FS: We’ll do it at the new park being built near your place.
CS: Yes, we can do it there — bring it all and unify.
FS: We’ll send you the invite [to the CTT team] — you can get a front row seat.
CTT: I’ll be waiting for that and will keep checking my mailbox. [The fun and laughter never ends with these two terrific actors!]
FS: We can double park!
CS: And we can get double-doubles from In and Out!
Although our time to chat with Freddie and Christopher was brief, we want to thank them both so much for sharing their time, talent, and natural sense of humor with us!
(Photos courtesy of Days of Our Lives and Thaao Penghlis)