Days Of Our Lives
DAYS Eric Martsolf Interview: The loves and life of Brady Black, and where it's all headed!
Courtesy/NBC
On-Air On-Soaps chatted with the talented Eric Martsolf of Days of our Lives to get his thoughts on the many women in the life of Salem’s misunderstood, charming, dangerous, and complicated sexy hero, Brady Black.
With the upcoming DAYS reboot set to launch on Monday September 26th, where does Brady fit into the equation, you may ask? We can tell you plenty! To kick things off, Eric has been paired with the one and only Sarah Brown, when Madison James hits Salem and the two of them take an instant liking to one another, and that’s putting it mildly!
But what about this week and next as they wrap some story points up with Brady and his other on-screen gals, Nicole and Chloe? Eric fills us in! And while Brady has gone from the ultimate Dudley-Do-Right to down right questionable, and sometimes vengeful, Martsolf tells us that the heart and soul of his character might bubble to the surface a bit more in the days ahead, but still keeping his loveable edge. So here’s our one-one-one conversation with Mr. Martsolf about it all below!
What is going on with Brady? It gets so confusing! Where is he at with Nicole at this point? (Laughs)
ERIC: Who the hells knows! I don’t know. (Laughs) Brady and Nicole go back and forth and back and forth, and the ping pong game never ends, and sure enough, they came to some very quick conclusion that they brought out the worst in each other. But they seem to really enjoy drinking and having sex together, and as much as I personally believe that is all you need in a relationship,(laughs) apparently Brady and Nicole had some epiphany that when they get together bad things just seem to happen. So they have this amicable understanding with each other that maybe they should cool things down a bit. So that is what is going on with them. But meanwhile Brady is just focused on seeing Chloe come out of this coma, and that is what has engaged his heart lately.
Courtesy/NBC
Yes there is all of that. And, when I spoke with Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe) about her exit from the show, she was disappointed that the Brady/Chloe pairing between the two of you did not get explored until this very last beat of her story. Was that kind of weird?
ERIC: Yes. It was a giant mystery to us. Literally, in the same time frame that Nadia found out she was leaving the canvas, they started writing for Brady and Chloe. It just seemed a little late in the game to do it. But as far as the Broe fans are concerned, I think some of them felt …better late than never.
They have this bond that all of a sudden was there during Chloe’s crisis that was not played at all in recent years.
ERIC: It did make sense to me on one level. You do divorce someone and you have someone exit your life, they go off and you go off, and you live and you meet other people. But when you hear about something catastrophic that happens to that person, those feelings sometimes come back and you remember everything about this individual that you loved initially. And, no matter what broke you apart, there is always certain circumstances in life that can bring you back together. Chloe in this case thinks she is going to die, and it was never an issue before. It was never a possibility before to Brady that this girl could possibly be leaving the world. So he shows up in a big way and can’t seem to leave her side.
Well, Eric, Brady seems to have this penchant for saving women…. a lot ! (Laughs)
ERIC: It is funny. I was reading the scripts the other day and the idea of Batman just flew over my head. Brady is kind of like a dark hero. He does really terrible things for really good reasons. I kind of like that comparison with him, because obviously Brady is showing a lot of his vulnerability and his heart right now, which we haven’t seen in awhile. I know you are familiar with the relaunch and the rebooting of DAYS where we are promising to bring more rainbows and sunshine to the show as opposed to all this darkness that the town has seem to be in for so long. I think that is part of the reboot that characters are again, showing some heart.
What evil or bad thing that Brady has done, do you feel are at the top of the list?
Courtesy/NBC
ERIC: The most disheartening one for me, personally, was Brady ripping his grandfather’s company out from under him. That just seemed pretty rough around the edges of something to do! I don’t think Victor deserved that. But given where Brady’s head was at the time, it wasn’t shocking to me that he would do something like that … but betraying family, that is pretty low. Another one was the brutalization of EJ. That was pretty shocking! Brady was going to kill him and that is still a serious thing. We kind of get numb in soaps, with murder, and killing, and kidnapping, but these things are truly bad and terrible.
I think that is a really good point that you make. When you often watch GH or DAYS at some point we often almost on a daily basis see murder or kidnapping. So when viewers are fed that all the time, it actually doesn’t make it that exciting or interesting anymore.
