In 1992, rising star Patrick Muldoon joined the cast of Days of our Lives as young leading man Austin Reed, a boxer, who won the heart of Carrie Brady (Christie Clark) and was the object of Sami Brady’s (Alison Sweeney) obsession!
Patrick Muldoon — Exclusive Interview
Muldoon reprised the role of Austin in 2010 and played him for a few years before exiting Salem again. As far as DAYS fans are concerned, he’ll always have a special place in their hearts. Soap Hub recently chatted with Muldoon about his daytime experience. Read on as the actor goes down memory lane.
Soap Hub: Was there anyone whose work you admired at DAYS; someone you kept an eye on?
Patrick Muldoon: Yeah. Everybody! I came in with Christie Clark [ex-Carrie] and all of us — Lisa Rinna [ex-Billie]; we were all young and learning the ropes, which was rough, having to do the whole 30-pages-a-night thing. Deidre Hall [Marlena] is somebody I’d watch. She’d say, ‘You want me to cry? Out of which eye.’ I love watching pros like her and Thaao Penghlis [Tony/ex-Andre], who made me laugh so much. I’d watch Joe Mascolo [ex-Stefano]. Robert Kelker-Kelly [ex-Bo] took his stuff so seriously.
Sami being in love with Austin drove story for years! She was relentless!
Yes! I remember Ali’s [Sweeney; Sami] screentest. She came in and she held it down even then. I watched it and thought, ‘Yeah, that’s the one.’ Sami was going to have her way, sister or no sister. There was a sense of camaraderie [among all of us] as we so innocently figured it out as we went along. It was the first time I’d walk down the street and I’d be like, ‘What are you looking at?’ Then, I realized ‘Oh, the shows must be airing.’ It was the first time I had a real sense of that. We were blessed to be in that chapter – pre-TiVo. Kids on college campuses watched DAYS every day at 1 p.m.
Did Days of our Lives ever try pairing you with anyone other than Christie’s Carrie?
Yes. They tried Jennifer [Melissa Reeves] and Austin. The fans were like don’t you dare mess up Jack [Matthew Ashford] and Jennifer and don’t you dare mess up Carrie and Austin!
Is there a powerful moment you played that was memorable – before you answer, I’m going to guess it was Austin’s reunion with Kate (Deborah Adair)?
That was it! The was the main moment. I think I might have known I was leaving the show at that point, but the really cool thing as an actor; there’s a part of acting that’s unconscious; there’s nothing like working on a soap opera every day, especially when you are young. You’re more in your imaginary circumstances than you are in your real life. I remember that scene. So much came out of me. It was a surprise to me – how much he needed his mother. You’ll never get anything but warm fuzzies from me when I talk about DAYS.
Do you ever run into your former TV sister Lisa?
Yes. I ran into her at Denise’s [Richards, Shauna, The Bold and the Beautiful] wedding. That was on the [Real Housewives of Beverly Hills]. Denise had just come onto the show so they filmed her wedding to Aaron [Phypers]. I don’t really know the whole reality world, what’s orchestrated, what’s not.
So, I’m at the wedding, and halfway through, Lisa says to me, ‘Patrick, come down here.’ Denise and I were girlfriend and boyfriend for while. We had dated, and Lisa and I [also] had had…a moment back in the ’90s. And, so, they both nailed me on the show about dating them at the same time. I didn’t remember that. But they put that on the show. It was all in good fun. All in good fun.
Ali’s coming back as a regular at Days of our Lives next year. Any chance the show could lure you back for some shows?
Of course. Yeah! Why not?
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.
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