In the July 15 episode of Soapy, hosted by The Bold and the Beautiful’s Rebecca Budig and Days of Our Lives star Greg Rikaart, Hall opened up about the surprising start of her daytime TV journey.
The Beginning
Before she ever stepped into Marlena’s shoes on DAYS, Hall, 77, had a brief stint on The Young and the Restless back in 1973, playing Barbara Anderson. “I was brought in to be Brad Elliott’s (Tom Hallick) backstory,” Hall explained. “But there was no there there.” Despite the limited nature of the role, she said it sparked something in her. “It gave me a taste of wanting to be part of an ensemble. And I said to my agent, get me a soap.”
Her experience resonated with Rikaart, 48, who shared his own love for working in the genre. “My personal experience is once you drink the Kool-Aid of getting to do work every day and just the character evolvement that happens when we’re getting script after script, I just love it,” he said. “And I think once I started, I was like, ‘Oh, I will stay at this job or in this genre for as long as they’ll have me.’
The Marlena Of It All
Recalling the experience on Soapy, Hall explained that during the screen test process, she noticed some familiar and impressive faces in the room. “They usually try and have people not in the same room,” she said, “but I happened to see a couple women and I thought, ‘My word, look who’s testing for this.’” Convinced she couldn’t possibly be the top choice over those established names, Hall doubted her chances.
Then came the unexpected call—she had landed the part. But instead of celebrating, Hall questioned the decision. “So I knew, as actors in their craziness know, if they chose me, everybody else must have turned it down,” she said. “There must be something wrong with this part, so I’m turning it down, too. And I did.”
Three weeks later, her agent called, confused. “’Tell me what’s going on here. You said you wanted to do a soap,’” Hall remembered him saying. She replied, “’But there’s something wrong with it. I wasn’t their first choice.’” His response was firm: “’Yes, you were.’”
That moment shifted everything for Hall. Describing it as her “You like me, you really like me” realization, she finally embraced the role. “I love that part,” she said—and the rest is daytime television history. Her portrayal of Marlena Evans would go on to define her career and make her one of the most enduring stars in soap opera history.
Looking back, Hall admits she no longer remembers exactly which actresses made her second-guess herself during that audition. “They were recognizable to me 40 years ago,” she said with a laugh.
Fifty Is Nifty
Nearly five decades later, Hall’s portrayal of Marlena has become one of the most iconic in daytime history. Over the years, Marlena has survived more than her fair share of outrageous storylines—falling out of a window, suffering from hysterical amnesia, being kidnapped, stalked by serial killers, impersonated by a deranged doppelgänger, and most famously, enduring not one but two dramatic demonic possessions.
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What was your favorite Marlena storyline and can you imagine anyone else playing the role other than daytime legend Deidre Hall? Sound off in the comments below.
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