Exclusive: Nadia Bjorlin Returns to Days of Our Lives
Will it be the revenge of the hooker? Fan fave and raving beauty Nadia Bjorlin is heading back to NBC's Days of Our Lives as Chloe Lane just a year after being let go as part of a major cast purge. The actress will report for work in late September but is not expected to hit the air until...wait for it...January 4, 2013. Yep, Days is shooting that far ahead these days. But Bjorlin is worth the wait, baby! TV Guide Magazine had an exclusive chat with the star about her rocky road at Days, Chloe's shady past as the town prostie and how the character plans to reclaim her dignity.
TV Guide Magazine: Your return to Days has been rumored for months! Last February, it was reported in a magazine that talks between you and the show had hit a "stalemate." Then in April, we read your return was "imminent." What was all that hoo-hah about?
Bjorlin: [Laughs] I find out a lot about myself through reading magazines. Most of the time I'm, like, "Uh...really?" There was a little bit of talk throughout the year. "Would you ever be interested in returning?" That sort of thing. But never anything concrete. I never put much thought into it so nothing was ever "imminent" and there was certainly no "stalemate." Now the timing is right. It's been a year since we've seen Chloe. [Laughs] Hopefully, the audience has forgotten what she was up to.
TV Guide Magazine: You mean her tragic and bizarre turn to the world's oldest profession? Yeesh! She's had the craziest trajectory from Ghoul Girl...
Bjorlin: ...to Call Girl! [Laughs] Chloe is so near and dear to my heart and even I would have written her off after that storyline. She was spiraling out of control and the fans had stopped being able to recognize the character. I couldn't recognize her, either! A lot of what made Chloe so lovable — her integrity, her fun, her wit — was gone and I don't blame anyone for dropping her from the show. There wasn't a whole lot left for her to do but, at the same time, I never felt like her story was done. There was no huge, climactic ending for her. She just went off to be with her child and sing in a nightclub in Chicago...which is, like, 45 minutes from Salem.
TV Guide Magazine: What happens when Chloe returns?
Bjorlin: I have heard she's going to come back as her old self again, the Chloe with good self-esteem, a stronger and more confident Chloe who can really stand up for herself and not be bullied. Toward the end there, she was being bullied by everyone in Salem! No more. She's coming back a lot more mature and who knows? [Laughs] Maybe she'll get some revenge! There are so many possibilities for the character and they've only told me a little bit right now because they don't trust me with the information. It's been very hush-hush. [A Days rep adds that Chloe's return will be heavily centered around her son, Parker.]
TV Guide Magazine: At least there was one good thing about your termination last year — it became part of your E! reality show Dirty Soap and made for some damn fine TV. But I gotta ask. When they showed you leaving Days at the end of your last day, we saw you carrying a bouquet of flowers and taking this long, poignant, gorgeously lit solo walk out of the studio. That was all bulls--t, right?
Bjorlin: No, it wasn't! It really happened. OK, maybe they did make it look more dramatic than it was. It was sad, just say it! It was pathetic and sad and there I was leaving the studio all by myself. They made it seem like no one even bothered to walk me to my car and say goodbye. Showbiz can be cruel. [Laughs]
TV Guide Magazine: Your mom, Fary, was the surprise breakout star of that show. Were you ever humiliated, especially when she urged you to dump your live-in boyfriend [former Days star Brandon Beemer] and then tried to match you up with that creepy guy on that ambush lunch date?
Bjorlin: I was, like, "God, mom. Really? Lord!" Now you see what I grew up with. There is a reason I turned out to be an actress. Most actors don't grow up with sweet, vanilla parents. All my friends think she's hilarious. Yeah, she's hilarious all right...unless she's your mom! [Laughs] I love her dearly but she can be embarrassing and horrifying.
TV Guide Magazine: You, Crystal Chappell and Louise Sorel were among those sacrificed for the great Days reset that brought back Deidre Hall, Drake Hogestyn and the rest. Did you watch any of it? If so, how did you feel when the reset didn't do what it was supposed to do? Vindicated?
Bjorlin: I did watch a little bit, but not religiously. Hey, it's always a gamble in this business. We all want our last four soaps to remain on the air so you gotta try things. [Laughs] But, hell-ooo, they were missing Chloe so what were they expecting? Without Chloe, you could have put De Niro on Days and nothing would happen! Let's get real here!
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