This week has been extremely special for General Hospital star Eden McCoy (Josslyn Jacks), who was nominated for her very first Daytime Emmy. The young actress still can't believe her good fortune and tells Soap Central that her reaction to the good news left some people wondering why the wind had been knocked out of her.
"I just gasped and sat in silence for like five minutes, not even believing what I had just seen," she shares of the powerful moment.
For more from McCoy on how she found out she'd been nominated, which GH icon helped put together her reel, and who she'll be taking to the ceremony in May, check out Soap Central's interview with the actress below.
Soap Central: Congratulations on your Emmy nomination! How are you feeling?
Eden McCoy: Thank you so much. It's completely surreal, and it's actually a dream come true. I just feel so honored and humbled to even be in the same realm as those other actresses. I love them all so much, and they're all so talented, so to be up there with them is such a dream, and it's such a privilege. And the writers, I owe everything to them for trusting me with all of this heavy stuff, and I'm just so honored to be performing it and having people feel something. It's really been such an honor as it is, so having this happen is just bonus!
Soap Central: How did you find out that you'd received the nomination?
McCoy: I go to regular school, so I was in class when I found out. My mom and I had talked about the nominations coming out earlier in the morning. We try not to get our hopes up too much, but you know, it's exciting. I was in the middle of history class and had completely forgotten that it was happening at that moment, but then I got a text from my mom that said, "You're nominated my love!" And I just gasped and sat in silence for like five minutes, not even believing what I had just seen.
Soap Central: Oh, wow, so if you go to regular school rather than having an on-set tutor, how do you work in General Hospital?
McCoy: Yes, it's regular school, and I kind of just go when I'm not working, and when I'm working, I miss. It's private school, so they're a little more flexible with my schedule versus public. But I have a lot of downtime on set, as well, so I can get stuff done. I kind of just play it by ear.
Soap Central: You found out about your nomination at school, so did you tell any of your classmates, or did you keep the news to yourself?
McCoy: No, the girl sitting next to me heard me gasp, and I was stunned a little bit and was zoning out, so she said, "Are you okay?! What's wrong?" And I was like, "I just got nominated for an Emmy!" And she said, "Oh, my gosh, congrats!" I mean, I didn't make that big of a deal out of it because I was at school. I like to stay humble and kept it inside as long as I could, but I was very quick to post about it [on social media], about how excited and honored I was.
Crying happy and grateful tears at school right now😭 thank you @valentinifrank ❤️ @GeneralHospital and congratulations to this incredible group of humans I am so lucky to work with you all💙 https://t.co/7Vnny0fuaY
- Eden McCoy (@RealEdenMccoy) March 20, 2019
Soap Central: Which scenes did you end up submitting for your reel?
McCoy: I submitted some scenes with me and William [Lipton], who plays Cameron, the scenes where he is admitting to me that Oscar [Garren Stitt] actually is sick, and we have that whole fallout and big fight. I included that scene in there, and I also included quite a few scenes with the character Oscar, scenes where we were discussing what was going to happen in the future and his treatment options and, "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?" and that whole confrontation, all of the really juicy, emotional scenes; they were really deep.
Soap Central: Josslyn went through a lot of tough times last year. Her mother was locked up, she had a bout with shoplifting, and then, as you just mentioned, all of these boy troubles. With so much going on her life, was it difficult for you to narrow down which scenes to choose for your reel?
McCoy: A few scenes stuck out to me, and the ones I included, I kind of knew [they might be worthy] when I read the script and did them. I thought, "Oh, this is definitely material that is in the running for submission." To narrow it down though, Laura Wright, the actress who plays my mother [Carly Corinthos], helped me a ton with what to include, what is better, what shows fit. She helped me create my vision for it, and it was so good to have someone so experienced and talented and to get that extra set of eyes on there so I could step out of myself for a second and see what somebody else would think of it. So, she was a huge help with that. Her and my mom and me pretty much worked for two weeks straight on cutting and editing and choosing, "This one, or that one?" I think there were ten different versions of my reel, actually. [Laughs]
Soap Central: Obviously the work paid off, because you got the nomination! And I feel like you chose the right scenes, because your scene partners, William and Garren, were also nominated. Have you guys spoken or messaged about your nominations?
McCoy: Yeah, William texted me, and I'm pretty sure we were both at school. He was like, "Oh, my God, this is so crazy!" And I was like, "Yes, I know! I'm so excited." But really, the writers are so amazing. They did such a great job with my story and others, and it's just been so much fun. It's been really hard, but it's also been so much fun, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Soap Central: You're up against two other very talented women from your show in the same category -- Hayley Erin (Kiki Jerome) and Chloe Lanier (Nelle Benson). Does that make you feel more competitive? Or less competitive?
McCoy: Oh, I don't care. I'm just so honored already. It's already a win for me, so whatever happens next, I'm happy. I'm happy if it's me, and I'm just as happy for any of the other women in the category. They're all so talented and well-deserving.
Soap Central: I know it's super early, but do you have any idea what you might wear to the ceremony?
McCoy: No idea! [Laughs] None. No idea. But we'll be figuring that out. Something special, obviously. This will be my third year in a row going, but obviously my first time being nominated, so I'll try to make it a little more special than the last two.
Soap Central: Do you know who you might take along with you?
McCoy: My mom for sure, to start. Since I'm nominated this year, I'd like to take my dad, as well. I'm not sure -- maybe a close friend, as well. Maybe not.
Soap Central: I'll bet your parents are so excited for you. How did they react to the news that you'd been nominated?
McCoy: Yeah, they're both really excited. When it happened, my mom called my dad [who was at work], and he was freaking out. And my mom took me out for ice cream. She's ecstatic; she can't believe it, either. It's such a fun time.
What do you think about Eden McCoy earning her first Daytime Emmy nomination? Do you think she has a shot at taking home the gold? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
