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Joining the cast initially in 2017, actor Lucas Adams dove right into the drama as Days of our Lives Tripp Johnson. Since then the character has grown from teenage heartthrob to upstanding Doctor. We sat down with Adams and discussed what it was like being the latest doctor on call, Tripp’s unluckiness in love, what the future holds and so much more.
TVSource: Having been airing on the show since March 2017, what’s been your favorite part of working on DAYS? What was it like coming into an institution like a fifty-plus year old soap opera?
Oh man, I may sound cliché, but I mean, honestly, just working with everybody because it’s so much fun. For example; working with Stephen and Marybeth, when I get to just go in and see them it’s so much fun. It is like a little family. So I’d say the best part about it is just honestly, the experience and the camaraderie around with everybody.
As far as coming into a show with such history, it was nerve wracking, to say the least. It was a little easier for me because I wasn’t coming in as a recast. So I got to make the character of Tripp how I wanted him. So that was at least a little easier for me. But I was also very nervous because I was the son of a legacy character and I wanted to do it justice. So I was very nervous, but I was also very excited for the opportunity.
TVSource: Tripp is finally a doctor now! What would you say your dream story is for Tripp outside his usual romantic entanglements?
With being a doctor I feel like he’s got to perform some type of trauma surgery. I think he needs to perform something like open heart surgery in the middle of the Horton cabin or somewhere like that. That would probably be something fun, just because Tripp would obviously find himself in some weird situation like that. So I think that would be really fun just because I already have to Google all the medical terms I need to say anyway, so if I just have to do stuff with my hands that will be one hundred percent easier.
TVSource: And the cool thing about Days is you can specialize in just about anything and then do the other thing the next week. So it’s fine.
Exactly. You know, Tripp is just a doctor, not necessarily a doctor of anything. He’s a general practitioner doctor. He is a jack of all trades. He just roams around the hospital like “Oh, you need a doctor.” and be like “I just did brain surgery across the hall.” So we’re good to go.
TVSource: Since joining the show, your character has been tied to some pretty big names in Days of Our Lives history. Who has been your favorite person to work with and who is the person you want to work with more?
Well, like I said earlier, Steve [Nichols] and Mary Beth [Evans], I mean the two of them are just amazing. When I first started they really took me under their wing and really acted as if they were my parents in a way. So I would definitely say the two of them, along with Tamara Braun. The three of them together, is just so much fun. It’s hard to explain but when you’re just in the room with them you can’t go wrong.
Then someone I would probably want to work with more because we’ve only had maybe one scene together, tops, is probably Paul Telfer just because a Xander and Tripp scenario would be very interesting to see. I love Paul to death and so getting to work with him would be really fun. Tripp with his mafia background along with Xander and his intense background. You know, that might be a dynamic duo right there.
TVSource: Being the on-screen son of one of daytime’s most iconic “anti-heroes”, Steve ‘Patch’ Johnson, has ingrained your character into the soap fabric. But Tripp is also the son of a mob princess, Ava Vitali. Do you hope to see some of their rough edges rub off on Tripp?
Totally. When I first started Tripp was very troubled and he had a lot of issues with his past. Over the years I think that he’s become much more of the “good guy”, the one always making the right choice. I would really like to see some more of his anger come out every once in a while. Every now and then it’s like, “oh, he can be angry”, you know? And he does have this dark side to him. He just tries so hard to compress it and put it away. Sometimes it just comes out like that. I think that’s why it’s exciting because he is like the Boy Scout so whenever he explodes, it’s almost like nobody’s expecting it anymore.
TVSource: Tripp’s had quite the rocky love life since arriving in Salem, from his tumultuous relationship with Ciara to the rollercoaster that was Allie, will Tripp ever have an easy love life? What’s it been like playing out his constant romantic disappointment?
I always make jokes with Eric Marstolf (Brady) as you know he hasn’t had the best luck with women either. Sometimes you just have the characters that try their best, but that’s never good enough. But hey, as long as you step up to bat, you’ll eventually hit a home run.
TVSource: Fans loved seeing an alternate reality version of Tripp and Chanel get to play out on A Very Salem Christmas, and this week we’re getting to see it play out on the main show. What can you tease about this coupling? Did you expect this to happen in the main show too?
Well, it’s actually been really fun. Raven [Bowens] is one of my favorite people, so working with her is so fun and doing those scenes in A Very Salem Christmas is just almost like an “of course” it is going to lead to this. Because on the main show, both of our characters are just depressed. We don’t really have anybody to talk to. So who else to confide in than each other?
It’s interesting because it’s almost like we’re enemies in a way, even though we were fairly friendly at the time. It is like that kind of opposition that draws you closer. It’s like magnets with opposites attracting. So, I think that they really just needed someone to basically hug and just talk it out. The fact that they both found each other in their arms totally makes sense in that way.
