Days of Our Lives recently welcomed a new, somewhat mysterious, character into Salem. “Wyatt”, whose last name we still haven’t learned, is played by talented young actor, Scott Shilstone.  He warmly welcomed an interview with Carolyn Topol Talk and we’re grateful for all that he shared!

Carolyn Topol Talk:  Please tell us about the new role you’re portraying on Days of Our Lives. You’re playing the role of Wyatt correct?

Scott Shilstone:  Yes.

CTT:  As of this interview, we’ve seen that Wyatt is getting information about Ciara Brady from behind-the-scenes. So is Wyatt a good guy or a bad guy?

SS:  Well, here’s what I’ll say about that, because I don’t want to give too much away — I can understand why people are coming to Ciara’s defense. She’s been through a lot in the past. I will say that I do believe Wyatt is genuinely interested in Ciara, and I don’t think he’s as evil as people are necessarily jumping to the conclusion that he is.

CTT:  That’s interesting. It sounds like they’ve given you an interesting, layered character to play.

SS:  They did. It was a lot of fun to play. I know I’m tiptoeing around things. He’s definitely a character that’s going to have a lot of growth. There’s going to be some ups and downs. I do think you’re going to see some legitimate feelings there.

CTT:  That sounds intriguing. We’re looking forward to seeing more of Wyatt.

SS:  There is the mystery, knowing that he’s getting information about Ciara [Vivian Jovanni]while we don’t know why yet. I’m trying not to be too vague. [Laughs]  He’s not as evil as people are assuming he is, but he’s certainly not innocent.

CTT:  Am I correct in saying this is not your first time on Days?

SS:  This is not my first time. I was Zack Brady, a year ago, in the Hope episode with her dream sequence. That was great because I got to work with Kristian [Alfonso]. We had really great scenes together. About a year later, I got called in to read for Tripp. I went in and read for Tripp, then it was about a day later, or maybe even that evening, when they told me that looks-wise — maybe my coloring, or my hair — wasn’t where they wanted Tripp to be. They said they had this role coming up that was going to shoot about a month or so later and wanted to offer me that. It was great. While I read for Tripp, I did get Wyatt. It was a great surprise and I was happy to be included.

I’ve worked on sets before, and other projects, and none of them are really quite like working on a soap. It’s such a tight ship and they’ve been doing it for so long. I walked in and was so impressed as to how seamless it all was done. Everything just came together and everyone knew exactly what they were supposed to do and did it, right on time. I was so happy to come back.

CTT:  How did it feel going from playing Ciara’s sibling to her boyfriend?

SS:  I know, it’s really interesting, right, [Laughs] especially since I feel like we look like we could be siblings. I will say that when I saw some of the other cast mates when I reintroduced myself, they thought I was coming back as Zack. I said, “No, actually, I’m coming back as a new character, Wyatt — I’m Ciara’s love interest. [Laughs] Hopefully viewers can suspend disbelief enough to make it work; I think it will. I think Wyatt and Zack are so far from each other that it might have been an initial shock, but you’ll forget I was Zack soon enough.

CTT:  I would think, because the roles were so far apart in taping, that the audience has been okay. There doesn’t seem to be any rumblings online about this being creepy or strange.

SS:  Right, and I don’t think that it was anything more than a minor concern of mine at the beginning. Tripp is not paired with Ciara, so when I read for him, I thought I could see that — people come back on the show. Then when they said Wyatt, I didn’t know anything about the character. When they offered me Wyatt, I jumped at it and said sure! It wasn’t until a few days before shooting that I realized I really wanted to know, who is Wyatt. [Laughs] That’s when I got the script pages, and my first scene was at the pub with Ciara, and I thought, “Oh okay.” But it’s like you said, a lot of time had passed, and the two characters are so far from each other that I wasn’t worried about it.

CTT:  You’ve had the opportunity, in the brief times you’ve been on Days, to work with several of the show’s longest running characters/actors. We know you worked with Kristian Alfonso. Did you also work with Peter Reckell at that point?

SS:  Yes, I did, he was in that episode too.

CTT:  That’s what I thought I remembered. At this point you’ve also worked with Susan Hayes and Josh Taylor. You have already worked with some of the biggest veterans on the show. Did that impact your performance at all?

SS:  You know, it didn’t the first time. I will admit I hadn’t really watched Days before I booked Zack. I came into it, and because I wasn’t very familiar with it, I didn’t have any nerves. It was like meeting new people for the first time. My feeling was, we’re all actors, let’s do this. Then coming back and actually knowing the impact of what that scene was, and knowing those actors now, it wasn’t so much intimidating as I found it so cool. I thought, “This is crazy, this is only my second or third episode and I’ve gotten to work with these huge veterans.

It’s fun to see actors with so much experience and get to see their process. It’s great to see how they prepare for scenes, and how professional they are. One thing I will never forget about Kristian — sometimes in a soap they’ll give you the whole script, and sometimes just the scenes you’re in — when I was Zack, I was just given the scenes that I was in. I remember that Kristian and I were rehearsing and we had a break. She asked if I would like to take a lap around the parking lot, and keep running the scenes. I said, “Sure let’s do it.” She’s off book, she’s got it all [memorized], and as we’re talking she told me she shot part of an episode in the morning, and then once they were done with me, she had about 20 more pages that afternoon. I thought, “Wow!” She’s was doing 40 pages or more in this one taping.

