Day of Our Lives veteran Alison Sweeney reveals her mother once had to remove her from an ‘inappropriate’ situation when she was a child star in Hollywood – as she opens up about the drastic measures her parents took to protect her from industry evils

Days Of Our Lives actress Alison Sweeney has revealed that her mother, Polly, once got her out of a potentially ‘inappropriate’ situation when she was working as a child actor and said she is ‘so grateful’ for the way her parents cared for her .

Alison, 47, got her first television role at the age of four and ‘always wanted to be an actor’. She has praised her mother and father for never leaving her “alone with anyone” when she was working as a child, and also for implementing strict parenting rules so that she could pursue her dream.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, Alison addressed recent claims brought to light by her fellow actresses, such as Rebel Wilson accusing her Grimsby co-star Sacha Baron Cohen of ‘sexually harassing’ her, and Sharon Stone, who claimed she was encouraged to sleep with Billy Baldwin when they were filming the 1993 movie Sliver.

“I have so much compassion… my God, these heartbreaking stories are just devastating and I can only imagine how it could have happened,” Alison said, before adding, “But I’m just grateful that that’s not my story.

“It’s really hard to compare the industry (now) to what it was like 20 years ago because people talk about this stuff in a way that was never discussed when I was growing up as a teenager and young adult in the 90s and 2000s. and of course for that.

‘I’m so lucky, I’ve been working professionally since I was four years old and my mother and father were very involved in my career and on set every day, and I was so lucky to have that experience and the opportunity.

“I can only talk about my own journey, but I wanted to be an actor, I loved it so much, I wanted it since I was four years old, and so I can’t believe that sometimes I wake up and this is my life.

“So my parents were never in a situation where they tried to pressure me to do the work or learn my lines or anything. I was the driving force behind that, I wanted to be there.’

The blonde actress, who has reprized her beloved role as Hannah Swensen in the new Hallmark movie One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery, explained that her parents “had a very important power structure” when she was acting as a child.

“If I was bad, the punishment would be to go home,” she said. ‘They would say, ‘If you don’t keep your grades up, you can’t act,’ was always the answer.

‘I drove and so my parents were able to maintain that dynamic with me. I can’t even describe to you how grateful I look back now to have such an important parenting role.’

She continued, “And my parents felt the same way about producers and directors. There was one situation, one time where my mother saw something and she said, “We’re leaving now, we’re not doing that.”

“My parents just wouldn’t allow me to be exposed to inappropriate things as a child, and they never let me be alone with anyone who would have created such an opportunity for someone to take advantage. They just wouldn’t tolerate it.

“And I just trust that that was instinct on their part. I mean, we were definitely in an era where people didn’t talk about that stuff, people didn’t know, but my parents said, “That doesn’t seem right and we’re not doing it, no,” and I’m so grateful.”

Speaking about the pressures that come with children entering the industry early on, Alison explains: ‘Unfortunately, parents often make a financial sacrifice to give their children the opportunity to go to Los Angeles.

“I’m originally from LA so I didn’t have to move anywhere, but a lot of kids move to LA to act and audition and it immediately throws everything off balance when you rely on the kid having to work to make a living the whole family.

“It changes the whole situation in a way that is so difficult for families. It’s so hard for everyone.’

After making her television debut in a Kodak ad, Alison landed roles in TV shows such as Webster and Tales from the Darkside before making her first appearance on Days Of Our Lives.

Alison is best known for her portrayal of Samantha “Sami” Brady on the NBC soap, a role she played under contract with the show from January 1993 to October 2014.

After appearing sporadically since then, she returned as a series regular in 2021, but has not been on the soap for some time as she is “focused on producing and starring in films” such as One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery.

When asked what it is that always draws her back to playing the role of Hannah Swensen, Alison said: “Playing her is so much fun and playing opposite Barbara Niven and Lisa Durupt and this whole cast is so near and dear to me. , and they feel like family, so I have a great time working with them.

“And the audience’s reaction to Hannah and her world and solving these mysteries brings me so much joy and I think it’s a lot of fun.

“They love solving the mysteries with Hannah, they love Hannah’s interaction with her family and her sister and, you know, a potential love interest and a plan. It’s so nice to get such a strong response from the fans over the years.”

One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery premieres Friday, April 5 at 9 PM ET/PT on Hallmark Mystery.