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Connie Viniski’s reign of terror has come to a close on Days of our Lives, marking the end of Julie Dove’s story arc as the quirky killer heads off to Bayview Sanitarium. A longtime fan of the Salem-set soap, Dove weighs in on her run, working with a cardboard cutout leading man, among other highlights, and what projects she’s been focusing on since she finished filming back in February.
Soap Opera Digest: What are your thoughts on the end of Connie’s storyline?
Julie Dove: Well, you want it to go on forever, but I’m happy with the way that it was written. The audience got some closure on the plan that Connie had been hatching for several months, and I feel like the door is open so that she can return in the future to wreak more havoc. That’s what I would like to think.
Digest: Did you enjoy playing Connie’s unraveling?
Dove: It was a great challenge to try to have those layers in there; to have moments of clarity where she was struggling with herself and was like, “Well, maybe I don’t need to kill someone else. But wait, I can’t get caught.” Kind of that constant moral struggle. I really enjoyed that as an actor, and I hope that came out on the screen.
Digest: Was there a sense of sadness when you left the show?
Dove: I’m trying so hard to focus on the joy and not think about the sadness of not working there right now. It was the greatest acting experience of my life. Every cast member, every crew member, all the producers and everyone was so supportive, and I learned so much. It was such fun, hard work that has prepared me for anything. After getting through all those episodes in that short amount of time, I can absolutely accomplish anything as an actor.
Digest: Are there any scenes or moments that stand out as highlights for you?
Dove: The serious moments. The flashbacks to the night that Connie killed Li, when she came to the door in her formal ballroom dancing gown. She poured her heart out to him and said that she’s been on 500 first dates and can count the second dates on one hand. That was really a highlight for me. Then, kind of strangely comedic, were all the scenes with Bobby/Everett, with Blake [Berris], when Connie went to the hospital to try to find out if he knew that she was the killer. And then when she showed up at his hotel and planted the latte to kill him. All those things with Blake were really great. It’s hard to pick one thing. Everything with Cherie [Jimenez, Gabi] was great. She is now a very close personal friend. So that’s something amazing that came out of working on DAYS. Elia [Cantu, Jada], as well.
Digest: What was it like working opposite the cardboard cutout of Li Shin?
Dove: That was really fun and a great challenge as an actor. In [acting] class people are like, “It doesn’t matter who your scene partner is, you have to do your job.” So to literally put that into play, because your scene partner is a cardboard cutout… Playing charades and all that with the cardboard cutout was great. Everything with Remington [Hoffman, ex-Li] was great.
Digest: You’ve completed a movie since leaving DAYS, The Lady of the Lake. How did that come about?
Dove: Maria Cap, she’s the producer, director and writer, reached out to me after seeing me post about being on Days of Our Lives over two years ago. She was like, “I think you’re perfect for this part in my movie. Would you like to read the script and let me know what you think?” That was the first time I’d just been offered something like that. I read the script and really liked it. It’s kind of a thriller/mystery, loosely based on a true mystery that happens in this town. I really enjoyed it. I got to work with a lot of interesting actors and go to Long Island to shoot it.
Digest: What can you share about the character you play?
Dove: Her name is Grace, and she is a very young grandmother that takes care of two teenage grandchildren. She is a real do-gooder, kind of the opposite of Connie. She is the sweet person that helps a lot of people and is in charge of the historical society in town. She kind of helps set up the story at the beginning [of the movie]. She is on a talk show with the sheriff of the town, and she’s explaining the true history of the legend and how she likes to look at the romance of the story, not the negative press that the legend has gotten.
Digest: You’ve also launched a podcast.
Dove: Yes. It’s a personal story. It’s called True Texas Crime: The Significant Life of Angela Stevens. Angela was a girl that I went to school with. She was younger than me. She was murdered the summer after my senior year in 1988 in my very small hometown [Princeton, TX], and I knew one of her three killers.
Digest: How did the podcast come to be?
Dove: It’s a story that always stood with me, because I felt like I had kind of a connection with some own personal trauma to Angela. I talk about that in the podcast. This is something that’s been a long time in the making. I approached her family about telling the story almost two years ago, and it’s so great that it’s out there. All seven episodes are out. We’re getting great feedback from people saying it’s helped them have personal healing about traumas in their own life. I’ve had some DAYS fans watch it and reach out to me on social media, and that means a lot. I invite anyone to please listen. We’re available on all podcast platforms or just Google “True Texas Crime Julie Dove.” It will take you to the website where you can listen to it online without any kind of podcast app.
You can view Julie Dove’s last video saying good-bye from the set below.
