Bryan Dattilo is back on the front burner and feeling like it’s old home week on Days of Our Lives (DOOL).
The beloved veteran actor shared his first emotional scenes on-air today with Chandler Massey’s Will in more than three years and soon we’ll also get the chance to see him with longtime co-star Alison Sweeney as Sami.
Some could even argue that Sami is the love of Lucas’s life, but alas her visit will be short. Despite the relatively short stint, Dattilo relished working with her once again.
Emotional Overload
“I’ve done a lot of emotional stuff with Alison over the years,” reflects Dattilo. “A lot of dialogue and Lucas and Sami drama, which was always five, six or seven scenes in one episode, and two or three episodes a week. I remember those days being exhausting and overloaded with work. That was hard.”
Enter Sami
The prospect of Sweeney heading back to Salem as Sami sweetened the pot.
“I’m really excited about that, too. I miss her,” admits Dattilo. “At first, I wondered, Am I going to have the chance to work with her? Then, to find out we were going to have some stuff together was really cool.”
Reading scripts featuring Lucas and Sami always brings a smile to Dattilo’s face and makes him nostalgic.
“Anytime I’m studying my lines the night before work and I see Lucas and Sami scenes, I’m like, Where did the time go?” shares Dattilo. “It’s like, this has always been my life.
Spontaneity at Its Best
“Alison’s so good at what she does,” adds Dattilo. “She’s so Sweeney. She’s just smart at what she does at work. She sees scenes in a lot of different ways. She’s a smart actor, and she’s also a smart director. She’ll be like, ‘Do you want to do this or this?’
“You don’t always work with someone who has that kind of input, although I’ve had it with Judi [Evans]. We’ve tried things that aren’t really there [in the script]. With Alison it’s, ‘Let’s just do this’ and you do it. There’s a little more unpredictability to [scenes], and it brings out a spontaneity and an energy that is good.”
Decades Together
Of course, Dattilo and Sweeney do have a long history together. They’ve shared Lucas and Sami scenes, on and off, for over two decades, which infuses their work together with an effortless realness.
“I’ve spent more time with her than any woman I’ve been in a relationship with,” says Dattilo with a laugh.
“If you really do the math on it, it’s crazy. Obviously, our connection is different than with other women I’ve had in my life, personally. But the time spent together and the familiarity we have with each other… You don’t realize how close you get with people you work with; even, over time, more than your family.”
Days of our Lives airs weekdays on NBC. Share your thoughts, leave a comment in the section below. Win exclusive member-only DAYS spoilers, prizes, and more: sign up here! Also, join the conversation on our Facebook page.
Share this: