Days Of Our Lives
DAYS Freddie Smith Video Interview: Sonny's Return, PaulSon, Will's Death, Uncle Vic & Titan!
Photo: MF Soaps Inc
This week on NBC’s Days of our Lives, Freddie Smith made his on-screen return as Sonny Kiriakis.
Now, fans of the long-running soap want to know what’s in store for the beloved Sonny, now that he has returned to Salem after many months away in Paris following the murder of his husband, Will Horton. When viewers last saw Sonny it was at Will’s funeral. Now Sonny has come back to Salem to help his Uncle Vic (John Aniston) with his company, Titan. But will he rekindle a romance with his former flame Paul (Christopher Sean)?
Earlier this week, On-Air On-Soaps Michael Fairman sat down for this brand new video interview with the popular actor at the set of NBC soap. There was plenty to discuss in our first in-depth video interview in almost a year. From Will’s murder and his funeral, to what Sonny’s return means for others on the canvas and more, Freddie and Michael took the time to address several burning questions and more. Here are a few excerpts from the full interview which you can view below!
Photo: MF Soaps Inc.
When asked if he was surprised to find out he was coming back to DAYS, Freddie responded, “I was just glad they didn’t kill me off … they just sent me away. So, I was like ‘cool’. We left on really good terms, so I was just happy when I got the call.”
If he knew what his storyline would be this time out before he started taping, Smith revealed, “I knew the story, and I really liked it. I remember thinking if I am going to go back, I would really love if this is the story, and then four or five days later, I talked to the producers and the writers, and … that was the story. That was the story that I wanted.”
As to what viewers will see or the focus of Sonny’s return, Freddie said, “I know everyone wants to see Sonny in love and that’s also important, but it’s also important to see Sonny outside of his relationship, because a relationship is only part of who you are, as well. Yeah, Sonny ran the club, but not really. (Laughs) It was more of a backdrop. So now I really like where they are going with it. I think people are going to enjoy Sonny’s return.”
Fans had commented as to why Sonny was seated in the second row at Will’s funeral, when he was his husband, Smith expressed, “I just sit down and shut up and go where I am told to go. I was so emotional that day that I didn’t even think about it. We all on the set were super-sad all week. Everyone was crying even off set, so I wasn’t being technical about it. I was just sitting there thinking about what was happening.”
Courtesy/FSmithInstagram
On what he thought when he heard that DAYS was killing-off his on-screen other half, Will Horton, Freddie related, “It was definitely a shock, but I also like that they go there, too. I know that might upset some people, but you got to mix things up. They didn’t treat us differently, which was ultimately what we were going for this whole time. I was definitely shocked (that were killing Will), but I actually heard about it before I knew I was coming back for it. But, I remember I was just in shock, just like I am now re-thinking it. You don’t expect it to happen.”
As to where Paul and Sonny’s relationship is heading, Smith added, “We have been working together a lot. I think the fans are going to be surprised that there is something else going on between Sonny and Paul aside from their past, and their romance, and their friendship. There is another element to Paul and Sonny that you are going to see.”
If DAYS were to write a storyline involving Sonny about an an issue facing the LGBT community, how would he feel about it, Freddie said, “I think so. Yet again, if it’s organic and they want to shed some light on an issue I think that’s very important to do so, but I also think a lot has been done since five years ago where you could flip through the TV channels and there were not a lot of gay storylines, now it’s more common.”
As to what his fans are sharing on social media and their hope’s for Sonny’s return, Smith added: “People are rooting for Paulson, Paulson, Paulson. But at the same time they are wondering if Will is coming back. That would be an interesting twist to see, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen.”
Watch Freddie’s full video interview below. Then let us know your thoughts on what Freddie shared, what you hope happens romantically and business-wise for Sonny, and how glad you are to see him back on DAYS in the comment below!
Will ‘IS’ ALIVE!..ALIVE!…ALIVE!…lol
i was so glad that sonny is back im happy as can be hope they bring the old Will back and i hope sonny stays on for god with days love watching him so much he is so cute and handsome man very good actor .
Welcome back Freddy smith, I am so happy he is back on Days. Freddie is a wonderful actor. I am hearing rumors that Louise Sorel Vivian Alamain is coming back to Days. What I am hearing is that she has Brady and Theresa baby. I hope this is true. I miss my Madame lol.
On Freddie’S Q&A he mentioned Sonny moves into the mansion. But in today’s show Deimos said he was keeping the mansion. So how does that work if Sonny is living there when none of the other family members are there (besides Deimos)?