ERIC: As a society we shouldn’t belittle these things. And at the same time, I think we have become a little lax on how some characters are forgiven for doing such things as well. I think more gravity has to be paid to these kinds of acts and things, because often people can rape one another on soaps, and then have a child together, and a year later be in love! It is a tough transition to make in my mind. So I think they are trying to throw in a little more reality into our program right now, and part of the reality is that there is also romance, bubblegum, and good times. It does not always have to be beatings and people being buried alive and such … even though I enjoy those things once in awhile. They have there place. (Laughs)
Yes! I always say, “A good burying alive is always good.” (Laughs)
ERIC: I did not mind it. It was probably the most fun summer, I ever had!
Photo Credit: © WireImage.com
Now coming up, we will see Brady being paired with Madison James and you are now playing opposite Sarah Brown (Madison). When I spoke with Sarah, she says she felt that the chemistry between the two of you on-screen was instant. Do you feel the viewers will feel that way too? What is your gut instinct on Brady/Madison, and you and Sarah on-screen?
ERIC: I am in agreement with Sarah. I was aware of her work, but not her on a personal level as person. But I can say we have gelled. And when you put actors together, you either hit the races running or you fall. We are really enjoying each other. I think our work ethic is the same. She came in guns loaded. Sarah knew what she wanted her character to wear, how she wanted her character to act, and who she was and her history. She had done her homework. I have been thinking about her character of Madison. And to me, she is like the love-child of Donald Trump and Sarah Jessica Parker. She is like this very strong, well-dressed, and sassy woman, with this ridiculous business sense and strength about her. This is our new head writers, Marlene and Darrell’s first character that they have actually created. I think they put a lot of thought into her, because we have not seen a woman like this hit the canvas in a long time. We have our strong women in Salem, but this chick is tough. Sarah definitely had the cajones to bring this character to life. So I am really excited. I just texted her the other day. We shot some scenes and I don’t think I have ever done this in my ten years in daytime, but I texted, “Thank You. I love my co-star!” And she texted back, “Love you, too!” And it is just a wonderful little marriage we have going on together at work.
So, where you at all intimated because this was thee Sarah Brown, three-time Daytime Emmy winner, who is this balls to the wall actress? I mean, what did you initially think when you heard you would be working so much with her?
Courtesy/NBC
ERIC: The only comment that I had heard about her was “strong”. That is all I heard. So I did not know if that meant she had these incredible biceps as in the gym (laughs) or as in her personality. I was not intimated because I have been around soaps long enough to understand that we are all in this game together. Right now, there is a not a lot of room for grandstanding or trying to pull the weight of the show by yourself. We all understand that it has to be a team effort right now. Sarah had been open, giving, and working very hard to make not just Madison a success, but Brady and Madison a success. She wants this union to work and be strong. We are totally on the same page with that.
It would be so nice for you, because of all your hard work through the years to finally be part of a great soap supercouple. I mean, a paring that can endure and last and not flip-flop. Where there is an end game, where the two of them can go through all sorts of issues and conflicts, but in the end, you know they are meant to be with each other.
ERIC: You are saying that in a very nice way. And, I am in agreement with you, Michael. I want that staple too. I want Brady to be able to dig his feet into something that is going to last and be strong. I am thankful to the production team at DAYS for bringing Sarah on and teaming her up with me, because she is a pro. And on-screen, it’s like instant oatmeal, man! (Laughs) There is water on the Quaker Oats and it’s ready to eat right away. I just made an oatmeal analogy! (Laughs)
Are we going to see Brady being involved in lots of business machinations coming up in the reboot?
Courtesy/NBC
ERIC: Yes. The context of Brady and Madison’s relationship does deal directly with business. She is the head of a cosmetics company that Titan acquires. So they are going to find themselves at Titan Headquarters a lot.
Well, that means sex in the office, clearly!
ERIC: There is going to be a lot of fun stuff in the office. It is like Mad Men is coming to DAYS. It is drama, short skirts, and power suits in the office. Just coming together, guns blazing, and I am telling you there is good stuff. Oh, and they finally built this incredible set for Brady Black’s office. I have my own set. I mean, I am arriving; I may even make it on a cover of a magazine for the first time. That might happen! So yeah … look out, because it is happening. (Laughs)
If you have ever tuned-in to the soap opera genre over the last 50 years, and witnessed some of the greatest romances, drama, classic and outlandish storylines of all-time, you would have seen Deidre Hall smack dab in the middle of it as longtime Salem heroine, Dr. Marlena Evans.
