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Photo Credit: NBC.com/JPI Studios
Of course. You don’t get that often, but I don’t think anyone can say anything otherwise about the three of you, especially after that episode.
Thank you.
Was David Abraham’s death always a part of the plan?
No, no it wasn’t. Well…it’s hard to say. I think the entire time Sal and I would always come to each other to see if we’d heard anything. We never knew what the writers were gonna do! There was a time where we were under the assumption that she would go full term and have the baby. Then we would hear whispers that it might not happen. So, we never really knew until we found out for sure maybe? I think we may have found out maybe a week, a few days before we had to shoot it?
Wow.
I don’t know for sure, but I think it might have something to do with Abigail being pregnant at the same time. Personally, I think it would have been too much to have two characters dealing with a new baby on the show. I think that may have something to do with it. Maybe the writers in the room were like, “Hey, you know. We gotta go with one, which one do we go with?” But that’s just me making an assumption.
Even though it was tragic to watch, the way it set up Lani and Eli after the fact is bringing an interesting and unique drama – more than a regular birth bringing characters together. One of the things we hear a lot from viewers is they like that Eli and Lani are kind of working backwards from the normal routine. They rushed into something, it didn’t work out and now they’re trying to work through it. For a show that’s been on 50 plus years, there’s been a lot of the same so it’s nice seeing something different. Still sad we had to lose the baby for that.
Slow burn is what I hear them call it.
The slow burn is the probably the most popular (and frustrating) thing in the soap opera community. People want that pressure and torture so when characters do get together, it’s the best feeling.
[Laughs] I see that a lot!
You mentioned the great feeling when people value your work as a newcomer on the show compared to veterans. There’s always a big controversy when new characters come to town because as welcoming as some soap fans can be, they can also not be so welcoming.
Mhm, mhm!
Especially when there’s a vague history connecting back to someone on the canvas. But I have to say, people were pretty happy to see Eli. Did you feel that reaction?
Yeah, I did because I had something to compare it to from being with The Young and the Restless. You know, people hated Mason. He was siding with Victor and helping out with his whole plot against Sharon. Sharon’s this beloved character on the show. There was just a lot of backlash against Mason. So, coming over to DAYS, I definitely felt the difference. With any new character coming onto the show, there’s always going to be fans who wait it out and decide if they like the character or not. Which I totally understand because I’m the same way with shows that I watch.
I think a big part of it was that, you know, he’s a Horton. That’s just major to everyone who is a DAYS fan. It makes sense too, because characters who haven’t been seen for forty years can get up to a lot. It’s not completely implausible that David would have a son we hadn’t heard about.
I think it also helped that all the characters on the show welcomed him as well! That definitely helped. He didn’t come on and have enemies right off the bat. I just think he may have had some disagreements with Lani, but there was nothing super serious [or] some hatred going on.
Again, it’s something that goes against that usual soap trope that we’ve seen before. The secret kid comes back, and people have a lot of questions about the authenticity of it all. It was nice for people to welcome him since… you know, he’s not a white Horton.
Yeah, exactly!
David and Valerie were a big thing! So, him coming back saying he’s David’s son, people understood.
As opposed to somebody who was burned alive on TV and they’re back on screens in six months. You know what I’m saying?
Sometimes it’s completely okay for soap opera characters to not question things.
Exactly.
Diversity is BS