I hope the writers haven’t forgotten that he is Ari’s father. It’s bad enough that they bungled it by having him leave town, which never rang true to me. He loves that little girl & was a better father to her than Will. No way would he have just left.
How exactly is he Ari’s father? Ex-stepfather at best.
A better father than Will ? That’s complete bull! Sonny abandoned Ari right after Will died, disgusting!!
Yes, because the way Will had Ari’s best interests at heart when he didn’t care that he could destroy his family by cheating on his husband twice, wasn’t disgusting at all.
Will was Ari’s primary caretaker and always shown as a loving father. Sonny? Walked out on her when he was mad at Will and then when Will died.
Will loved her, yes. And he tried. But he was not even remotely her only primary caretaker, especially not at first, and he wasn’t always a good one, either. He admitted himself that he broke the trust between two of Ari’s parents (affecting her home life), he threatened people in front of her, manipulated people in front of her, made the decision to take her away from her imprisoned mother and second father in a matter of 24 hours to chase a Hollywood dream he’d never mentioned having before, then neglected to get Ari BACK to her mother (chasing fame yet again) when he returned to Salem, and used her like a tool in order to lay guilt trips on Sonny. Like Sonny, Will was not perfect either, and he was not Ari’s only caretaker. He had help. Lots of it. Mostly notably in the form of Sonny, who treated her like his own daughter and put a roof over her head, one that gave Ari the chance to live with both her biological parents, and keeping his relationship in tact in the meantime. Sonny was written off the show, and yes, that means he left Ari. And that’s awful. But to try and reverse-justify the opinion that Sonny was a bad father when he was actually there, or that he didn’t shoulder just as much responsibility as Will did, doesn’t ring true to me at all.
Mad at Will??? Mad at Will, like he forgot to buy the milk. His husband cheated on him TWICE!!!!! But, of course it’s Will, so he’s allowed to do whatever he wants and all is forgiven, no matter who he hurts.
I hope they don’t ruin him. I’m very nervous about that.
He’s already ruined in my opinion. Asking his ex boyfriend to wait for him on his husband’s grave ruined him.. And i won’t mention him being a deadbeat father.
Yes, that scene with Paul at the gravesite was disgusting. I lost all respect for Sonny after that.
I agree with you John and also Kay. I couldn’t believe what the writes did with Paul & Sonny on top of Will’s grave. And then to have that photo of Will & Sonny blow away was despicable.
i am so glad to see sonny back i was praying that he would come back to days i wanted him to stay this tiem for real love having him back and he is a very good actor and love atching on days wish they would bring the old
This is a great interview Michael. I’m so happy Freddy discussed Sonny being seen as another member of the Salem community and not only as a gay character. I’m looking forward to seeing Sonny in the business world and his interactions with a wide variety of people.
LETS BRING BACK CHANDLER NOW !!!!!! LOve you Freddie so much <3
Great interview, Mr. Fairman!
Sunny/Sonny DAYS are here again!!
Great to have Freddie back as Sonny! Now make the people really, really happy and bring back Chandler Massey!!!!
Some of you live in La La land!! Freddie Smith obviously doesn’t want Will back, he wants to grab a little bit of the spotlight and that’s impossible with Will around ( he was always the driven force) ! He’s clearly rooting for (stupid) PaulSon.
I agree. I think Freddie really wanted it to be Sonny cheating on Will with Paul so the spotlight would be on him, but the writers made the focus on Will. Now with Will gone, the focus is on Sonny again, and that makes Freddie happy. He does not want Will on the show.
Could Freddie be any more tone deaf & clueless? He was okay with Sonny sitting in the second row of his own husband’s funeral and doesn’t even care that LGBT people were insulted & hurt by that? Sonny is a deadbeat father who is now working for his mobster uncle! That’s not the Sonny viewers fell in love with.
Look, Sonny got the short end of the story stick the last time around, but Freddie not caring about the hurt Will’s death caused and how ugly and shoddy the story was is very disappointing.
I fully expect Sonny to be wearing Nerium t-shirts when he’s not helping Victor arrange drug shipments. I fully expect Will will be back – likely to invite more hatred by trolls whatever the actor. The only think I feel when watching this interview is sadness the show chose to burn down its lgbt legacy in a fury of hate-pandering and now wants to make everyone forget that. The thing about Freddie is he doesn’t seem to notice or care.
Agree totally with every word, kiki.
