Interview: Days' Taylor Spreitler Is Just an Ordinary Teen

Taylor Spreitler joined the cast of Days of Our Lives earlier this year in the role of Mia. Like any new character on a soap opera, Mia came to town with a secret: She was pregnant and looking to find her baby a home. She hooked up with Nicole Walker, who had recently miscarried, was faking that she was still pregnant and was looking to buy a baby to pass off as her own. Mia agreed to let Nicole adopt her baby (who Nicole traded with Sami Brady’s newborn, but that is another story).

Taylor began her career as a model, but it soon morphed into acting. Taylor explains: “Acting was always something I had thought about, but I was from a small town, so it never really seemed like it could happen. I was always kind of scared to try, but I’m glad I did!”

Her role on Days of Our Lives is Taylor’s first big acting job, and she was ecstatic when she got the part. “I was so happy. I screamed like a little girl. It’s really the best thing you could ask for — first, it’s a consistent job, and Days is a very well-known and respected show. It was amazing.”

Learning her craft on a soap opera has been, in Taylor’s words, “the best learning experience. We pretty much work every day. We do about 30 pages every day, and you kind of grow into yourself more. You definitely get better at memorizing stuff.”

Taylor also is learning the ropes from some of the best soap veterans. She explains: “I’ve definitely learned a lot from Arianne Zuker (Nicole Walker) and John Callahan (Dr. Baker). John was just so helpful and so amazing. He was always there when I needed him. He was the type of person who would crack down on me when I needed it, but he was always there to have fun too. He’s the perfect balance. I miss him. Dr. Baker needs to come back!”

As Taylor delves deeper into Mia’s past, she can see similarities between herself and Mia. “Aside from being a pregnant teen trying to sell her baby on the black market, she’s still a normal teenager,” Taylor says.

“She also has this whole sassy side to her. We definitely have the same sense of humor. When she hangs out with Will, she is very sarcastic and stuff, and that’s exactly how I am when I hang out with Dylan (Patton, who plays Will).”

Now that her ex-boyfriend, Chad, is in town, will he stir things up with Mia and Will? Taylor explains: “Chad knows her and he was her first love, so it is definitely hard to keep stuff from him. Plus, she never got closure from the relationship. There always will be something there, and they do share a strong connection.”

This is not to say that Will is necessarily being pushed out of the picture. “She likes Will. He is someone she can have fun with, and he’s not on her case all the time. The only thing that is holding her back is the secret of her baby, and also now that Chad is back in town.”

When Taylor is not filming, she still finds time to bond with her co-stars. “I have a lot of fun with Dylan and Casey (Deidrick, who plays Chad), and with Eric Martsolf (Brady Black). We joke around with each other. I always make fun of Eric, because he tries to act like a teenager. But I love him.”

Taylor is excited about the upcoming Daytime Emmy Awards and couldn’t be happier for her co-workers at Days for their nominations. She proclaims: “Everybody was so excited when we got the news. We are all very proud of the show. Everyone on that set works very hard every day and they deserve it.”