Grab The Tissues: A Dying Brady Says Goodbye to John, Marlena, and Tate

Brady is forced to accept devastating news on Days of Our Lives (DOOL): the end is near and he’s going to die.

“Brady’s been given a pretty grave diagnosis,” says Eric Martsolf. “Kayla has told him that the anti-rejection medicine isn’t working and the likelihood of finding him a new heart at this moment in time is not very good. So his options are definitely running out.”

A Living Will
It’s time, in fact, to tie up the loose ends in his life.

“Brady sees his demise as forthcoming,” elaborates Martsolf. “He asks Justin to prepare a [living] will. Brady basically lets Justin know that if it comes down to being hooked up to a respirator and unable to breathe on his own, he does not want to prolong that. He wants Justin to make sure of that and take him off life support.

“Brady doesn’t want to be a burden to his family and the people around him that he loves,” adds Martsolf. “He wants to go quietly and quickly.”

Saying Goodbye
Before that happens, Brady prepares to have a final moment alone with each of his loved ones. Namely, John (Drake Hogestyn), Marlena (Deidre Hall) and Tate.

“He feels the need to say goodbye to everybody,” explains Martsolf. “It’s one of those hardships in life where you pretty much see the dismal end.

“It’s a very atypical situation where you’re able to say goodbye to the ones who affected your life. That’s not always the case when there’s an accident or when someone is taken too soon.”

Nevertheless, it’s “difficult” for Brady to spend those final moments with John and Marlena.

“He doesn’t want to say goodbye,” he notes. “He wants to start living. Brady thought he was saying hello to a brand new life with Nicole. But he’s realizing that man makes plans, and God just laughs. He feels he’s being robbed of an existence he never really got a chance to have.”

Farewell My Son
The character’s hardest farewell, however, is the one he says to his…continue reading on the next page —>

Continue reading on the next page…

Farewell My Son
The character’s hardest farewell, however, is the one he says to his young son, Tate.

“Brady had finally and completely embraced the idea of fatherhood and domesticity, so to speak,” says Martsolf. “He really wanted to have a normal life with Nicole and Tate and Holly, become a family, and put Salem behind him. Even though the mind is willing, the body is not at this point.”

Brady toughens up before his goodbye to his son. “He wants to be strong in front of him,” points out Martsolf. “He puts on an air of, ‘Buddy, it’s okay. I love you and, shucks, I’ll see you soon.’ He doesn’t want to appear weak in front of his boy.”

A Week to Remember
When all is said and done, Brady slips into unconsciousness and begins fading fast, wrapping up a week’s worth of challenging scenes for Martsolf.

“It was a difficult shoot,” admits Martsolf. “Whenever you have to tape something so dismal, it does have an effect on you. It’s eerie in a sense.

“The hospital bed is real. The gown is real. The tubes are very realistic. And you have these people looking down on you with these eyes of sadness… You can’t help but be affected.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had to play the inevitability of death… the impending death of a character before,” adds Martsolf. “It was a completely different experience as an actor to play the realization of mortality. I can’t imagine anything harder in the world.”

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