Days of our Lives' Kyle Lowder (Rex Brady) recently talked to Soap Opera Digest and shared some exciting news about an important life update. The award-winning actor is now an early morning news anchor for CBS' KTVN in the Reno, Nevada, area. It was an unexpected career change, but one that he has fully embraced. Lowder made the life-changing decision for a very good reason -- his daughter.
The actor explained that three years earlier -- during the pandemic -- his ex-wife Arianne Zucker (Nicole Walker, DAYS) and her fiancé Shawn Christian (ex-Daniel Jonas, DAYS) purchased a lakeside home in Lake Tahoe on the California side. For the past three years, Lowder and Zucker's daughter Izzy had traveled to the Lake Tahoe residence to snowboard in the wintertime and waterski in the summertime, and she'd grown to love the lifestyle there. Izzy enjoyed it so much that in January 2023 -- after returning to school in Los Angeles -- she approached her parents and asked what it would take for her to live in Lake Tahoe full-time.
Lowder's daughter had been prepared. Izzy had given it a lot of thought, and she had carefully written out all the pros and cons. "She's a very mature kid and she had a very well-researched conversation about this," the actor said. Lowder revealed that he and Zucker had both agreed that they could see how happy their daughter was in Lake Tahoe. Indeed, Izzy told her parents that her soul was happy when she was there.
Once the decision was made for Izzy to move to Lake Tahoe permanently, the actor quickly realized that he would need to make some big life changes because Izzy only had five years until she graduated high school. "I don't want to spend those five years driving up or flying in as much as I can and being a visitor in her life," Lowder explained. Lowder had already spent time apart from his daughter when she was a baby and he'd been living in Las Vegas for a year doing the musical Rock of Ages. Afterwards, his career took him to New York for another year.
According to Lowder, those two years were the most personally painful years of his life as a father because he missed out on so much with his daughter, so he was determined not to repeat history. That meant thinking outside the box, because his options in the entertainment industry were limited in the Lake Tahoe area. He set his sights on the local broadcast news industry in the Reno area. Lowder wrote an honest and transparent cover letter respectfully asking if they had any on-camera opportunities available. He ended the letter by saying that he recognized that he didn't have any broadcast journalism or newscaster experience; however, he had spent the past 23 years of his career telling stories to an audience, and he was very comfortable in front of the camera. Lowder sent the cover letter and his résumé to CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX.
"I make no presumptions. I know what this looks like, a Hollywood actor that thinks he could just come in and be a newscaster," Lowder said. Both the CBS and ABC affiliates had open positions, and within a week, the actor had two meetings and camera tests set up for the following week. He drove to Reno, got a hotel room for a few days, and met with both CBS and ABC. He returned home on Saturday, and Monday morning he got the call from CBS with an offer. On Tuesday, he received one from ABC.
Lowder revealed that he had felt pretty good about his prospects after his meetings with the affiliates because he knew that if he could get a camera test, he could show his comfort level, abilities, and the skill set that he had in front of the camera. "I knew that I had confidence in the technical aspects of being an anchor," he explained. Lowder was confident that -- if given an opportunity -- he would be able to learn, and that was exactly what the news directors at both CBS and ABC said to him. They saw the actor's charisma and ease in front of the camera, which they told Lowder could take newscasters fresh out of journalism school years to develop.
"I was just hoping to maybe get a little side correspondence gig, and now I had two offers and a decision to make," Lowder noted. In the end, Lowder chose to go with CBS' KTVN, but it wasn't an easy decision. He acknowledged that both jobs were desirable, and he went back and forth all week until he signed the contract with CBS to be the new morning news anchor.
Lowder had no idea what to expect when he started his new job, but his co-workers were quick to make him feel like a part of the team. He knew that he would have to prove himself because people would see him as an actor from Los Angeles entering their world without any experience. He made a point of introducing himself to people and making it clear that he appreciated their patience and was open to learning. "I wanted to make sure that people understood that I was very grateful to be there." Lowder shared that everyone was extremely welcoming, and his co-anchor Andi Cassinari has been incredibly helpful from the get-go. He also had praise for Jason Pasco, the news director, who has been very supportive of Lowder.
Lowder couldn't be more excited about his future. "At 43, I have a brand-new career in an industry that I've always respected; I've been a news watcher my entire life," he said. Lowder recalled that growing up, his parents had always had the news on, so he'd always had a deep respect for news anchors and broadcast news. He's not only in the thick of it now, but more importantly, he will be able to be in his daughter's life on a daily basis. "And, oh by the way, I have a really cool job that I'm so grateful for and this new career trajectory that I didn't think in a million years that I would have."
Lowder revealed that he signed a multi-year deal, so he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. It's a good thing because the newly minted news anchor is passionate about the unexpected direction in his career. "I'm a very intense Virgo, and I really like structure and that's exactly what I need to have this to stay sharp," he said.
What does that mean for Lowder's acting career? He explained that the soap opera genre was his very first job, and he loved the industry, but he's under contract, so he wouldn't be able to sign another contract, even if DAYS -- or any other show -- called. However, he doesn't rule out an appearance here and there if his schedule permits.
For now, Lowder is enjoying his life. His schedule is quite different. He gets up at 2:00 a.m., showers, shaves, and is at the studio by 3:00 a.m. After hair, makeup, and a few cups of coffee, he looks through the rundowns, the scripts, and the leading stories of the day. Next, he talks to the producers about the stories, dons his jacket and tie, puts in an earpiece, mics up, and goes live at 4:30 a.m. Lowder remains on air until 7:00 a.m. At that point, CBS Mornings with Gayle King takes over, but every half hour between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., the national show cuts to the affiliates to do the news updates and weather for five minutes.
"And then I'm done and I come home and have some breakfast, and do a little meditation or whatever, just to kind of slow my heart rate down and everything because it's very intense. You're kind of on your toes for two-and-a-half hours," Lowder revealed. After lunch, Lowder goes through his emails from work, and he admits that he constantly looks at the Associated Press wire to see what stories are going on locally, nationally, and internationally in case he finds something that would be good for the broadcast. Once he's done, Lowder picks his daughter up from school, spends time with Izzy, and then it's off to the gym. Lowder says he's in bed at 8:00 p.m. at the latest.
Lowder still gets recognized from his time on DAYS. "Reno is definitely a soap opera town. They love the soap operas here. I've been stopped numerous times, the typical place is at the grocery store," her said.
In addition to his work on DAYS, Lowder also appeared as Rick Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful from January 2007 to February 2011.
You can catch a live stream of Kyle Lowder at 2News.com.
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