What I say now about soaps, now that I’ve been on one, is that it’s very much like theater. As you’re taping, it’s like doing a play. Other shows I’ve been on, or movies that I’ve worked on, you can cut or can tape the scene, starting from the middle or do coverage so every take is different — there are multiple takes. With a soap, you do the scene from beginning to end, all in one take. That was one of the things, especially working with Kristian, I was so blown away by. She did it so effortlessly. When I came back, working with these other veterans, it was the same thing. They’re all so professional. I felt really fortunate to be able to work with them.

CTT:  Have you found it comfortable, getting into the rhythm of the soap, knowing it’s very fast paced — from getting the script, to learning lines, and going right to taping?

SS:  I really have. I was really lucky because, having already played Zack, I knew what to expect. When I came in as Wyatt — that first taping when I’m entering the pub there was an energy, but it wasn’t nervous energy. I was very much excited, and I felt so fortunate to be able to have this cool job and to be able to be on these sets. When I came in, anything they told me or asked me, I agreed — yeah, let’s do it!

CTT:  We know you can’t divulge too much, but will we be seeing Wyatt in Salem for a while?

SS:  Yes.

CTT:  That’s great! You mentioned that you worked on other types of films and shows, can you share with us some of the other things that we might have seen you in?

SS:  I did a film for VH1 called Drumline: A New Beat, which is basically the sequel to the Nick Cannon film Drumline. I played Josh, one of the drummers in the main group. I did a Disney show called I Didn’t Do It and then I did an independent film with my Big Fat Greek Wedding star, Nia Vardalos, called Helicopter Mom. I played a really nasty bully in that one. [Laughs] Then I had some things that were shot in New Orleans, where I’m from — Pitch Perfect and Now You See Me. I had a bit parts in those. That’s where I got my start. Now You See Me is what landed me my SAG card.

CTT:  What do you have coming up now that we might be seeing you in besides Days?

SS:  I did a movie called American Dresser where I play Tom Berenger‘s son. That, I believe, is looking at a theatrical release sometime this summer. It has a great cast — Bruce Dern, Tom Berenger, Keith David, Gina Gershon. It was a lot of fun to do that. I play a first-year lawyer. Tom Berenger finds in the attic, after his wife passes away, a letter a woman wrote him that his wife had actually hidden from him. It’s a 20 year old letter from a woman he had an affair with letting him know that he has a son. Basically, the movie is a motorcycle movie, where he goes cross country with his best friend, played by Keith David, from Los Angeles to Syracuse, New York, to find his son. My character is hanging out in Syracuse, not knowing my dad is looking for me, and then we finally meet up.

CTT:  Did you film on location in Syracuse?

SS:  Yes, I went to Syracuse for it. I shot two weekends on that, so I would fly back and forth.

CTT:  I hope it wasn’t in the winter. [Laughs]

SS:  No it was in the summer. It was really hot and humid, which I’m used to from New Orleans.

CTT:  Going back to Days, we talked about a number of veterans you worked with on the set, as well as Vivian. Will we be seeing you interact with more of Ciara’s extended family?

SS:  I can only say that, if you were to assume that, I wouldn’t steer you away from it. [Laughs]

CTT:  Okay, I won’t go any further. Have you ever auditioned for any of the other soap operas?

SS:  You know, it’s funny, I read it for Marnie [Saitta] at Days of Our Lives about four times, when I first moved to LA. I think I read for Joey, and I think I read for Derrick and I think I read for Ben too, the guy who became a strangler. I think I also read once for General Hospital. I’ve been in LA now for about 4 1/2 years, and this was all in the first couple of months I was in LA.

CTT:  Ben was on for a few years so you must have read for him the minute you got into LA.

SS:  Yeah, I think I did. The thing with Marnie is, she would always tell me, “I love you, but you’re not quite right for the part.” I was in my mid-20s, but I look like a teen and she would tell me that I look like a teen, but act much more grown up. She was always having trouble placing me. When I got Zack, it was because Marnie remembered me. I think, looking at Kristian, and now looking back at those scenes, I do think it’s believable that she could’ve been my mother. I think Marnie remembered me from that kind of look. I love and appreciate Marnie for that — I’ll always be appreciative of her.

CTT:  As someone who was a viewer when Zack was a little boy, it was very emotional when that character died. You played matured Zack perfectly.

SS:  Thank you, I appreciate that.

CTT:  I was emptying my tissue box throughout that entire episode.

SS:  That’s what I heard. I really appreciated the fans’ responses in reaction to that. It was such an emotional scene. It’s a credit to Kristian, because she is so giving. It made it so easy to connect with her. I knew the context of everything just by how she was reacting to it. I understood the importance of what I was saying — telling her it was okay to move on. It was a great scene.