If Smith is really so clueless as to the story he’s playing and doesn’t even consider his placement on the stage, that says SO much about the actor and his craftsmanship. Very disappointed. Time to let this character and story die its miserably written death. It just can’t be resurrected (much to the bigoted joy of many).
Oh my, reading way too much into a seating arrangement. Maybe the director intended it to be a way of showing Sonny having too hard a time sitting that close to the casket? Real life people handle things uniquely and a character on a show is no exception. And maybe Freddie was too engulfed in the sadness of the storyline to think much of it himself, he nearly said as much in this interview. Geez.
Thanks, Nate. You just proved my point as well as a lot of other folks’ points about the handling of the story, both in writing and direction.
How many times does Freddie insult viewers intelligence? He is glad the show made a blatant pander to anti-gay hatred in Will’s death? Of course that’s going to anger people.
He comes off as clueless and tone deaf. And Fairman’s sucking up doesn’t help.
I”m not stupid. I know they will bring Will back, but since Freddie clearly doesn’t care for the character of Will, there’ll be little chance of Wilson ever being what it once was.
Will was clearly the only true father to Arianna, and that’s a shame because it’s in insult to gay fathers, adoptive fathers and stepparents all rolled into one.
I don’t want to see a Sonny who couldn’t forgive Will for cheating – cheating the writers wrote so the character would be hated to set up for their anti-gay pander – but he’s willing to go work for his mobster uncle. Because if Sonny was able to manage Victor’s clubs and not realize that Victor is in the drug business, he’s an idiot. Sonny’s not an idiot. He’s now just a criminal and a deadbeat father.
Since Days is now a show where murderers are the heroes, I actually hope Will doesn’t come back. I just think he will and we’ll all have to suffer through Freddie looking miserable in Wilson reunion scenes.
You make some very valid points.
It’s not the first time Freddie has sounded totally clueless and tone deaf. It’s happened more than once. He just told Soap Opera Digest that he had a “great exit”.
Please consider what happened in this “great exit”. First a good bit of dialog (the problem is with what follows it). After coming home after being told of Will’s death, Sonny tells him mom this:
‘You know I was planning on coming back here before this happened. Will left me this message, and I listened to it over and over again, and I started thinking “what the hell am I doing?”. I realized I still loved him and I NEED TO BE HERE WITH HIM AND ARIANNA. And now I got to tell MY TWO YEAR OLD DAUGHTER she’s never going to see her Dad again.‘
A week later, Sonny had abandoned the little girl he, in his own words, called his daughter – and anyone who’s watched the show over the past few years know also that Arianna herself will consider Sonny her Daddy. Abandoned her after her biological father that Sonny claimed to love had been murdered – and why? Because *Sonny* couldn’t cope with *his* feelings! Also Sonny showed no interest in how his husband Will died, and doesn’t even hang around for Chad (his friend and railroaded suspect) to wake up. Awful, awful writing that Higley and Griffith and Corday are responsible for ….
… and which Freddie has now called a “GREAT EXIT”. That “great exit” was of course also *entirely* built on the murdering-off of legacy character Will, which the show has invested almost twenty-years in creating, with an associated investment from the audience. And Freddie says he’s glad the show “goes there”!!!
“Great exit” – hell no! It was awful, and insulting, and utterly character-destroying, and insulting to the audience too. It ripped the heart out of the character of Sonny – or more like ripped the character apart like a dog would rip apart a rag doll. If that were my character, that I played, I’d *not* be happy, and I’d not be telling the press that it was “great”.
If I were running Days I’d keep Freddie as far far away from interviews as I could! Days has quite the knack for shooting itself in the foot.
Also I’d ban actors from MLM selling – what on earth is the show thinking allowing so many of its actors to get to do that – and Freddie targets fans as marks as well!
Someone needs to educate you about deaths on soaps, Art.
The term “Bury Your Gays” doesn’t apply to DAYS! DAYS and soaps in general have buried many characters who turn up alive. Did DAYS bury Sonny? Did DAYS bury Paul? No on both counts plus a no for Will being buried if he didn’t really die!
DAYS couldn’t tell the story they’re now telling if Will hadn’t been “buried” and it had nothing to do with being gay. The actor was weak. His costar chose to leave with the door left open to him. Knowing Sonny could come back to a clean slate is better than viewers questioning where Will is if Will and Sonny had left together.
I think DAYS knew they could get Freddie Smith back, but wasn’t sure they could get Chandler Massey back, so the new storyline may start out with Sonny and Paul, but if Chandler were to agree to a return, Will will return.
