Meet the Cast Members of Days of Our Lives

Among the current cast members of Days of our Lives (DOOL) are Kristian Alfonso (Hope Brady), Roscoe Born (Trent Robbins), Tamara Braun (Ava Vitali), Mary Beth Evans (Kayla Johnson), Deidre Hall (Marlena Evans), Peggy McCay (Caroline Brady), Stephen Nichols (Steve Johnson), Thaao Penghlis (Tony DiMera), Peter Reckell (Bo Brady) and Suzanne Rogers (Maggie Horton). Many actors and actresses have come and gone over the years including actor John Clarke who retired in 2004 from the role of Mickey Horton.

Many of the DOOL cast members have been featured heavily in other television programs including other soap operas. Mary Beth Evans and Stephen Nichols both performed on General Hospital as Katherine Bell and Stefan Cassidine respectively. GH actress Genie Francis (best known for her role as Laura Spencer) also served a turn as Diana Colville. Tamara Braun and Thaao Penghlis also did turns on General Hospital albeit many years apart with Braun playing the second Carly Corinthos and Penghlis playing a member of the Cassidine clan.

Alfonso did a turn on the night time soap Falcon Crest during one of her absences from DOOL. Other talented cast members including Richard Biggs (who passed away in 2004) went from playing Dr. Marcus Hunter on DOOL to playing another doctor on the science fiction show Babylon 5.

Character Studies

Cast members of DOOL are often challenged by the character studies that are the hallmark of the soap’s storytelling. Actress Eileen Davidson (currently Ashley Abbot on The Bold and the Beautiful) demonstrated her versatility in a challenging quintuplet of roles during the mid 90s.

Eileen Davidson

Davidson began her tenure as Kristen Blake in 1993, originally a heroine, Kristen gradually became a villainess. Susan Banks was a lookalike that Kristen brought in to fake her own pregnancy. Eventually Davidson would go on to play Sister Mary Moira, Penelope and Thomas – all members of the Banks family who looked remarkably like Kristen. In a unique twist, when Davidson left the show in 1998, her main character Kristen was murdered by her lookalike Susan.

Josh Taylor

Multiple roles for cast members is nothing new. Actor Josh Taylor originally played bartender Chris Kositchek in the mid-80s; later he was cast as Roman Brady when a storyline twist changed John Black from Roman Brady back to John Black again. Kristian Alfonso who played Hope Brady was reintroduced as Princess Gina when she returned after her character was presumed dead. Princess Gina was eventually revealed to be the real Hope.

Suzanne Rogers

Real life challenges are also shared by DOOL cast members. When Suzanne Rogers was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (a rare muscle disorder) in 1984, she asked for her character (a core veteran of the Horton family) to be diagnosed with the same disease. The writers accommodated Rogers and viewers of DOOL were educated alongside the Hortons as Maggie grappled with the diagnosis.

Controversy

Soap fans are very dedicated to their favorite actors and actresses. In 2003, facing a budgetary crisis, DOOL killed off several veterans including Alice Horton (Reid) and Maggie Horton (Rogers). The backlash against the show was enormous. Eventually all nine veterans were rehired with new contracts and the fans were told it was a hoax. The damage, however, to the show’s reputation would take years to recover. Veteran actors are often phased out for the younger, cheaper actors in many areas. DOOL countered this image by bringing back fan favorites like Mary Beth Evans and Stephen Nichols.

Gone, But Not Forgotten

MacDonald Carey originated the role of Dr. Tom Horton in 1965. Alongside Reid, he portrayed the patriarch of the Horton Clan. When Carey passed away in 1994, the death of his character was written into the show. Every year at Christmas, he and others are remembered in a special Horton family tradition that involves putting their Christmas ornaments on the tree.