Days Of Our Lives Stars Thaao Penghlis And Leann Hunley On Decades Of Chemistry!

Days Of Our Lives has had many supercouples on the show over the years. Later this year, one of them is returning to Salem and fans couldn’t be happier about the news!

DAYS announced on its app (the DOOL APP) that Thaao Penglis (ex-Tony/ex-Andre) and Leann Hunley (ex-Anna) will be returning to Salem this summer!

Soap Hub chatted with the two when they appeared on the red carpet at the Daytime Emmys in early May. Hunley, who won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series in 1986, accompanied Penghlis, nominated for Outstanding Guest Performer In A Drama Series, to the awards.

We don’t know if you’re coming back as Tony or Andre. Are there subtle differences to the character?
Thaao Penghlis: Yes. One is how I differentiate what I call this lady (Hunley) right here. Andre would call her “Ann-ah” while Tony would call her “Ah-nah.”

What scenes did you choose to submit for the Daytime Emmys?
Penghlis: The black and white ones in which I appeared as part of Abby’s (Marci Miller) subconscious. [Marci] was wonderful to play with, a wonderful actress.

Tony and Anna brought wit and elegance to daytime. Can you talk about when you realized you first had something special together?
Penghlis: We danced well together.
Leann Hunley: I had to learn how to trust him because he could have dropped me at any moment [when we were dancing together]. That’s actually an exercise you do in acting class. I trusted him to hold me up and I think he trusted me.
Penghlis: We like each other. [But in one dance], I told the director I was going to drop her but then I’d catch her.
Hunley: I smacked him when I got up [after falling all the way to the floor one time]!
Penghlis: It was a real slap, but nobody slapped [Tony] like Stefano [the late Joe Mascolo]!

Leann, it’s really hard to do comedy on daytime, but you do it so well. When Tony brought Jasmine the island girl back to Salem it drove Anna to frustration! Hilarious to watch.
Hunley: Anna hated her because she couldn’t compete with innocence. She wanted all of Tony’s attention.

Both Tony and Andre are presumed dead, but on DAYS, it doesn’t seem to matter how many times somebody dies. Audiences may be more accepting of people coming back from the great beyond if it means they can see the relationship once more.
Penghlis: You have to be both likable and enigmatic. That way, the audience doesn’t know exactly where you’re going. I like to play duplicity. Anna was the anchor in our [on-screen] relationship.
Hunley: (Laughs) Unbelievable! Anna was the anchor!

Stay tuned for more info on Anna and Tony’s (or will it be Andre’s?) return to DAYS this summer!

Days Of Our Lives airs weekdays on NBC. Check local listings for air times.