Question: Was that your dad taking pictures in the audience?

Greg Rikaart: I didn't see. It may have been.

Question: Your parents are there?

Rikaart: Both of my parents are sitting with me, yes.

Question: How special is that, your parents sit with you at your first nomination?

Rikaart: It was wonderful. And a few rows back was my sister and my manager, who are also near and dear to me, so it was really wonderful to have the whole family here.

Question: Can you tell us what scenes you submitted?

Rikaart: I submitted two scenes from last February when Kevin was with Lauren on Valentine's Day. The first tape was Kevin and Lauren at the Valentine's dance together, and Kevin was in love with Lauren and thought that she felt the same way. This episode starts with Kevin finding out that she's setting him up so that she can get some dirt on him and hopefully get him arrested. That was that episode. That was a quick one. The second episode, which was the one episode that is very close to my heart, probably the work that I am most proud of that I have ever done, was two or three episodes later where Kevin, Lauren, and Michael are in Kevin's apartment and Kevin is threatening to kill himself, and his brother talks him down. Really poignant, powerful scenes.

Question: I agree. Are you amazed that a character as dark as yours has lasted so long and been explored so multidimensionally?

Rikaart: Uh, am I amazed? Is that what you asked? Yeah, absolutely. I think that initially Kevin was supposed to come and go within a few months, and the fact that Jack Smith, Kay Alden, and that entire writing staff were willing to take the risk of trying to redeem Kevin, which I believe was really controversial amongst the fans, makes me feel great because I love my job.

Question: Do you know where you are putting the Emmy?

Rikaart: Yeah, I have a mantle in my living room above my fireplace. I think that's where it's going to go. Around my neck, maybe. You think it would be too heavy?

Question: Were you as surprised as you looked?

Rikaart: Yeah, yeah. I mean of course you know you hope for the best, and I really wanted to win and I was fortunate enough that some publications predicted that I would, but that doesn't change the fact that I know how great Ric [Hearst] (Ric, GH) is, I know how great Justin [Deas] (Buzz, GL) is, not to mention the other nominees...it's also a crap shoot. We're all good actors. Because I won, it doesn't mean they lost. It just means that this year I was lucky enough to come out on top.

Question: How are you enjoying working with Roscoe Born (Tom, Y&R) who's, you know —

Rikaart: Terrifyingly scary?

Question: Yeah.

Rikaart: He's good. He's so good at his job because he scares the hell out of me. No, he's a very nice man, but when he's in character, he's pretty intense. But I'm enjoying it...He's great. It's another layer of Kevin that we get to see, his relationship with his father who really is the root of all evil.

Question: Since Rachel [Kimsey] has taken over the role of Mac, it seems like they've sort of dropped the ball on the Kevin/Mac romance. Are you getting another love interest?

Rikaart: I don't know. I'd call it more of a lust interest, but Gitta and Kevin have a bit of a fling or something close to it. Aside from that, I think I'm so wrapped up right now with what's going on with the Fisher clan and wreaking havoc at the Abbott household, there's only so much Kevin can do. But I hope soon. That's when we get to see this weak side of Kevin, which we don't get to see very often, so it's fun to play that. I hope soon.

Question: You and Ashley [Bashioum, ex-Mackenzie] have great chemistry.

Rikaart: I love working with her. I miss her. I think Rachel's fantastic as well, but Ashley was really special. She originated the role, and I think that was really obvious. Ashley has something very special about her, and that obviously came across on the screen.

Question: Are you going to spend any time in Staten Island before you go back?

Rikaart: Yeah, well, I got in Saturday morning and spent the weekend with my sister and nephews on Staten Island, and I'm not leaving until Sunday night, so I'll go there this weekend and get some pizza and ride the ferry.