CBS.com: Congratulations on your nomination.
PETER BERGMAN: Thank you, thank you. It feels nice. I haven't even had my name in the pile for three years. I just took my name out. I'm delighted to be here again. You never know, one never knows if you'll ever get to do it again. But I took my name out [in past years] because I didn't have material before, and this year obviously I have material and I'm very grateful for that.

CBS.com: It's very nice of you to pull yourself out of the running like that.
PETER BERGMAN: I think it should be the rule. I think people should not put themselves in if they just don't have the material.

CBS.com: Tell me how your day started.
PETER BERGMAN: Well, the beginning of today, strangely enough, I think Lynn Latham [Executive Producer and Head Writer] made an effort to call everybody, and she did it on their cell phones hoping not to wake anyone up. And I think she was shocked that I answered the phone at 6:03[am]. But I was up and I had been up for a little while with the dogs. We talked in the kitchen and I congratulated her and she me and it was great. She's been a large part of why I've had such a successful year. So it's real nice to hear from her.

CBS.com: Knowing that you've been out of the running for a few years like you said, did the anticipation return the night before?
PETER BERGMAN: You know, Mariellen asked me yesterday, "Oh, nominations come out tomorrow. Are you nervous?" And I said, "You know what? I have good material this year. I'm not nervous at all." And that doesn't mean I thought I was going to get nominated. I just thought, if I'm not nominated it's because it's not meant to be, not because I just didn't have the stuff. So, I was very relaxed about the whole thing. I really was, very relaxed.

CBS.com: What did you submit?
PETER BERGMAN: What I initially submitted was a day that Jack learns by accident that Nick has been sleeping with Phyllis and goes to confront her about the months of deception. It is happening simultaneous to Jack's career spiraling out of control. Kay Chancellor is trying to get him to resign from Jabot so his whole world is ending in one day -- his career life and his personal life in one day took such a hit and it's pretty powerful stuff.

CBS.com: Last year you were really looking forward to playing those scenes.
PETER BERGMAN: I was so looking forward to playing those scenes I cannot tell you. It was months of being a moron, months of being the cuckold idiot, months of not noticing things, and the more you commit totally to not knowing anything the higher the stakes are later. So, I had committed all the way. I really, really wanted these scenes to be as wonderful as they were when the day came that Jack found out. And they really gave me a mouth full of the fun stuff.

CBS.com: When the pre-nominations were coming out, did you immediately think of those scenes to submit?
PETER BERGMAN: Yeah. I didn't look at any other scenes. Now I have to look at all of them. [Laughs] Everybody else poured through their scenes for weeks and pretty much have their job done now. I have to start that part now.

CBS.com: Will you ask for anyone else's opinion or help on your selection?
PETER BERGMAN: Here's the thing. I only ask for Mariellen's opinion. That's the only opinion that matters at all. What I will do, and mind you, it has to compliment the first show [I submitted]. The argument is, do you tell the same story? I have a tape where Jack goes to pick Phyllis up at the hospital because he hears about this accident and learns from her just a few months after that scene that she's pregnant. That's one possibility, obviously John's death offered a lot of very poignant scenes and hopefully a good juxtaposition of Jack in grief at the hospital and Jack getting ready to annihilate Gloria at home. That would be a nice thing if I could find one of those that worked. The problem always with those is there are so many people in all those scenes. There are more than a few scenes where I'm standing in the background watching other people talk which is a bad thing to have on your reel. Even if you have incredible stuff at the beginning of it and incredible stuff at the end of it, you have all that stuff [in the middle]. You got to pick and choose very carefully. It's a hard thing. It's harder than people think. To find a good show is not difficult; to find a show that doesn't ask an audience unfamiliar with the show to sit through scenes that aren't particularly about you is a tough one. Every other nominee has that problem. Ricky Paull Goldin [Gus, GL] had a hell of a year. He was hooked on drugs, freeing himself from that, having relationships blow up. I actually talked to Barbara Bloom [Sr. VP CBS Daytime Progams] about a scene I watched on As The World Turns that I hope Maura West [Carly, ATWT] and Michael Park [Jack, ATWT] submitted, where the two of them are at the end of their relationship and it was stunning work. The formidable Tony Geary [General Hospital] - there's a reason he has four of these things. He's a really fine actor. Christian LeBlanc [Michael] raises the bar here everyday. It's fun to compete with really good guys. I like that. I want it to be a nasty fight. [Smiles]

CBS.com: Are you glad the award show is being held in Hollywood?
PETER BERGMAN: No. I like it in New York. I much prefer it in New York. It's a week for Mariellen and I in New York. It's a week off from work. It's an opportunity to see a lot more of my old friends from New York. Not as many come out here as show up at Radio City. And, it's New York.

CBS.com: And don't you have a traditional dinner with someone?
PETER BERGMAN: We did for many years with David Canary [All My Children] and his wife Maureen. We'll try to put something together out here. But that becomes more and more difficult as David comes without Maureen sometimes. Or they come in on Friday for a Friday evening thing. Some of those New York traditions are hard to keep alive.

CBS.com: Was there anyone who didn't get the nomination that you were shocked by?
PETER BERGMAN: There were a lot of people. I'll list them for you. Sharon Case [Sharon] put together stunning work. When she found out about Nick and Phyllis, some of those scenes were so real I had an upset stomach watching them. She was just so powerful and centered and clear. It was palpable pain in the middle of anger. I just thought she was stunning. So that was a nasty oversight. I watch Judith Chapman [Gloria] do just stunning work as John was dying. Huge things were asked of her. She had to play giant values and play them convincingly. I thought she was terrific. I watch the other shows. I think David Canary is the best actor in Daytime television. I do. I just watch him do consistently brilliant work and I always want to see his name in there. My favorite Emmy that I have is the one I beat David Canary. There are so many people. Kassie DePaiva [One Life To Live], what a year she had. And she puts herself out completely every single time. I watch someone like Steve Burton [General Hospital], I'm telling you, does more work without dialogue than any actor in Daytime television. That man with his eyes can say paragraphs. It's very impressive. Nancy [Lee] Grahn [General Hospital] is a miracle. Her name is not in there. Oh my God! Are you kidding me? So, while I think all of these nominees are terrific. That's a formidable group, these are all good actors who've had story. There are really, really good people out there, but the people I named are real oversights. Those are some of Daytime's finest who didn't get the nod and that saddens me.

CBS.com: One last question. How will you celebrate?
PETER BERGMAN: Tonight we are going out to dinner with friends and I will actually pick up the check. We normally share the check. They are getting no piece of this check. [Smiles]