It was 50 years on this date, June 21, 1976 that Hall first appeared on DAYS on NBC which was its home for 57 years before it moved to its current streaming platform on Peacock in September of 2022.
In Hall’s first episode she was introduced as a psychiatrist treating Mickey Horton (John Clarke) at Bayview Sanitarium after he suffered a complete mental breakdown. Mickey learned that his brother Bill Horton (Edward Mallory) was the biological son of Mike Horton (Wesley Eure) with his wife Laura (Susan Flannery) and that he had been lied to for years and years. From that moment on, the rest is television and soap opera history. Days of Our Lives put Hall front and center.
Photo: NBC
There were so many heartbreaking and shocking story twists involving the beloved Marlena. One of the first was the historic crib death of baby DJ (Don Jr.) in 1980, Marlena’s infant son with Don Craig (Jed Allan). The story had never been told on daytime television and Hall’s performances received accolades from TV critics to fans when Deidre received thousands of letters from grieving mothers who had gone through the same thing in their own lives.
DAYS also brought Deidre’s twin sister, Andrea Hall Lovell to the show as her on-screen sister Samantha, who had a grudge and even locked Marlena up in a sanitarium and took her place! Fast-forward and in 1982, DAYS launched the Salem Strangler story where everyone believed Marlena was his next victim, only it turned out to be Samatha. Jake Kositchek (played by Jack Coleman) was revealed to be the actual serial killer.
Later, Deidre would assume the role of Marlena’s look-alike, Hattie Adams in 2004, once played by her sister, Andrea. Over the years, Hattie has come back to Salem and caused trouble giving Hall a chance to play a different type of character, then the always upstanding Marlena.
Photo: JPI
THE LOVES OF MARLENA
Deidre Hall struck gold with all her leading men: from the late Jed Allan, to Wayne Northrop as Roman Brady, and of course, her enduring love story with the late John Black played by the iconic Drake Hogestyn. In fact, Marlena’s 1986 wedding to John (who was believed to be Roman at the time) remains a favorite of fans to this day.
TOP MARLENA STORYLINES OF ALL-TIME
While the list is long, here are several that were some of the memorable during Deidre’s five decades in Salem!
The Possession (1994- 1995)
Considered one of the most ambiguous, outlandish and unforgettable story arcs in soap opera history, then Days of Our Lives head writer, James Reilly went there! Marlena was possessed by the devil! That included; the demonic eyes, hissing at father John (Black) the priest, morphing into creatures, and the classic levitating in her bed! It became a cultural phenomenon and cemented Deidre Hall’s status as a daytime television legend. Just ask Ryan Gosling!
Photo:JPI
The Affair with John Black (1993)
John and Marlena’s forbidden love could not be denied and they had passionate affair, while she was still married to the real Roman. Problem was her daughter, Sami (Alison Sweeney) caught her mother having sex with John on a desk that changed Sami forever.
The Salem Stalker Mystery (2003-2004)
In a shocker, Marlena was revealed to be a serial killer who bumped off several Salem favorites residents who were all alive on the island of Melaswen (spelled “New Salem” backward). Turns out, she was manipulated and gaslighted by Andre DiMera (Thaao Penghlis) to do the “killings” and had no memory of her actions.
The Pier Scene (1991)
This remains Michael Fairman TV’s all-time favorite Deidre Hall moment, which featured some of the best acting in the storied careers of both Hall and Drake Hogestyn.
In the story, a presumed-dead Marlena returns after four years. One foggy night on the pier, John is alone, and Marlena steps out of the fog to reveal herself, and is reunited with the love of her life. You can watch it any year, any decade, and in any moment, and it will have you reaching for the hankies again and again. (best music score fo a soap scene of all-time too!)
Photo: NBC
Kristen’s Secret Room Reveal (1997)
Marlena was caught in Kristen Blake’s (Eileen Davidson) elaborate web of lies, when she was held hostage in a secret wine cellar/room until John managed to track her down, leading to an iconic on-screen reunion. The classic catfight between Hall and Eileen Davidson was one for the ages.
It should be noted that Maison Blanche, Queen of the Night, Possession, Aremid and Lady in a Cage were all a part of classic DAYS storyline and all featured Hall at the epicenter of it from 1993-1996.
