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)
Days Of Our Lives
‘Days of Our Lives’ Favorites Making Returns: Alison Sweeney, Christie Clark, Chandler Massey and Bryan Dattilo

Great news for Days of Our Lives fans, now that Ryan Quan is co-head writer of the long-running soap opera. Coming in June of 2027 (since DAYS tapes ten or so months ahead), you can look forward to the returns of Alison Sweeney (Sami Brady), Christie Clark (Carrie Brady), Chandler Massey (Will Horton) and Bryan Dattilo (Lucas Horton).
The foursome is back on set and began last week to tape their upcoming story arc, according to TV Insider. As to what exactly is going on that brings sister Sami and Carrie’s history back up, as well as Will and Lucas’ is only being teased at this time, but suffice to say, it should be intriguing.
Alison Sweeney explained on being back on set, “It was a lot of dialogue and emotion, but with all the best actors to work opposite, we fell into it as if no time had passed. It was really wonderful.”

Photo: JPI
As to working with the longstanding rivalry of Sami and Carrie, Alison added on working with Clark, “So, it really does feel like we’re sisters. It’s so fun, and she’s such a good actor that she makes everything so natural that you can really disappear into those stories.”
JUST LIKE OLD TIMES
It also seems like the deep-history, which often had the sister fighting for the love of Austin Reed, but that might not figure into the equation this time, or will it?
Alison indicated what she thought of the scripts she was given. “I felt like when I read it, it was a page-turner. I was very excited. There’s a lot of history here, and a lot of things that haven’t been said. So, it’s really not like, ‘Oh, rehashing stuff.’ And now having played some of the scenes, I’m psyched.” Sweeney added, as for the men, working again with her on-screen son, Chandler Massey and Will’s on-screen father Bryan Dattilo, was also extra special.
The last time DAYS viewers saw Sami on the canvas was back in November of 2025, when she revealed she has gotten engaged to never-before-seen Dante Vitali. As for Clark, she last visited Salem for the episodes surrounding John Black’s memorial in June of 2025.
Chandler Massey’s Will Horton last made a visit to Salem in November of 2025 when he attended the gala for the Tom Horton Free Clinic as part of the soap opera’s 60th anniversary celebration. Bryan Dattilo was last seen in December of 2025. So, by the time we see all four again it will be close to two years since they were on new episodes of the series. Time to look forward to June of 2027.
So, excited by the news of Alison, Christie, Chandler and Lucas making a return to Days of Our Lives? What do you think the story will be involving, Sami, Carrie, Lucas and Will? Let us know via the comment section.
Days Of Our Lives
‘Days of Our Lives’ Alum Al Calderon Talks On His Daytime Emmy-Nominated Scenes as Javi Hernandez (Exclusive)

Last Tuesday, Al Calderon scored the first Emmy nomination of his career for his role as Javi Hernandez on Days of Our Lives.
Calderon name was announced as one of the performers competing for gold in the Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series category at the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards on October 30.
This week, Calderon chatted live on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel for a one-on-one conversation where he discussed: his nominated scenes and time on the Peacock streaming soap opera, his decision to leave DAYS, his role of Nico Silva on Brilliant Minds and its sad cancellation, plus his passing the torch of Javi to Jacob Martinez, who took over the role on-screen on the June 30, 2026 episode of Days of Our Lives.

Photo: JPI
JAVI REVEALS TO LEO THAT HE HAD A DAUGHTER WHO DIED
Al revealed the scenes that comprise his now Emmy-nominated reel have at its epicenter the heartbreaking moments from the September 12, 2025 episode. In it, Javi shares for the first time to Leo (Greg Rikaart) that he had a daughter named Solana, with a woman he was seeing named Sylvia. One fateful day, Sylvia left their child in a car when she went to work and the little girl died. Javi had blamed himself for not being the parent to take his daughter to school that day since he was hungover the night before, therefore it opened up the opportunity for something to happen to the his child, and it did.
The multi-talented actor/singer explained his reel: “It was the scene where he is talking about his daughter to Leo. I also included the scene where Javi goes to talk to Melinda (Tina Huang) and to see if it would be a viable option to adopt, because I wanted to introduce the subtlety and nuance of why Javi kind of has this whole connection to Tesoro, in a way.”
It is true that Al can bring the tears and make us cry right along with him during his run as Javi. To that, Calderon added, “I’ve read the comments that I’m a little bit of a crybaby, so I didn’t want the entire reel to be of me crying, but I wanted it to show a little bit of an emotional range of the restraint that Javi was feeling so I included that scene
In addition Calderon shared, “I also included a really beautiful scene with Cherie Jimenez (Gabi Hernandez, DAYS) where I’m looking at photos of Tesoro, and of course, Javi is crying. I just wanted to show the relationship between Javi and his family as well, and as I mentioned the reveal of the child that he lost.”

