The DAYS OF OUR LIVES Cast Shares What They Want Fans to Know About Deidre Hall

Icon. Mentor. Legend. Queen. Mom.

These are just a few of the words Deidre Hall’s castmates have used to describe the renowned actress. On Friday, May 12th, Hall celebrates her 5,000th episode of DAYS OF OUR LIVES, now streaming exclusively on Peacock.

Joining the cast in 1976 as Dr. Marlena Evans, Hall has been through everything you’d expect from a daytime drama. She’s been married to five different men, come back to life six times after being presumed dead, was the Salem Stalker serial killer, kept in a gilded cage in Paris, and, of course, been possessed by the devil—twice. She’s the warm-hearted therapist the entire town goes to for advice, half of one of the most dynamic, supportive, and loving supercouples in soap opera history, and the current matriarch of Salem, which is a title she more than deserves after four decades.

But as it turns out, Marlena has nothing on Hall, whose compassion, heart, and generosity is evident in each conversation with her DAYS family.

“Her grace and beauty is only exceeded by her amazing acting ability and it’s been an honor to share the stage with her,” Drake Hogestyn (John Black) praised, via an emailed statement, of his on-screen love for the past 37 years.

Give Me My Remote asked several of Hall’s co-stars a round of questions about the woman she is off-screen, the hard work she puts into the show, the lessons they’ve learned from her over the years, and the wise advice that maybe not even the esteemed Dr. Marlena Evans would have come up with.

We’ll share the answers in a series of posts over the next week, but we’re kicking things off with the cast revealing what they want fans to know about the daytime legend…

ERIC MARTSOLF (Brady Black): The woman that they love on screen is just as powerful and loving off-screen as she is on-screen. She has a real thoughtfulness and tenderness about her that translates in real life. It’s so easy to get carried away with the character of Marlena when the person behind the character really deserves to be celebrated herself. The only reason she’s reached 5,000 episodes is due to her incredible work ethic and the fact that she is not slowing down anytime soon. I don’t think she has brakes on her car, if you know what I mean. She loves to work and she doesn’t want a light schedule. She wants a rigorous schedule. She wants the show to be wonderful. I mean I don’t think anybody can really imagine that program without her presence on it.

MARTHA MADISON (Belle Black): What I think [the fans] don’t see every day that we see every day is that she works her butt off. The reason she’s done [more than] 40 years in television and 5,000 episodes of DAYS OF OUR LIVES is because she’s a workhorse. She takes it seriously, she’s prepared, she delivers every day over and over. She takes the team under her wing and mentors them when necessary. She’s just an all-around excellent employee and excellent leader. And exactly what you would hope to have as someone in that super vet position on a show.

GREG VAUGHAN (Eric Brady): She is the heart of hearts. She is strong like a bull but when you get in her circle, you are very well cared for. She’s an iconic actress, beyond just daytime. She’s got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and she is entitled to being treated like one, but she doesn’t carry that kind of status quo…She’s a real human heart of gold that cares for people and I think her philanthropy is a big thing that she does more than people realize. I think you see what you get. She’s truth. She loves what she does. She loves to be at her best and she likes everybody to be on the same page. When it comes to work, we work. When we need to play, we play. She’s just somebody who, I’m proud to say, is not only my on-screen mother but she’s very motherly and protective and maternal [off-screen]. 

CHANDLER MASSEY (Will Horton): I think that she’s got a really good sense of humor. In Salem, somebody’s always dying or something. There aren’t a lot of opportunities for levity. But Deidre herself has a wonderful sense of humor and a great laugh. 

KYLE LOWDER (Rex Brady/former Brady Black): [She’s] incredibly professional and giving. It would be human nature for somebody that has been there for 5,000 episodes to walk through the thing and leave. But she’s always so prepared, always brings her best in terms of her priceless work as Dr. Marlena Evans. She’s so giving as an actress on set…She’s always saying good morning, good afternoon, good night when she leaves the set for the day. She is very giving of her time, her expertise, her knowledge, her work. The Deidre that [fans] meet at an event or on the street, that is Deidre. There are stories in this business and people who are one way when the cameras are rolling and another way when they’re not. And I’m here to say that that’s not Deidre Hall, and I think that fans should know that.

ROBERT SCOTT WILSON (Ben Weston/Alex Kiriakis): She’s a badass woman. Recognize and respect the Queen of Daytime. 

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In the next piece, we’ll delve into each person’s favorite scene with Hall and the ideal moment they’d love to share with her on-screen. 

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