Where Soap Operas Rule

Soapdom just adores Days of our Lives’ Renee Jones (Lexie).  Not only is she drop dead gorgeous, she is sweet, kind and generous.  We had the opportunity to chat with her a few days ago about Days of our Lives, upcoming Christmas plans, and the fact that she reminds us of Halle Berry. You’ll never guess what she has to say about that!

But first…

We turned the conversation directly to Jones’ current storyline. Lexie’s husband, Abe, a stalwart of the community, is running for Mayor against her sometimes-known-to-be nefarious brother, EJ. Stefano, her dad, is also more than a handful, not to mention her young son, Theo, who has every right to have a good relationship with not only his mom and dad, but with his uncle and grandfather, too.  

How is Lexie handling it all?  

“Lexie would have had no problem with EJ running against Abe had he told her, and had he not been so underhanded about it,” Jones shared. “Lexie is in a really tough situation. If it were just a matter of it being between her father, her brother and her husband, she would have washed her hands of the other two and supported her husband. But Stefano and EJs’ relationship with Theo is very important and she can’t just wipe her hands of them because of what that might do to her son.”

Ah yes. The plot thickens.  But, as Jones goes on to say, Lexie is not a wallflower by any means. She is not going to just stand down.

“She is letting them know how she fees, and she is warning them, if they don’t take heed of her warnings, it will be very interesting to see what she does, because after all, she too, is a DiMera!”

The plot thickens even more!

“Lexie was a DiMera when EJ was still in diapers,” Jones quipped. ”So he has nothing on me.”

As Soapdom has been reporting for months, there have been tons of changes behind the scenes at Days of our Lives, a new head writing team, most recently new executive producer Lisa de Cosette (former EP, All My Children and Passions).  We asked Jones how she feels about the new writing direction and if she was enjoying working with the new EP.

“I’ve only done two shows since she’s become producer, so I really can’t speak to that yet, but she is very personable. She came up and introduced herself to me, and I’ve seen her presence on the set.”

“As far as the new writers, I love the way that they are making Lexie have spunk again. She was such a goodie two shoes, being the good doctor for so many years. It was like she was in this box.  Now, they are letting me out of that box again, giving me the opportunity to show all of my colors, and show what I can do, and that is very nice and very refreshing for me.  It is great for an actor to be able to have that range.”

In fact, if Jones had her wish, she’d be delighted to see Lexie return to the dark side.

“I would love for her to go all the way bad.  So, who knows? These new writers don’t know my work from ten years ago, but I know that there is nothing Lexie wouldn’t do to have Abe win this election. EJ has embarrassed Abe a number of times, and Lexie isn’t going to stand back and let her brother get the upper hand.  But who knows what the writers have in mind for her down the line.”

We will all just have to tune in and see!

In the meantime, we couldn’t help but share with Jones our belief that she could pass for Halle Berry’s sister.  Jones laughed and told us two very fun stories about her look-alikes…

“When Halle first started in the bus, she came up to me at an audition and said you are Renee Jones, right?   I can’t tell you how many people tell me I remind them of you,” Jones giggles.  “And now, look how the times have changed. Now, you’re saying I am like Halle Berry, and she is a huge movie star!”

But the comparisons don’t end there.  Jones also is now getting compared to another high-profile feature film star.

“When I went to this car wash I go to, the lady said you know who your look like? I thought yes, yes Lexie on Days of our Lives, and I said yes, I am Lexie on Days.  And she said I never watch it, but you look just like -- Thandie Newton.”

So, what do you guys think?  Could Renee Jones, Halle Berry and Thandie Newton pass as sisters?

With the holidays fast approaching Soapdom wanted to know if Jones had made any Holiday plans.  Not only had she pre-planned for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, she and her mom have done something quite special for a special someone in their lives…

“For Thanksgiving, I am staying in Los Angeles and going to a friend’s house for dinner.  I am looking forward to just hanging with friends and eating a lot!  For Christmas, I am going home to Columbia, SC. My Mom’s home. We decided that this year for Christmas  -- as we are so blessed --  instead of getting presents for each other., we choose someone who we feel needs help and we have combined our funds and gave her the money, and we already gave it to her so she could have it for her Christmas shopping.  It feels so good doing this. It feels better to give than receive. You can go outside and see so many people who are struggling and need it.  They need it a lot more than we some new gadget."

How did Jones and her mom choose who to share their generosity with?   

“One person we knew was always doing stuff for others.  We knew how much she is always giving to people. And mom said, wouldn’t it be nice to give something back to her this year?”

Wow. What an amazingly thoughtful and generous idea.  

To her fans, Jones has this to say:  “The stories are getting so much better, and the characters are so much more intertwined, I just know that you are going to really enjoy what’s coming up for Days.  Stay tuned!”

Next >