Martsolf took a deep breath as he accepted his trophy. As he appeared to think of what to say, Martsolf admitted that he hadn't prepared a speech even though his wife had advised him to do so. "It's gotta be hard being right all the time," he mused. Later, referring to his wife as a "little vision in white," he added, "I love you more than I can say. You've been with me from the beginning. You taught me that the grass is not greenest over there -- it's greeneest where you water it. And I'm gonna water it for you as long as I can."
Martsolf acknowledged Days of our Lives' executives in his thank yous, including executive producer Ken Corday.
"You stud muffins, you. You're legends and created a legendary show," Martsolf said to chuckles from the audience. "My affiliation with it, I am humbled by it every day and don't take it for granted. Thank you for taking a boy from Passions and bringing him on your show."
Martsolf joined Days of our Lives in November 2008, following a six-year run on NBC's quirky soap, Passions, where he played Ethan Winthrop. During his time with Passions, Martsolf received six consecutive Daytime Emmy pre-nominations -- Lead nods in 2003 and 2004, and Supporting Actor pre-nominations from 2005 to 2008.
This year marked the first time that Martsolf's name was put into Emmy contention for his work on DAYS.
"DAYS has been tremendously good to me. This past year has been like Christmas for me," Martsolf said. "I was given this beautiful, tragic storyline to portray. My costar at the time was some girl named Eileen Davidson. You may know her. She's really tall, really pretty. And she's a veteran that doesn't act like a veteran."
"She brought out the best in me," Martsolf said as he scanned the audience to find his former costar. "You really did. You really helped me step my game up. I am holding this trophy, and I want to attribute some of that to you."
As he exited the stage, Martsolf hoisted his Emmy into the air and yelled, "The resurgence of soap operas. Here's to it!"
Martsolf is the first Days of our Lives actor to win an Outstanding Supporting Actor Emmy.
Her daytime career spans 21 years, but 2014 marked the first time that Amelia Heinle received a Daytime Emmy nomination.
Heinle began her run on daytime in 1993 as Steffi Brewster on ABC's 30-minute soap opera, Loving. In 2001, she began a three-year run as Mia Saunders on All My Children. It was in March 2005, that Heinle got her chance to take on a legacy character on a soap -- but it was a break that Heinle almost walked away from, and she acknowledged that in her acceptance speech.
"I love my job on Y&R. I love being a part of this family for so long. It's been nine-and-a-half years. I'd send a special thank you out there to Ed Scott and Marnie Saitta who... kept me in the room. I wanted to run out. I was terrified of taking on this role because of Heather [Tom, who played Victoria from 1991 to 2003], but it's been the most fulfilling thing in my life."
Heinle thanked her former costar Billy Miller (ex-Billy Abbott), who would later win an Emmy of his own. Looking at her Emmy statuette, Heinle remarked, "This is partly due to you because you inspire me."
Upon taking the stage, Heinle needed several moments to compose herself as she shook her head slightly.
"It's so cliché, 'I didn't expect this,' but I really didn't. Wow I did not prepare a speech at all," Heinle said with a chuckle
Heinle's disbelief continued more than 15 minutes later when she entered the press room and revealed that she had been certain that one of her costars would pick up the award.
"I thought, actually, that Elizabeth [Hendrickson, Chloe Mitchell] would -- or that maybe we might tie," Heinle admitted.
Heinle is the fifth actress from The Young and the Restless to win the Supporting Actress award, and the first since Sharon Case (Sharon Newman) did so in 1999.
» PART THREE: YOUNGER ACTOR AND ACTRESS
