Kristen fooled a lot of people while she was pretending to be Nicole on Days of Our Lives, but how did she manage to pull the wool over Brady’s eyes when the two had been so intimate? Actor Eric Martsolf explains.
“You know, I came from Passions,” Martsolf (Brady) tells Soap Hub, referring to the outlandish plot that had his character not being able to tell the difference between the two women.
“And when I say I came from Passions, I mean that in the best possible way. When I got the script [where Brady slept with ‘Nicole’], everyone around me in the makeup room was, ‘Can you believe this?’ I was like, ‘Yeah! We can do this!'”
Martsolf points out the story isn’t so much about Brady being duped as much as it is how he’s reacting to the truth.
“Being on Passions taught me to be tolerant of crazy storylines. They’re all a vehicle to go somewhere else. The fallout will be more interesting. The relationships [among the characters] have solid roots.
“Kristen and Brady go back a long time. And then, when you bring in Nicole and Eric (Greg Vaughan) [you have] these couples that people have rooted for.”
The actor applauds head writer Ron Carlivati for crafting the tale of masks and betrayal. “Ron’s doing an interesting job in bringing the ‘silly’ and the ‘fun,’ but at the end of the day there’s some real-life emotional baggage that comes out of these storylines, which is what Passions did pretty well.”
Speaking of Passions, Martsolf says he was interviewed for a documentary that’s taking a look at the series on its 20th anniversary.
“I walked into a room in Studio City and I’m staring at Lindsay Hartley (ex-Theresa), Natalie Zea (ex-Gwen), and Travis Schuldt (ex-Ethan). We had two Ethan’s, a Gwen, and my Theresa. We shared so many laughs.
“They wanted us to do interviews separately but Lindsay wanted us to do it together. I’m not sure when it’s airing but it was so much fun to take a walk down memory lane.”
As Passions fans recall, Ethan and Theresa did get their happily ever after but late head writer James E. Reilly opted not to have a similar finale for star-crossed lovers Sheridan (McKenzie Westmore) and Luis (Galen Gering, Rafe, DAYS). “That is a conspiracy,” concurs Martsolf. “A lot of fans were upset about that.”
On DAYS, fans have noticed that Brady’s been calling Marlena (Deidre Hall) “Mom” lately. “She had a lot to do with his upbringing,” Martsolf says. “We all know blood doesn’t necessitate motherly qualities. Whenever I get the chance, I’ll throw in a ‘Mom.’ Marlena’s always been there for Brady.” Days of Our Lives airs weekdays on NBC. Check local listings for air times.
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