News & Rumors

Days of our Lives News: Emily O’Brien Takes On An Exciting New Role

Published by

Michael Maloney

4 years ago

Days of our Lives viewers can’t quite predict what Gwen will do next, but her portrayer, Emily O’Brien, is announcing an exciting new role that she’s signed on to play and it shouldn’t conflict with her time in Salem at all.

Emily O’Brien Has Exciting New Role

“Incredibly proud to announce League of Legend’s very first Middle Eastern Champ: Samira,” O’Brien posted on Instagram. “I am honored to represent my Persian ethnicity and share my Middle Eastern culture through this epic role. If you listen closely, you’ll even hear me speak some Farsi [language] during gameplay. 😉 @leagueoflegends #voiceacting #leagueoflegends #persiangirl.”

“This is unbelievably cool!!” responded @ritaouttrim. “I’ve just been getting into to League, so this is SO exciting. Congrats!!!” League of Legends, as video game fans know, is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games.

O’Brien first became familiar to soap fans in 2011 when she was cast as the enigmatic Jana Hawkes on The Young and the Restless. Jana made the scene as a Crimson Lights coffee shop waitress and became involved with its then-owner Kevin Fisher (Greg Rikaart; ex-Leo, DAYS). Mercurial Jana went to the dark side, eventually threatening Kevin and Chloe (Elizabeth Hendrickson) with a gun, but then she died of an aneurysm.

Or did she? Interestingly, Kevin was informed that Jana’s body was later claimed by an unknown relative. Were the writers leaving a door open for a potential return? Only time will tell.

Nowadays, O’Brien is having plenty of fun as Gwen, a woman who was introduced as a pal of Claire’s (then, Olivia Rose Keegan; now, Isabel Durant) when they were patients at Bayview. Gwen confided in Claire at Bayview that she only faked her breakdown in order to lay low. Viewers learned that Gwen and Jake (Brandon Barash) shared a past in Philadelphia.

Once she got out of the sanitarium, Gwen reconnected with Jake, whom viewers discovered is the long-lost twin brother of Stefan O. DiMera. What’s Gwen going to do next? Stay tuned to find out! Days of our Lives airs weekdays on NBC. Check local listings for air times.