DAYS’ Dan Feuerriegel: EJ’s ‘A Very Hurt Soul,’ Expect ‘Darker Side’

Finding out his wife, Sami Brady DiMera, cheated on him with Lucas Horton sends EJ DiMera into a tailspin on Days of our Lives. And according to Dan Feuerriegel, who portrays the betrayed husband, the results aren’t going to be pretty. “EJ definitely is a very hurt soul,” says Dan Feuerriegel of the explosive plot twist, adding that the worst is yet to come. “You’ll definitely see his darker side.”

Dan Feuerriegel Gives EJ’s Side

What are your thoughts about EJ and Sami’s (Alison Sweeney) relationship?
I love it. It’s great. It’s unusual. It keeps you guessing. It’s fresh, and it’s fun. I love that element of old storytelling and that element of acting. It just keeps the juices flowing.

How would you describe EJ’s initial reaction to learning his wife cheated on him?
He’s very, very angry. He does feel betrayed. But he knows that he wasn’t the best person on the planet with Sami. He treated her terribly. I think it’s quite interesting that, even though he finds this out, he’s still like, “I’m going to give you a chance, because I love you.” So he gives her the benefit of the doubt to a point where he’s like, “Just be honest with me. That’s all I care about. Be honest with me.” And she is honest… to a point.

Meaning Sami won’t admit the extent of her relationship with Lucas (Bryan Dattilo), that it happened more than once?
Yes. She’s like, “I did it this one time.” And EJ says, “Well, according to this evidence, you did it multiple times.” Sami continues to lie about that. That, then, sends EJ over the edge. He’s like, “I gave you every opportunity to be honest with me, but you lied to me again, and that’s what I don’t like. I was completely open and honest with you, but you continued to lie to make it not seem as bad.” That’s what EJ can’t forgive. That’s where the blow-up happens.

How do you think those confrontation scenes played out on Days of our Lives?
Ali and I did some fantastic scenes when this all comes to a head. I was really proud of the work that we both did. And everybody else seemed happy with what we did, too.

How does EJ come out of this? Is it going to change him?
Yes. You’ll definitely see a darker side. The extent of the darkness depends on what you regard as dark and remains to be seen. He definitely is a very hurt soul, and whatever comes out of that is the darkness. Everything coming out of him after that is based on that hurt. So he will be antagonistic in this direction, antagonistic in that direction. He’ll be controlling like this, he’ll be controlling like that. He’ll be trying to do all this sort of stuff. It’s a lot of fun.

Will Lucas be part of EJ’s lashing out and feeling some of his wrath on Days of our Lives?
Yes and no. There’s a lot of avoidance. [Bryan and I] do have some really good scenes. when everything is freshly found out. Then, throughout the episodes, we bump into each other and a few more things kind of happen. It’s quite interesting. EJ doesn’t necessarily take this out on Lucas. He takes it out on all these other characters. I find that very fascinating and also very true to life. Instead of the people who hurt you the most, you take it out on the people you love. That’s what EJ does. He’s lashing out in other areas rather than, I’m just going to get Lucas.

Where does EJ go from here, after he and Sami split? Is there another woman on the horizon, like maybe Nicole (Arianne Zucker) with whom he shares a very interesting past?
There is… He does find comfort in another person…in another girl. It initially starts off as let’s just use this to kind of move on from things. But, over time, it starts to develop. And it’s still ongoing at the moment. I don’t know where they’re taking it. This person brings out honesty in EJ. She can see why he’s doing the things that he’s doing and kind of forces him to be honest about it.

Now that sounds like it might be Abigail (Marci Miller), who’s another EJ ex on Days of our Lives.
You don’t know. [Laughs] Quite possibly. There are a lot of people living in the house. The relationship develops because this person is able to pull EJ out of his bullsh*t, shall we say. That forces him to open up and be honest, and things strengthen from there. But nothing has gone forward all the way yet. They’re still writing it. It could take a complete right turn or a left turn or something.

Tune in to Days of our Lives to see what happens to Dan Feuerriegel’s EJ DiMera! Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Salem, check out all the latest that’s been posted on DAYS spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.