TVSource: It’s been really interesting as a fan to see the quad of Johnny/Chanel/Allie/Tripp and how there’s not really a bad guy there, other than you know, the devil. Viewers can see different angles and everybody can root for each pairing in different ways and that’s been a real joy to watch.
Because it’s really just mimicking life in that way! Sometimes nobody’s in the wrong. It’s just you’re living your life the way you need to live it. Like that’s just kind of how things go. So I think that’s what the four of us have really tried to capture is just that sometimes this stuff just happens.
TVSource: What was your reaction when you heard that Tripp was going to be involved with one of the most iconic storylines in Days of Our Lives history, the Devil Possession storyline?
It was very surprising. I wasn’t expecting that I was going to be really involved with the Devil storyline. Then it kind of just rippled all across Salem.
I love it because it’s really throwing a wrench into everything. So I was actually pretty excited, especially because it’s also, like you said, an iconic storyline. Having it come back is really fun and to get to play around with this evil character has been wonderful.
Also, Linz (Lindsay Arnold) as the Devil – she was just dying waiting to become evil at one point. She was very excited and she’s great at it. So yeah it’s really, really fun.
TVSource: Speaking of Lindsay Arnold, she told us that you’re big on hosting and having your cast members over and having a fun time. How do you all keep your amazing chemistry on screen alive? What’s a cast hang out at your place like?
We’re really good friends. I think that it’s something we all try hard to take seriously, especially when a new actor comes in. We all want to make sure they feel welcome.
Lindsay and I have been through a roller coaster of a relationship on this show. So we have kind of been friends basically ever since she started. I have people over to the house, we play board games, I cook and like to host all the time. We’re all just great friends. Like I said earlier, it sounds cliche, but it is like a big family over here.
TVSource: Outside of soaps, what kind of acting challenge would you like to tackle next?
Well, I’ve always wanted to do something very dark and gritty. Just something that I can just sink my teeth into, maybe a period piece would be so fun.
Wouldn’t it be awesome to see a Western nowadays? Or like a medieval show or movie? That’d be really fun. I really just want something dark and grittier than I usually get casted for.
TVSource: Congratulations on being a part of the second season of Beyond Salem! We know it’s really early to be talking about it, but what’s the vibe on set been like since the announcement?
Oh, it’s awesome. Everybody is just super excited because of the Peacock vibes, it’s like such a different feeling.
The storylines are a little bit different, the characters are a little bit different and everybody’s just super excited to be involved in this. The fact that it’s become so popular, it really makes us feel awesome because we love doing this stuff for the fans. So the fact that the fans love it, is even better.
TVSource: Looking at things from a technical standpoint, was the production on A Very Salem Christmas any different than the way traditional episodes of DAYS are shot?
With the regular show, a lot of times we’ll do rehearsal and then you do one or maybe two takes for some stuff.
With A Very Salem Christmas and Beyond, you’re actually getting a couple of takes. There’s getting more camera angles involved. They bring more cameras in so you can have more of a crane shot or a jib shot and things like that. So they really make it feel more like a movie. But they’re really like taking their time on everything instead of our normal speed where we really just kind of go, go, go, because we are this machine that can do that.
So I think with the Peacock content, they’re really taking their time. For example, with A Very Salem Christmas we had a choreographer for the dance routine come in. We had like three days of dance routine stuff and then they brought in extra cameras for the whole Christmas show. So we would do one take on the stage and then they’d do it again where the crowd is reacting. So that was a little different. They’re starting to feel more like a movie or an hour-long drama that feels like single-cam style, which is nice.
TVSource: What can you tease is coming up for Tripp in the coming days?
Let’s see. What can I say here?
I would say it’s about to get even more complicated for him. I think he’s finally dealing with some of his own, like pun not intended, but inner demons. I think he’s finally just dealing with the fact that his relationship is over. I think that he needs to really just kind of focus on that and just kind of, like I said, start living for himself now.
TVSource: Do you have any words of advice for aspiring young actors like yourself? In other words, any words of advice for the Lucas Adamses who just started their acting journey?
That’s a good question.
I would say get into some classes and focus on memorization. Then after that, work on the feelings and the emotions. Because especially here, you have to memorize sometimes pages and pages of dialogue and just come in and be ready to go.
So I would definitely say memorization and, I don’t know if this makes any sense but, just feeling the flow of scenes. By that I mean just letting the scene come to you instead of you trying to force exactly what you want in a scene. Just let the scene play out and then figure out what goes on from there. You know, you come in, you have something that you have all written down in front of you. But you have to have an idea of how you’re going to be saying this, how you’re going to be doing this, so you have the idea and then you just play with that.
Days of our Lives airs weekdays on NBC. Episodes are also available on Peacock TV.
