Days of Our Lives
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Matthew Florida is psyched to be on Days of our Lives.

He says he does have a hard time convincing fans that he's a nice guy in real life... but that winning the recurring role of campus rapist, Ford Decker was like winning the Oscar.

"Oh boy, was it ever. When I got the call back that I won, I was shocked,” Florida said. “It’s just great! This is an experience, and this couldn’t be a better first job. But I must admit, at first I didn’t know I was the rapist. I went from taking off my shirt to being a rapist real fast. Now, I have to get into the mind of a sick person to play this part.”

Read the full feature on Florida right now at Soapdom.

Nadia Bjorlin is back on Days of Our Lives. She recently spoke to Soap Opera Weekly about her return to the role of Chloe:

Soap Opera Weekly: Are you excited to be back at Days of Our Lives?
Nadia Bjorlin: I am. I really am. It's fun around here. I missed it.

Weekly: Were there are lot of happy reunions on-set?
Bjorlin: It was so much fun to see and be able to work with Jay (Kenneth Johnson, Philip) again. I'd seen him here and there while I was gone, but it wasn't the same.

Weekly: Will you give us a rundown of what you were up to since you left Days of Our Lives?
Bjorlin: The reason I left Days of Our Lives was because the pilot I did for UPN - Sex,Love and Secrets -  got picked up. Once they changed the title to that, I knew it was doomed. It sounded like a rip-off of Sex, Lies and Videotape. It was originally called Wild Life and was actually a good show, but it was on the wrong network and wasn't advertised well.

Nobody knew it was on the air. I did do some guest-starring things on other prime-time shows, like Jake in Progress and Out of Preactice. Then I did this quirky independent film called If I Had Known I Was a Genius with Whoopi Goldberg, Sharon Stone, Della Reese and Tara Reid. I got to meet Whoopi and Sharon, but I didn't get to do any scenes with them. Still, you sort of feel like, Wow! This is something, just to be working on something they're working on. That hasn't come out yet. I also did that fun, crazy movie Redline, which I really enjoyed.

Weekly: Is there anything different about being on Days of Our Lives this time around?
Bjorlin: I'm getting to work with people I hadn't gotten to work with before. It's funny, as many years as I was here, I never got to work with Deidre Hall (Marlena) or Alison Sweeney (Sami). I just had a little scene with both of them, so that's interesting. I guess now that Chloe is considered an adult, I'll get to have more scenes with the actual grown-ups.

That will be fun. Obviously, I love working with the people I used to and [who] I know, but it's also fun to work with new people, because you don't know what they're going to do in a scene.

As Days of Our Lives approaches the holiday season, here's a look at this week's episodes and story lines...

• Shawn (Brandon Beemer, pictured) and Belle receive an award at the Salem High School reunion.

• Lucas (Bryan Dattilo)is added onto the suspect list for shooting EJ.

• Steve admits to Kayla that he'd like to have a baby.

• Kate's gun is traced to a dealer in Cincinnati.

• Chloe makes her move to get closer to Philip.

• Sami (Alison Sweeney) confronts EJ about his baby monitor surveillance.

As we get closer and closer to 2008, here's what Days of Our Lives head writer Hogan Sheffer has to say about life in Salem:

"The year of 2008 will be one of romance and adventure in Salem," Sheffer recently aid. "Marlena (Deidre Hall, pictured) meets a mysterious woman who brings her stunning news and sends her on an epic journey."

Could that big news involve John? Maybe he's not as dead as everyone believes.

"What Marlena discovers about the past will bring down a sinister empire and change the Brady family forever. Old wounds heal, new love blossoms and the year goes on from there," Sheffer teased.

He doesn't update it too often, but Days of Our Lives star Josh Taylor posted a few weeks ago on his official blog.

In it, he talked about his recent fun on the show, while also congratulating a co-star on a recent new addition to his family:

I have enjoyed the fun, light comedy stuff that they have given Bo and Hope and Roman to do. Also the drug induced comedy stint that I was able to do with Bo. Peter Reckell (Bo) was a tremendous help and a good team-mate in those scenes.

By the way, Peter and his wife Kelly, just had a baby: 6 lbs. 9oz. All is well for them.

As Days of Our Lives fans know, Nadia Bjorlin made her return as Chloe Lane last week.

Her presence, of course, provided for an unfortunate surprise for Belle (Martha Madison). Here's what went down, in case you missed it:

Upon her return to Salem, Chloe accidentally bumped into Belle in an airport hotel; she immediately assumes that Belle is on her honeymoon with new husband, Shawn Brady (Brandon Beemer). But she discovers her mistake when Philip (Jay Kenneth Johnson) - Chloe's former flame - steps out of the room.