Some would say why not recast Sonny when Freddie chose to leave. The answer is the same for why they didn’t recast Will. They believed recasting Will was a mistake and another recast Will would’ve been worse and if a recast Sonny had happened the situation would’ve been more problematic.
It would not be fair for Will and Sonny to ride off in the sunset knowing that Freddie was open to returning and then be stuck with a flimsy off camera excuse to Will’s absence.
It’s not “Bury Your Gays.” It’s bury a soap character in order to have more options for future storylines. Viewers are now seeing an option which may change to other options if and when the buried rises from the dead, a complication that couldn’t be in the making had there been no “death.”
Shame on DAYS for writing a soap storyline (sarcasm)!
4ever DAYS you obviously are ignorant on what the term Bury Your Gays means because it does apply to Will Horton and no amount shilling for the show or attacks on Guy Wilson because you don’t like him is going change fact of what they did which was wrong on every level. Will Horton has many more fans on his own than either Sonny or Paul combined. The show lost many viewers because of them killing off Will Horton and because of them having the worst writers in soaps who caused other viewers to also leave the show because of their destructive agenda which has ruined many now former viewers favorites. I will say that at least Guy cared deeply about fans of Will and WilSon even through the bad writing he was receiving from the show while Freddie has effectively turned his back on WilSon fans even though they had been supporting him for years and helping him financially fund his side projects.
You are ignorant, Art, for expecting characters to be treated differently because of their sexual orientation. It’s also ignorant to expect Freddie Smith to lay down and die because “Wilson” doesn’t presently exist. I suspect you’ll need therapy when Sonny and Paul get together. Good luck!
You are terrible for trying to use the character of Will against Freddie, the actor! Give me 25 push-ups and 50 sit-ups and SHUT UP!
I see 4ever DAYS is continued to be allowed to make personal attacks on other posters (whilst misrepresenting what they’ve actually said in their posts, and barking orders at them!). Same old, same old, it’s been going on 4ever!
Hah! Hah! It’s funny though.
4ever and Maxie1215 are both entitled to their view on this interview – and 4ever trying to shout other people down speaks for itself.
I can’t begrudge Freddie for appreciating opportunity to develop his character outside of Will’s story, because that’s not really happened before. *BUT* Freddie said he was glad they “go there”, regarding the killing of Will, and he even acknowledged that’s going to be unpopular, so, really no one can sensibly complain if he gets backlash from people who are upset about the killing off of Will – a long-beloved character who has grown up on the show, who was murdered-off in an insulting series of events, who’s only logic seemed to be to woo homophobic viewers and slap Will fans and LGBT people and their allies in the face!
I feel Freddie did say insensitive stuff in this interview. The phrase “little tragedies” was unfortunate to say the least. I realize he was trying to make a positive point about people coming together in the aftermath of tragedy, but it was still a *very* ill-considered choice-of-words, which really jolted me. The tragedies that have been happening recently (and they were talking about the Orlando massacre!) have not been little in any sense. Perhaps if he stopped treating people as marks to sell a certain infamous toxin-containing skin lotion to, he’d come across better (and I’ve seen a video of him teaching his sales people how to sell, so I feel entitled to say that – it was shocking to say the least!).
Also, to me, he came across as positively gleeful that Will was out of the picture. I’ll say this – if it does turn out that Days *has* resurrected Will, then that might put a different spin on some of Freddie’s remarks.
We’ll see!
A “blatant pander to anti-gay hatred…”? Really? I realize everyone has their own perception of things, but damn, that is out there, even for me. Holy crap.
Freddie almost seemed delighted that Will was killed and that “great exit” he got caused someone who had called him a friend to lose their job. I think someone needs to educate Freddie on why it was wrong to kill off Will and teach him about Bury Your Gays.
so excited that freddie is back on dool…………………
The writing on Days is so bad it’s funny. Case in point: turning Sonny into a deadbeat dad and criminal. I get that Freddie hates the character of Will but his smug cluelessness in this interview does him no favors.
Sonny’s return is not sufficient. Days writers have done so much wrong and are working overtime to literally destroy the character of Steve our Patch man. As such there will not be a single reason left to bother with this unrecognizable program!
They did succeed in making me so dislike Kayla I wish only that this time Steve left her once and for all and found someone new.
Her hypocritical self righteousness is alarming. MBE is not in any form of awarding winning storyline now!
Well, I can’ t speak for others, but as a Gay male viewer, I’ve been loyal through the last Five months of Days of Our Lives which have been dreadful. Horrendous writing, bland performances and lackluster characters.