THE RECENT YEARS OF MARLENA
In recent years, DAYS brought back the possession 2.0 storyline under then head writer Ron Carlivati in 2021 where the devil leapt back in Marlena after taking advantage of a frail Doug Williams (the late Bill Hayes)
In 2025, viewers watched the end of the love story of John and Marlena, as John succumbed to injuries sustained in an explosion saving a vial of medication needed to bring Bo (Peter Reckell) back to life. Marlena has been a widow on-screen since June of 2025 as Hall as portrayed the good doctor struggling with her grief and to move on with her life since his death.
Photo: JPI
One story that never goes away is Stefano DiMera’s (the late Joe Mascolo) obsession with Marlena, his “Queen of the Night.” Even in death, Stefano is toying with her from the great beyond with the mysterious chess set and the missing “pawn,” that he had gifted John and Marlena in his will. The mystery is currently unfolding on all-new episodes of Days of Our Lives.
Tune-in to Days of our Lives on the Monday, June 22 episode as Marlena looks back at her 50 years in Salem.
Share your congratulations to Deidre Hall for this incredible 50-year milestone as Dr. Marlena Evans on Days of Our Lives in the comment section. Then let us know, what is your all-time favorite storyline or moment in the life of Marlena over the past 5 decades? And, just for kicks, and to celebrate this amazing milestone, here is Marlena levitating below circa Christmas Eve 1994.
Days Of Our Lives
Al Calderon Reflects on ‘Major Chapters’ Coming to an End on ‘Days of Our Lives’ and ‘Brilliant Minds’
It’s been a bittersweet time for Al Calderon. The talented actor/singer/songwriter has watched from his vantage point to roles he loved so much come to their conclusion for different reasons.
In a heartfelt message posted to his Instagram story on Saturday, Calderon took a moment to share how grateful he was for the opportunity to play Javi Hernandez on Days of Our Lives, and nurse Nico Silva this year on NBC’s second season of Brilliant Minds. Currently, Brilliant Minds has two more episodes that will air on June 24 and the series finale on July 1.
Calderon expressed, “As I sit here reflecting on this lovely Saturday afternoon over the last two years of my life, I have two major chapters closing that have been part of my life every day for the last two years. We have Brilliant Minds. Our last episodes are wrapping up, and then my last scenes aired yesterday as me as Javi on Days of Our Lives.
Photo: JPI
“I’m just unbelievably grateful for the chance and the opportunity to be a part of something so much larger than me,” continued Al. “I (will) love Days of Our Lives forever, my family. Thank you for supporting me and supporting my decision to take the leap of faith and believe in myself and, and tell other stories. You know, it’s never goodbye. It’s always ‘see you later’ to me and just leaving with love and leading with love.”
Al concluded with a special mention to some very important people, the fans: “Thank you to the fans and the support from everyone, the lovely messages. So this next chapter, hopefully it’s not a dragon, hopefully it’s a gold coin.”
Photo: NBC
Calderon’s journey on-screen on Days of Our Lives began in October of 2024 and concluded this month. In one of his last appearances Javi was asking a favor from Gabi (Cherie Jimenez) before bumping into his ex, Leo (Greg Rikaart). In story, Javi has a new romance with Gus (Michael Ocampo), while fighting his feelings for Leo. The role of Javi will be played starting on June 30 by Jacob Martinez who takes over the role.
NBC decided to cancel the Brilliant Minds, after it split up the airing of its second season which began in the fall of September of 2025 and the back-half started airing after a long break this past May. Calderon joined the medical drama staring Zachary Quinto for the new season, which sadly was its last.
So, will you miss Al on Days of Our Lives and Brilliant Minds as his time on-screen has come to an end? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
Next week, Days of Our Lives welcomes back fan favorites Colton Little (Andrew Donovan) and Christopher Sean (Paul Narita) when they reprise their roles for an upcoming special episode which contains Deidre Hall’s 50th anniversary as Marlena Evans.
Circle Monday, June 22 when the married couple comes back to Salem. Paul is the son of Marlena’s beloved and late husband, John Black (Drake Hogestyn). Andrew is the son of iconic couple Shane Donovan (Charles Shaughnessy) and Kimberly Brady (Patsy Pease).
