DAYS’ Susan Seaforth Hayes Talks Julie’s Face-off with MarDevil

It’s going to be a Thanksgiving to remember at the Horton house on Days of our Lives, and there will be a special guest in attendance: Doug Williams. “He’s been locked up and out of the picture for a few weeks,” says Susan Seaforth Hayes, who portrays Doug’s devoted wife, Julie Williams. “He’ll have a resurrection…it’s a pivotal scene.”

Susan Seaforth Hayes Previews DAYS Thanksgiving

The actress previews the upcoming Salem festivities on Days of our Lives. From the sound of things, it’s going to be must-watch TV with a mix of tender and tumultuous moments.

Doug ends up home for the holiday when a judge rules to allow him to leave the sanitarium.
Yes. He will have been sprung. He will have literally been sprung by Julie. She will bring him home in a wheelchair.

What made Julie resort to legal action? Was it because she wasn’t getting any satisfaction anywhere else?
Absolutely. Also, frustration, fear, not understanding what was going on, but understanding that she’s been separated from someone who probably needs her. Julie doesn’t feel threatened by Doug (Bill Hayes). She’s never felt threatened by him, despite what has played out or being whacked on the head. She never believed that.

What is Doug’s condition and demeanor, at this point?
He’s heavily sedated when Julie brings him home. He isn’t speaking. Julie has a moment of singing to him, and he doesn’t respond. She sings the Tom and Alice love song, ‘I’ll Be Loving You Always.’ I was fine to do it, unaccompanied and always singing flat. But I gave it a try. [Laughs}

How would you describe what takes place on Days of our Lives Thanksgiving Day?
Well, like many Thanksgivings in the world, when the whole family gets together unexpected things happen. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Have you ever been to a Thanksgiving dinner where everything went wrong? I would think the whole American humanity relates to, “Oh! It’s Thanksgiving. We’re all getting together. I’m a little bit worried about this.” That little caveat of, “Hmm. I don’t know. It will be great as long as everyone can keep their mouth shut.”

So Days of our Lives viewers should expect a rip-roaring dinner?
Thanksgiving in Salem is quite an event. Doug is pivotal in that event. So is Julie, actually. The breaking point for everyone… [the moment] that’s going to be huge is the Thanksgiving meal.

And it’s interrupted by Marlena (Deidre Hall), actually, MarDevil, who is determined to take Doug back to Bayview. How does Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes) react to that?
She never gives in. She continues, for some time, to be the one character that stands up to the devil – toe-to-toe, face-to-face, symbol-to-symbol… She waxes rather philosophical in the face of this tragedy.

What’s driving Julie to stand so strong? Is it her devotion to Doug?
The healing factor in the Doug-Julie relationship has always been love. And the factor in this relationship with the devil is also love. Love conquers it. Without it you’re hardly human. That’s the problem with the devil. He doesn’t have that capacity.

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.