I miss the character of Sonny and glad he is back and I hope something happens with Paul, who literally has NOTHING to do on this show except buy hamburgers and look on the computer for clues for Theresa’s baby’s kidnapping. I suspect that if “Will returns” it may only be as the spirit of Will, telling Sonny it’s all right for him to “get on” with his own life. Of course, I don’t know, maybe they will explain that Will didn’t actually get strangled…..or climbed out of a body bag…..or was sent to a far off Island to recover – it’s a Soap, so who knows. But LATELY the show has just been awful and it seemed to me that when it centered more around Sonny, Will, Paul, the necktie killer, and Paige and JJ (they had chemistry, there’s little between JJ and Gabbi) – we can’t all like every single storyline, and I get that – but I hope that Sonny being back on the canvas helps the show overall.
Sonny’s return won’t help the show.The show has ruined many characters or killed them off and the writing is just awful.
Great interview, Michael!
The show made a mistake by ending the gay storyline last year, I’m really happy that it’s coming back with Freddie’s return. Sonny is one of the best characters Days of our Lives has ever had. I’m excited to see what’s next for him, I hope he gets back together with Paul who is a great guy and I believe genuinely loves Sonny. I would be fine with Will not returning but since it’s a soap he probably will, once Sonny is completely in love with Paul.
I can’t see how anyone would be happy to see any favorite character return to be mauled by Dena’s poison pen. Josh was no better. Days is now a show where the “heroes” can commit any crime without consequence or care and hurt whomever they want. They are only heroes because the writers like them. How many of the show’s legendary heroes – starting with Hope – are now murderers or accessories to murder? They think this is “dark and edgy” but it’s just nasty and mean.
Sonny went bankrupt because he didn’t want to take a handout from his family, and he wanted nothing to do with the criminal elements of Victor’s business. So, now he’s fine with all that? Are we supposed to believe that Victor isn’t dealing drugs out of his clubs or that Sonny didn’t realize it? Sonny was, at his core, a good person. That’s why fans love him. Loved. I don’t need to see him involved in Victor’s crimes.
If Sonny was wrecked by grief and made bad choices, that would be plausible, but it’s clear that both Freddie and sadly Sonny, is glad Will is dead and doesn’t see himself as Arianna’s father anymore. That’s very sad and it’s bad writing.
I think a Will return is probably in the cards, but I really, really don’t want him back to be harmed by Dena’s poison. I also don’t want to see Paul excuse Sonny being a criminal.
I hope Sonny and Paul are a success who succeed in a sex session on Will’s grave!
Too bad that’s not going to happen
I’m so happy that Freddie came back & is finally having the story that he deserved! He’s an amazing actor & Sonny is a beloved character & many Days fans are so excited for his return. Can’t wait to see what’s in the store for him & for PaulSon 🙂
It’s clear he’s happy with being in the spotlight but lets see how long that lasts. This whole interview contradicts his character. Getting involved with Titan for example. And why not say anything positive about Will, the character that got him his popularity instead of being thankful it wasn’t him being killed off. I truly believe Will is coming back alive and not as a ghost. Freddie’s coming off really bad in this interview. I don’t think his return is going to help ratings that much. In fact there’s a lot of people not caring about the return at all because the show’s so bad. I haven’t watched in months but it seems like I’m not missing much. Paulson is a no for me. I like both characters but together, not so much. Paint would be more interesting to watch. This whole interview is horrible. He’s basically isolating the fans that helped his character get where he is now
I am so happy to see Freddie back. I love the character of Sonny, and I know Freddie will do great. Looking forward to the show more than ever now. I hope Freddie will be with us a long time.
Me, too, Nate. So handsome, charming, decent, sexy, and hopefully they’ll let his hair grow a bit. Can’t stand these buzz cuts. Looking forward to seeing what romance is coming for Sonny.
He is Ari’s father and the writers should let him adopt her. This would make Ari a Kiriakis which would not set to well with members of the Brady, Hernandez and Horton families who hate the idea for different reasons. He should move in with Gabi, and thus begin the storyline I’d like to see Gabi attempting to wreck his relationship with Paul. Sonny and Gabi have a connection but Sonny sees Gabi as a little sister and Gabi sees Sonny as the guy she should have married.
Obviously it was only a matter of time until Sonny came back from Paris.
After all, “once they’ve seen Salem, how ya gonna keep ’em down on the farm?”
Besides, Salem’s coffee is far too addicting.
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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