Jill Johnson/jpistudios.com
Julie Dove, who’s playing the wacky murderous Connie on Days of our Lives, is lot more than just a soap super-fan.
A Fan's Dream Come True
“It's funny, when I was on set, people would come up to me,” shares Dove. “They had seen me before, but when I started being there every day for a while, they were like, ‘You're amazing for someone who just was a fan of the show.’ I would be like, ‘No, I'm an actress.’ Someone else thought that I had won a contest [to appear on DAYS]!”
Dove, who’s appeared on Angie Tribeca , The Office and Happy Endings, has an impressive background. Not only did she earn a BA and MA in theater from East Texas State University, but she also studied comedy at prestigious training grounds like The Groundlings and The Second City Los Angeles, among others.
“I have formal training,” notes Dove. “I went to college to be an actress in 1988. I wanted to grow up and be on a soap opera, because that was the most popular thing at the time. I thought [soap actors] were the most talented actors, and I pretty much still think that today.”
However, it took Dove years to fulfill her dream. “I'm from Texas, and although I did go to college to be an actor, I was too scared to leave home and do it,” she admits. “So I became a high school drama teacher. Then I was a youth minister in seminaries for a while, and I realized that that was about performing. Then I ended up in the music business in Nashville, which was fabulous, but [I was focused on] helping other people achieve their creative dreams. While I was in Nashville and after my second divorce, I was like, 'Oh, gosh. What are you doing with your life? You're not doing what you wanted to do, which is be an actor.' That's when I made my way to L.A., so I could get into classes and really start pursuing this."
California is now home for Dove. "I've been here since December of 2001,” she notes. “I have been working as an actor the last 14 years and am still dreaming of that being my only job. For a while, over the last year, it was my only job. I also own a business. I edit for other actors. I've actually pulled acting clips for one of the actors on the show, Colton Little [Andrew]. He was in the movie A Biltmore Christmas . He calls me, and I pull his movie clips for him.”
Dove inched closer to her daytime goal via perseverance and, along the way, landed an interesting gig with a soap bigwig. “It was just through the normal process,” she recounts. “I've had many reps, agents and managers over the years. Any time I signed with new representation, I would be like, ‘Being on a soap opera is my goal.’ And I would also say that I was the nanny of [ General Hospital Casting Director] Mark Teschner' s daughter, Amelia, so they could feel free to pitch him directly.”
Dove cared for Teschner’s daughter “from probably 18 months old to 5 or 6 years old,” she recalls. “Then I kept babysitting her until she didn't need a babysitter anymore. Now she's 19. Mark and I are still very close friends. I have auditioned for General Hospital a couple of times, but I had never auditioned for Days of our Lives [until the role of Connie came along]. It was my first ever audition for the show.”
It turns out Dove was already “very familiar with” DAYS Casting Director, Marnie Saitta too. “I had taken classes with her over the years,” explains Dove. “She was still at The Young and the Restless then. I have told her many times that one of my first workshops as an actor was with her. I remember I went in and did a scene, and it was the worst I've ever done in a class.”
Fortunately, Dove fared much better when she auditioned for the role of Connie. “We’re in a phase where we tape our auditions versus going in person,” explains Dove. “So I submitted the first tape. I felt like I made a good first impression. Then I had a callback that was basically a Zoom with Marnie. When we were on the Zoom, I got to talk to her, kind of like you used to do in person. Afterward, I said, ‘We know each other. We’ve been to Christmas parties at Mark Teschner's house.’ I also told her I was a fan of the show. I doubt that played any part in [my getting the job], but I did tell her that.”
Although Dove finally landed a gig on DAYS, where she’d avidly followed the trials and tribulations of Steve, Kayla and company for decades, it ended up never seeing the light of daytime; sadly, her slated 2021 appearance in a scene with Billy Flynn (Chad) and Marci Miller (ex-Abigail) ended up on the cutting room floor. But, lucky for Dove, then-Head Writer Ron Carlivati heard about Dove’s affinity for the show and decided to bring her back as a client of Sloan Petersen.
“That aired in 2023, but I shot it in 2022, exactly a year later,” recalls Dove, whose Connie also found herself meeting Li Shin after they connected on a dating app — and eventually killed him. Sums up the actress, “It’s been very crazy and twisted, but I’ve been happy with the way it’s all played out.”
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