CTT:  You mentioned earlier how taping the soap was a lot like theater. Have you done live theater also?

SS:  I would love to be the guy who also does theater. I did theater mostly in high school. I did every play in high school and middle school. I would love to get back into it, but it’s not something I’ve done at the moment. I do have interest in getting back to it.

CTT:  I understand many actors genuinely just want to pursue on screen careers.

SS:  I think I can understand that. For an actor, who wants more exposure, being on screen would be the better option. There’s something about theater, and performing for an audience, and the energy you feed off the audience that really impacts your performance. It’s been a while, but my mother used to do regional theater. My grandmother was a playwright. It’s something I grew up with. In New Orleans, Le Petit Theatre is one of the oldest theaters in the country, and that’s where all the plays that she did were performed. My mom used to tell me, she would take me to some of her rehearsals when I was a child — I don’t really remember — I would get really sad. She would always ask why I was sad and I would tell her it’s because I don’t want to sit here, I want to be up there, on the stage. Cliché as it sounds, it’s definitely something I wanted to do since my early years.

CTT:  Do you have a favorite role that you played in high school?

SS:  We did a musical that I have a feeling no one’s heard about, lately, called Good News. I was Bobby. It was the funniest role I ever played. That might be my favorite. I played Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and that’s probably my second favorite.

CTT:  Do you sing — you mentioned you were in Pitch Perfect and that you did a musical in high school?

SS:  I did not sing in Pitch Perfect. [Laughs] I was a frat boy who says, “This makes my beer taste bad.” Singing is not necessarily something I enjoy doing, and it’s not something I would seriously pursue or credit myself as a singer. When I was in high school I sang onstage.

CTT:  If you have the choice of any project you want to do next, what would it be?

SS:  I would really love to be on a period piece. I know that Mad Men isn’t on anymore, but a show like that would be really interesting — to go back in time and do the research about what it was like to be a living, breathing human back then. Whether it would be in the film or television genre wouldn’t matter, just to experience another lifetime.

CTT:  Are you thinking more of a contemporary period piece since, you used the example of Mad Men?

SS:  I think the time that I would love to do the research for would be something like, let’s just say the 60s, 70s, 80s, or 90s. [Laughs] Any of those. Part of what I think is so much fun would be to tune into the character’s wardrobe. Wardrobe is a big part of getting into character. Something that is clearly not what you would wear today would change everything. It sets you up to change how you stand or how you speak. I would really be interested in experiencing that; I haven’t yet.

CTT:  A lot of the younger actors, in addition to acting, also look to pursue writing. Do you have any thoughts about doing that, or are you already doing that?

SS:  I do, actually. I was a Broadcast Journalism major in college. I have been writing for number of years. What I’m most interested in doing now is writing short stories and short films. I would love to be able to produce my own work in that sense. Everyone on my mother’s side were all journalism majors in college. My grandmother, as I mentioned earlier, was a playwright, and I followed in their footsteps by majoring in journalism, so I’m not so much a stranger to writing.

CTT:  You said you were in the sequel to Drumline, do you play at all?

SS:  I don’t play. They taught us enough to make it look like, on camera, we played. I had no experience with drums before. I had the bass drum. They put us into two weeks of band camp. More so, they were looking into making sure we could march — that’s more of what I became skilled at in the end. I didn’t have a drumming double, everyone else did. Their drums were not as big as mine, or as close to their faces, so they could cut and go with a double. My drum was truly in my face, so you couldn’t use the double for that. [Laughs] I learned enough and they even taught me this cool trick. They taught me how to twirl my sticks in the air and then play. I don’t know how much of that I remember, since it was about two years ago.

CTT:  I’m sure that was a lot of fun.

SS:  Oh, it was a lot of fun. We spent seven weeks in Atlanta. I met one of my good friends, Alexandra Shipp, who is blowing up as Storm in the X-Men movies now.

CTT:  What can we expect to see you in next?

SS:  I’m going to be staying on Days for a little bit now. American Dresser will be coming out soon. Other than that, it’s back to auditioning. I don’t really feel an urgency as much as I did when I first moved out here. I really do believe this is what I’m supposed to be doing, and I think the universe has told me enough times to hang in there. It’s going to happen when it happens, and I can’t really put a timeline on it.

CTT:  That’s a great attitude!

SS:  There’s no point in stressing out about the things that you have no control over. The thing about this business is, you can get an audition next week and book it, and your life is completely changed. You never know. My mantra of late is, “roll with it.”

CTT:  On a different note, since you have been on Days for a little while now, have you been connecting with any of the other actors off screen?

SS:  When I was shooting Days, we might not necessarily hangout after work, but we would definitely hang out in each other’s dressing rooms, always chatting and catching up. Several of us are friends now, and we have a group text going. We all keep in touch. They’re all really great people. I had no issues with anyone. Everyone was super friendly!

*****

Thank you to Scott Shilstone for sharing so much with Carolyn Topol Talk!  We have no doubt that we will be seeing much more from him soon on television and in theaters!

(Photo Credits: Brad Everett Young; Gabriel Goldberg; Scott Shilstone)