Photo: JPI
ALUMS AL CALDERON AND ALICE HALSEY REPRESENT DAYS OF OUR LIVES IN EMERGING TALENT CATEGORY
In a twist of fate, Calderon is also nominated in the Emerging Talent category with Alice Halsey who played Rachel Black. Halsey is currently starring in the reboot of Little House on the Prairie in the lead role of Laura Ingalls on Netflix.
As to his hope on Emmy night, Al expressed, “Of course, I want to win, but Alice Halsey is going to give me a run for the money. And if’s not me (who wins the award), it better be her!”
You can check out the full interview with Al below.
Now let us know, do you remember Al’s emotional scenes when he explained to Leo he had a daughter who died, which made it all the more heartbreaking to not end up with permanent custody of Tesoro? What do you think of Al’s chances to win the gold based on his Emmy scene selection? Do you miss him as Javi? Weigh-in via the comment section.
Days Of Our Lives
Emily O’Brien Talks On Her Y&R Past as Jana Hawkes and Working with Peter Porte on ‘Days of Our Lives’

On the latest edition of Soapy Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart which dropped on Tuesday, July 21, Emily O’Brien is the featured guest. As soap fans know, Emily has worked with Rikaart both in her first soap role on The Young and the Restless as Jana Hawkes and now on Days of Our Lives in her current role of Gwen Rizczech.
While Emily continues on DAYS, she has very impressive list of credits in the other part of her career as a voice-over actress and one in motion-capture in some of the most popular video games in the world.
O’Brien was first seen on The Young and the Restless back in 2006. She recalled her landing the role which eventually paired her for her five year run with Greg Rikaart.

Photo: JPI
BEING CAST ON THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
“The role was just a few days and she wasn’t even supposed to be English,” Emily recalled. “The role was originally called Jade. Karen Rae, the casting director of The Young and the Restless at the time said to me “Oh, you’re from England. Try it with the dialect.” I put it on and she said, ‘I’m going to bring you back at like 3 for s callback.’ So then they changed the role to Jana and they said she’s going to be a Brit. I was only supposed to be on for like five episodes and it turned into 5 years.”
In explaining why she loved crazy Jana, Emily shared, “Jana was sort of like the misanthrope. She was just was the odd one out and I loved it. I felt so comfortable playing that because she was just eclectic and weird and she loved playing with Ouija boards and she rode a motorbike. There was just so much color to bring to her. It was just such a great match to play with Greg (Kevin), and Christian LeBlanc (Michael) and Tracey Bregman (Lauren).

Photo: JPI
GWEN, DIMITRI AND LEO ON DAYS OF OUR LIVES
On Days of Our Lives, the Leo, Gwen, Dimitri dynamic is quite unique and been through many schemes and entanglements. Often Emily finds herself in repartee with her ex-lover, Dimitri, who turned out to be gay and then had a thing for her bestie, Leo (Greg Rikaart)!
During the conversation, Greg and Emily sang, Peter Porte’s praised with O’Brien expressing, “Peter is just ready to play. He comes on set prepared. I’ve never seen him with his script. From blocking and rehearsals, he doesn’t have it. He’s prepared. He’s a physical actor and he always trying to come up with something. I think he let me slap him. He let me kiss him. He let me throw a cheeseburger in his lap. He’s ready for anything for anything.”
You can catch the full episode of ‘Soapy; featuring Emily O’Brien below where the actress also talks about replacing Jen Lilley as Theresa Donovan after being let go as Gwen; and being paired again with Greg Rikaart on the Peacock streaming soap opera this time as best friends and more.
So, were you a big Jana Hawkes and Kevin Fisher fan on Y&R? Did you like them as a couple? Do you like the dynamic between Emily and Peter Porte and Greg Rikaart on DAYS? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
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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.