Olivia Rose Keegan Talks ‘Days of Our Lives’ [Exclusive Interview]

Olivia Rose Keegan has the unique opportunity to pursue two of her passions at the same time .

Keegan currently plays Claire Brady on Days of Our Lives, a role that allows her not only be an actress, but also pursue her musical career.

I recently had the chance to chat with Keegan about her role on Days of Our Lives as well as her background when it comes to acting.

Keegan joined the cast of Days of Our Lives last year, which was a new experience for her. “I had never really gone out for a soap before that. What really drew me in — when I saw the breakdown, it said that Claire sings too. Which I thought was super cool. It’s so rare that you get an opportunity where you can fit both of your passions in one,” she said.

“Great music came out of it. Like I got to work with the coolest people, and I actually genuinely love the music that we made.” Keegan released her first album in April, which includes original songs featured on Days of Lives.

“Five out of the Six songs either have aired or will air on the show. I wasn’t involved in the actual creation of the songs. They were written, and composed, and produced by the musical director, Brent Nelson, and his daughter Genesee Nelson, who did a great job. It’s a really cool like, singer-songwriter sound.”

Keegan also shared some of the reasons she loves her character, especially her confidence.

“[Claire] definitely goes after what she wants. She’s a little bit misinterpreted because she’s so passionate and driven, and she’s very layered like all of the characters on the show. Very dynamic,” Keegan noted. “She has this like, fiery confidence that is very inspiring and refreshing and just fun to play.”

Some of Keegan’s favorite scenes are the ones where she’s really able to portray those characteristics.

“I like when Claire really manifests that fiery confidence. That might come across as being super catty to some people, but in her mind she’s just finding her ground. Fiestiness is not necessarily a bad thing. I like those scenes, when there’s like a little bit of… extra hot sauce.”

As for what we can expect from Claire coming up on Days of Our Lives, Keegan gave a few hints. “Claire and Theo are good friends, you know. Claire is very co-dependent on people to make her feel happy, and Theo is very accepting and kind of non-judgmental of that need. Claire is kind of like this crazy person going a million miles a minute, and I think Theo is just like, mesmerized by her speed in a way.”

Keegan began acting when she was young, which started with some encouragement from her parents.

“I started with musical theater when I was seven years old. That’s when I did my first play. I was kind of just this crazy kid, and my parents thought that I needed some sort of outlet,” Keegan laughed.

“They suggested local community theater. So I picked that up, and I think I loved the idea of kind of fully committing to something crazy and having control over how far I was going to take the craziness. I was a wild child.”

In addition to Days of Our Lives, Keegan has made several guest appearances on shows including Enlisted, Modern Family, Sam & Cat, and Wilfred.

“Modern Family was so fun,” Keegan admitted. But one of her favorite roles was on Wilfred, which she called a “personal favorite.” She said she also really enjoyed being able to work with Elijah Wood.

When Keegan isn’t working, she likes to catch up on some of her favorite shows. “Netflix for days,” she said when asked what likes to watch on TV.

“Right now, I’m watching Girls. It’s good. It goes by so fast. I’m on the fourth season already, and I started a couple of weeks ago. Which is weird, because I don’t have that much time on my hands.”

“I love how at the end, Lena Dunham’s name kind of just stays there, and stays there, and stays there,” Keegan continued. “She is brilliant. That would be super fun if I could work on that show.”

You can catch Olivia Rose Keegan as Claire Brady on Days of Our Lives, airing weekdays at 1:00pm EDT on NBC.