If you were to compile a list of actors who’ve received Daytime Emmy nominations on different shows for playing the same character, it would be an extremely short one. But as of last week, it would include Courtney Hope, who has earned nods for playing Sally on both Bold & Beautiful and Young & Restless.

“I love her so much,” admits Hope, adding that she is “extremely protective” of the character. “One of the most interesting things I’ve gotten to do as an actor is watch Sally evolve from the person she was in Los Angeles to who she became, and is still becoming, in Genoa City.”

“I’d like to think she’s grown since she first arrived on Bold & Beautiful,” laughs Hope, here with Pierson Fode (ex-Thomas).

It’s a journey they’ve been on together. “I’ve invested so much in her,” muses Hope, “and I’ve also grown up with her in a lot of ways. We are the same age, and it’s an important period, when you’re going from being a young adult to a woman. I’ve done that along with her, sometimes in unison, sometimes in contrast. So it’s been nice to see the world through her eyes, which brings enlightenment to my life and vice versa.”

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Although she had an ocean’s worth of material to choose from for her latest Emmy reel, one watershed moment stood out: “When she lost the baby and everything which unfolded afterwards in the hospital,” reveals Hope. “That was the tipping point in Sally’s life. Everything came to a head. It was absolutely gut-wrenching and so nuanced. There’s so much to it, between the hurt and th eanger and the shock, it’s all coming at you.”

“There was so much drama going on,” enthuses Hope.

The scenes weren’t just challenging from an acting point of view, but also on a more basic level. “I’ve always seen myself as a vessel through which stories are told,” she explains. “But as an actor, your body doesn’t really know the difference” between the artificial emotions being played out and what it’s actually experiencing. “I’d go back to my dressing room and be like, ‘You’re ok,’ because your body is like, ‘I’m just here for the ride!’”

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Recently, her body’s been given at least something of a break as Sally’s storyline has revolved around emotional conflict rather than physical. “I love Adam and Sally together,” she admits. “They have so much to learn from and about one another, and so much to offer each other. They always say they’re two black sheep, but I think that they support each other, and they each have a really deep understanding at the core of who each other is.”

With both having a tendency to be their own worst enemy, Hope suggests that there’s one very easy thing they can do to have a happy — at least by soap standards — life together: “They need to get out of their own way to really make it work!”