The shocking encounter was enough to get the wheels in Chloe's head turning, as she immediately places Philip in the hot seat.

"Philip spends the next few episodes trying to convince Chloe that nothing's going on," Bjorlin told the New York Daily News. "He says, 'We're just talking about Claire, but we keep it from Shawn to keep Shawn from feeling jealous.' Chloe doesn't buy it for a second. She's a smarter cookie than that."

As you can imagine, there's a lot trouble ahead for Philip and Belle, while Chloe herself is going through changes, considering the end of her fairytale marriage to Brady (Kyle Lowder).

"She's not the same naive, sweet Chloe,” Bjorlin said. “Even though Chloe has always had a bit of cynicism and sarcasm to her, it's been amplified since she went to live abroad, got married and is now divorced."

The Days of our Lives star added: “It would be easy to say, 'I'm back in town. I'm divorced. Now, I want Philip.' But we're not quite sure what Chloe's intentions are. She does instigate a little something with Philip, but then she realizes Philip wants nothing to do with her. He only has eyes for Belle."

Here's an inside look at this week's Days of Our Lives episodes...

• Ford and his malicious ways are stopped once and for all.

• Tony warns EJ to protect his son against Stefano (Joseph Mascolo).

• Philip fantasizes about Belle murdering Shawn.

• Lucas walks in on EJ and Sami (Alison Sweeney) kissing.

In a fun interview with Soap Opera Digest, Martha Madison recently recounted her five favorite episodes/scenes/moments during her tenure on Days of Our Lives...

2005: HELLO, MOTHER
"I didn't work with Deidre Hall for about a year when I first joined the show, because Marlena was presumed dead. When it came time to do my first scenes with her, not only did I have to play the shock of 'Oh, my God! My mom is alive,' but I also had to do an entire show with Deidre Hall. It was a lot [to deal with]. I was scared to death. Deidre was like, 'Oh, my gosh. You're ridiculous for being so scared. We'll get through this together.' And we did. I connected with Deidre right away, and it was just awesome."

2004: SAY CHEESE!
"When Eric Winter (ex-Rex), Farah Fath (ex-Mimi), Jason Cook (ex-Shawn), Kyle Brandt (ex-Philip) and Heather Lindell (ex-Jan) were on the show, the six of us got to do this really fun photo shoot at Universal Studios Hollywood. It was on the New York City lot. They were trying to create that Friends shoot, and it was a blast. So much fun. I mean, there we were, working on a different lot, outside. We were all in trailers, and there were tour buses going by. You felt like such a star."

2005: BABY BLUES
"Playing Belle's postpartum depression after Claire was born was fun for me, because it was different. Doing that story brought my acting to a new level, too. It was really challenging. It was the first time we had done a postpartum story [on Days of Our Lives]. That, in and of itself, was a fun challenge for me. As an actor, I learned a lot, having to play something I had absolutely no idea about or how to play. It's the only time I ever really researched a lot of stuff. I had a lot of homework."

Continue Reading...

Here's what fans can look forward to on Days of Our Lives...

• Bo (Peter Reckell) begins to investigate "the woman in black" who was at the church.

• Marlena learns that Belle slept with Phillip (Jay Kenneth Johnson, pictured).

• Chloe Lane Black returns this week; she sees Belle and asks her about Phillip.

• Roman arrests Kate after her gun is found.

It seems as though Alison Sweeney has been on Days of Our Lives forever. The actress recently talked about the show - along with her gig as host of The Biggest Loser - with BuddyTV:

You've been on Days of our Lives for so long. What is it about the show that keeps you on it for so many years, since you were a teenager?
You know what? It's just a fun show, and I love the character, I love the people I work with. I love everything about it. So it's been tremendously rewarding for me for so many years. They're my family.

And did you ever have a desire to do something like host a reality show? Or is this something that came up out of the blue?
You know, I am a fan of reality shows. I love The Biggest Loser. You know, I was watching it before I joined it. And when they approached me and asked me if I wanted to be a part of it, I leapt at the chance. I was thrilled. It wasn't something that occurred to me, but I really was excited to do it.

Did you feel any pressure, coming onto the show, since it had already been on for three seasons and had a previous host?
Yeah, definitely. It's sort of scary to take over for someone and tough to fill in on the show that's already had its start and already has a great fanbase, and I was certainly one of those fans. But I was excited at the opportunity and thrilled at the chance to be part of a show that I think really does help people and really does make a difference, not just any old show. It's very inspiring, and so I accepted without question.

Click here to read the full interview.