According to the official Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of June 22-26, Andrew scolds Cat (AnnaLynne McCord). Let’s remember Andrew is ISA. Meanwhile while Marlena thinks back on her fifty years in Salem, Paul arrives back in town.
Photo: JPI
ANDREW AND PAUL
Christopher Sean began playing Paul Narita back in 2014. He has come and gone from the show over the last decade. He was last on-screen back in November of 2025, when Paul arrived back in Salem for the dedication of the Tom Horton Free Clinic as part of the Days of Our Lives 60th anniversary celebration.
Colton Little, first began playing the all grown-up Andrew Donovan in 2022 on the Peacock limited series, Beyond Salem: Chapter 2. Little eventually moved to the mothership and Days of Our Lives in 2023. He was last seen on the soap opera back in March of this year in scenes with Peter Porte (Dimitri Von Leuschner) and Greg Rikaart (Leo Stark).
In story, Andrew and Paul tied the knot in front of family and friends on June 24, 2025, which followed the heartbreaking funeral of Paul’s father, John Black, who had passed away several weeks earlier from injuries sustained in an explosion.
Photo: JAnchondoIG
Michael Fairman TV also confirmed the romance exclusively of Colton Little with former General Hospital actor, Adrian Anchondo (ex-Marco Rios) at the end of December of 2025.
Anchondo shared at that time, “I reached out to him (Colton) when I got the job on GH. We knew of each other through mutual friends; so I knew of him for a long time. I started asking Colton about what his experience was like on soaps and asked about SAG health insurance, etc. We met up one night and were hooked from then on.”
So, are you excited to see Andrew and Paul back on your screens? Share your thoughts and if you would like to see them stay longer in Salem in the future, with a story all of their own via the comment section. But first, check out the just released promo for the action on Days of Our Lives entitled “Conspiracy” below featuring Christopher and Colton.
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Deidre Hall Marks 50 Years as ‘Days of Our Lives’ Dr. Marlena Evans
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I love it I love it I love it
Im so happy,I cant wait till 9-26,,, at 1pm,,, I got all 4 TVs set to tape,,,
and thank you soapnet,I can watch it 4 times in one day LOL
everyone is coming home that I love the most,,, just bring back Lucas and Tony…and I’ll be even more happy joy joy joy LUMI
I would love to see Brady and Melanie together! They could be the next super couple!!
Go, Eric, Go–Whoo, Whoo!! 🙂 🙂
love bricole they are endgame
I am excited to see the chemistry with Bradison! Brady is an awesome character but he was never allowed to do much when he came back played by Eric. He was put with Arianna and Nicole and that was it and they never really worked. I was a fan of Bricole but I can see why they are ending them, it was kind of forced. So was Arianna and Brady. I think Bradison will be more natural and Sarah Brown is amazing too. The s/l sounds great to me.
I love Eric M! I think he has done a great job with the Brady Black character since the minute he walked on the Days set! Eric and James are the reason I tune into Days!
Love this interview.,..thank you as always 😉
Oh yeah….also excited to see the Bradison chemistry! whooo hooo
I’m so excited.
Eric and Sarah are going to have incredible chemistry. DAYS will be able to appreciate Sarah’s talents as well.
thanks nice interview, love Eric, he is tops, i am biased towards him and Nicole but I dont get to make the choices. It may be good.. I am glad he is on Days, he and James keep me tuned in..
I want to see Brady and John together as father and son for the first time 🙂
and I want to see Stafano and John together again,Its going to be so good.
and thats a fact….
Sounds good. Love that they are going to have strong women, good romance, and interesting stories about business – throw in adventure, humor, heart, and fun – they have a soap you want to watch. Hope it is a seachange from what they have been doing this past year.
Thanks for the great interview but unsure how I feel about him and Maddison.
Love Eric as Brady Black. I am going to reserve judgement on him and Madison until I see this ‘chemistry’ for myself. I thought Brady and Nicole had great chemistry but I guess the new headwriters aren’t into them.
Love Brady Black. Do Not Like Madison James… at all!! I am no fan of Kate Roberts DiMiera, but I find myself rooting for Kate over Madison. Not sure what it is, but I don’t like her vibe. Brady and Nicole are wonderful together- I wish they would explore that in a romantic, tender way. Nicole and EJ together is dumb also. For the record, I’ve been watching Days since 1966.