JUST THE FACTS

You Can Go Home Again:

"The last time I came home, my mom said, 'All of your sister's friends seem to come and spend the night a lot when you're here.'"

The Crying Game:

"I'm not Deidre [Hall, Marlena] yet. I can't turn on the tears. She's amazing. Ali [Sweeney, Sami] can do it now, too. She's been in the dumps [on-screen] for the past six months and she's gotten to where she can just hit it."

Truckin':

Ackles has three sport-utility vehicles: a '74 Ford Bronco, a Chevy Tahoe and a Nissan Pathfinder. "I'm gonna send the Pathfinder back [to Texas]. My sister wants it and she's turning 16."

Must See TV:

"I love FRIENDS. It that's on, I'll definately sit down and watch the whole thing."

During his first year in DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Jensen Ackles (Eric) landed on the cover of TV Guide, nabbed the Soap Opera Digest award for Hottest Newcomer and garnered an Emmy nomination.

Then he landed in storyline Siberia.

"My storyline was kind of at a standstill," acknowledges the actor, who basically held a camera in the Titan photo lab and bounced from scenes with Taylor to Billie to Nicole. Making things worse were the roles he had to turn down because he was contracted to DAYS. But Ackles isn't bitter about having to pass up a recurring role on DAWSON'S CREEK and a plum part in the film Never Been Kissed. "This is a great job." he shrugs. "I'm sure doing [those projects] would have been fun, but I've learned a lot about the business. I'm just growing up. I'm out of high school and this is the time I'm learning things, anyway."

And getting a storyline, finally, too, as he plays the aftermath of Nicole's rejection of Eric. "It's exhausting, but so much fun," says Ackles over breakfast at New York City's tony Palace Hotel. "I can't wait to go in tomorrow and do the same thing. I might be pooped by the end of the week, but look at what I'm doing!"

Not bad for a Texas native who gave himself six months to make it in Los Angeles. "Most people don't even find an agent that fast," reflects the actor. "I honestly thought I'd be back in Texas. I figured I'd have fun, try it out, go back to school and figure it all out then. I didn't really have a plan."

In a year, when his DAYS contract is up, will Ackles be planning life sans soap? "If I have a great storyline, I'll probably want to stay for another year or so," he says. "If I didn't stay and I didn't have anything lined up, it would be like rolling the dice. Do I want to take that kind of a chance? I think I'm young enough where I could, and my age range is in demand right now, but still, it's a big chance."

Spoken like the down-to-earth, sweet Southern boy he is. Unlike some other Hollywood actors, Ackles doesn't have an overblown ego, and he certainly hasn't succumbed to the celebrity lifestyle. "I live with two roomates, buddies of mine, who grew up in Texas as well, so it's kind of like a big Southern fest in the household," Ackles grins. "The front door is always swinging open, guys coming in, hanging out."

Ackles occasionally goes clubbing ("Just having to go in my closet and pick something out is a strain for me!"), but prefers Blockbuster movies, Nintendo and spending time withhis girlfriend, Lisa Rideg. The two were friends when their relationship blossomed into a romance in January, 1998. "She's really cool about everything," brags the actor. "She knows where I'm at and has no worries."

Sounds like the perfect woman for a Tinseltown up-and-comer who has somehow managed to keep his feet planted firmly on the ground, doing some growing up without growing too big for his britches. "I think of The Wallflowers lyric that says, 'I ain't changed, but I know I ain't the same,'" reflects Ackles. "That's how I feel."

GOING FOR THE GOLD:

Ackles got a second Emmy nod this year, but he knew going in that it was going to be hard to beat Jonathan Jackson (ex-Lucky, GENERAL HOSPITAL). "He had such a good storyline and had such good chemistry with Rebecca [Herbst, Elizabeth]," Ackles says. "They really write well for them, and they're talented. It's hard to beat that. It's hard to beat a day-in, day-out great storyline and great writing, especially when [with me] they're just forming a couple with Nicole and just molding a character. Lucky was there forever. He was very established, knew his character very well and the writers know his character very well." Not that he didn't have impressive tapes to submit. "Last year when I was nominated, I only had six months of stuff," he recalls. "I didn't have a storyline. This year I has a lot more individual work."