The search for John has been ongoing on Days of Our Lives, and has been bittersweet for fans because of Drake Hogestyn’s passing. The story was finally wrapping up when Steve, Shawn, and Dr. Russell encountered a man in a hoodie that Steve stated was John. We heard him say one line, and fans thought it was Hogestyn’s voice. However, a former DAYS writer clarified whether or not it was really Hogestyn.
A Big Disappointment
At the end of Thursday’s episode, we only saw John from the back, and he was wearing a hoodie. When Dr. Russell (Michael Dietz) asked who he was, Steve (Stephen Nichols) explained that it was John. “You can always count on him to save the day. Isn’t that right, partner?” he said, and John replied, “That’s a fact.” Jamey Giddens, a former DAYS writer and current Beyond the Gates writer, had originally posted on X, formerly Twitter, that it was Hogestyn’s voice. However, later, he updated it to say, “So, I got my info wrong, guys. Drake didn’t record new voice work for the scene that aired today. #DAYS.”
Several fans thanked Giddens for his clarification. But one still felt it was Hogestyn’s voice, speculating on how they could have done it: “But it was his voice. They could have taken that from any scene Drake practically did. That was his catchphrase. I clapped just like back in the day when Good Times’ JJ [Jimmie Walker] said ‘DY-NO-MITE.’ ”
READ THIS: Take a peek at what’s happening next on DAYS.
The Voice Was Convincing
We do know that Hogestyn was involved in the planning of John’s onscreen death, so it’s well within the realm of possibility that they had him record some dialogue or even a couple of scenes before his passing. However, one fan was insistent that it was Hogestyn’s voice, commenting, “That was Drake’s voice, though, and that’s what I read.”
Co-star Stephen Nichols (Steve) paid tribute to his fallen friend in September 2024, and because the two were so close in real life, one viewer asked, “How on earth did Stephen hold it together?” And another fan wondered, “Wow, sounded like him. Will we know who [the] actor is that played him so we can thank him? Hope Marlena [Diedre Hall] gets a face-to-face like Steve and Shawn [Brandon Beemer] did.”
