Days of Our Lives fans have been very enthusiastic about the drama surrounding the soap triangle of Lucas Horton / Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis / Justin Kiriakis, featuring actors Bryan Dattilo, Judi Evans, and Wally Kurth.
I recently was honored to interview fan favorite, Bryan Dattilo, who has played Lucas Roberts/Horton since the character first appeared in Salem in 1993.
Carolyn Topol Talk: I loved seeing you on Days today. It was the beginning of the wedding sequence. It’s already hysterical.
Bryan Dattilo: You’re going to love it. It gets more hysterical.
CTT: Love the encounters that you have with your on-screen mother, Kate, played by Lauren Koslow.
BD: Yeah, she’s apprehensively supporting me.
CTT: It looks like you have a really big storyline coming up. There’s lots of hints to this. We can see that there’s trouble ahead. What can you tell us about what we’ll be seeing coming up without giving away too much?
BD: I’m on quite a bit in the next couple of months. I do remember that — and it’s a good thing. The wedding lasts a little bit. It gets drawn out due to some things that transpire during the wedding that makes it a very typical Salem wedding. I think that Wally — Justin comes in and is an uninvited guest at the wedding.
CTT: He already burst in today that was the cliffhanger.
BD: Okay good. So he’s [Justin] there. Lucas is somewhat surprised cause Justin didn’t give anyone a heads up that he felt this way. Lucas doesn’t know how much Justin has been there for Adrienne, during the whole situation prior [the chaos due to the three convicts loose in Salem]. I’m not surprised that something happens, because it is a Salem wedding, but Lucas is surprised how Justin comes out and says how he feels about Adrienne, and wants her back — not letting her move on with her life. Those are all things Lucas gets angry about. He confronts Justin and asks why he picked this moment; why didn’t he talk about this before… if he were a real man. He can’t just get his woman back at his beck and call. She’s moving on with someone who’s not going to cheat on her.
I have this big speech about not marrying her on a boat or a yacht, and that he [Lucas] doesn’t have millions of dollars, but he won’t cheat on her. He loves Adrienne for who she is, he doesn’t want to change her but accepts. So Adrienne is torn because she’s got her man from her past and the man from her future… Or at least Lucas is supposed to be her future so he’s battling for her. She’s quite overwhelmed. The fight actually moves to her hotel room after the wedding, where Justin and I are in the hotel room with her. We’re trying to get a direct answer from her. We want to know who she’s going to choose; who she’s going to pick. Sonny [Freddie Smith] is a big part of that because he sees it from all angles. Sonny wants his parents back together, but ultimately he also wants his mom to be happy, so he’s kind of forcing her to make a decision between the two of us. We all end up spending the night in the hotel room together — which is not ideal after a wedding. [All laugh] But it’s very Salem! They begin to overwhelm Adrienne and she ends up breaking down and passing out.
CTT: I know a lot of people have seen the sneak peek that they released at Day of Days. It looks pretty dramatic.
BD: It was. It actually gets more dramatic after that. There’s things that happen with Adrienne after that, that supersedes the whole situation. There’s a lot of depth to the storyline. Which I love.
CTT: Now Lucas, unlike many others has been married several times, rather than having his weddings interrupted. He’s actually made it to the altar, but with some very interesting choices. Is this a fun adventure for you — not getting married for change?
BD: I think with Nicole [Arianne Zucker] she was paid to be my wife, and Lucas felt blindsided by that. That was a disaster. And Chloe [Nadia Bjorlin] — I don’t know what happened with Chloe. It just didn’t work. And with Sami [Alison Sweeney] — what didn’t go wrong with Sami? That’s a three part miniseries right there. [Laughs] And then there was Carrie [Christie Clark], and I [as Lucas] knew that wouldn’t last. She was dreaming about my brother the whole time. So for Lucas this is like his last hurrah — his last chance to get it right. There’s not too many people left who he’s not related to. He’s disappointed, because he really wants to marry this girl. He wants to have that stability, in that kind of relationship, that he’s never had. When that’s broken down he’s thinking, “Oh no, here we go again! You can’t buy a break in this town.” He’s disappointed that he’s not getting married, but he’s not willing to give up the fight just yet.
CTT: You’ve focused your acting career primarily with Days of Our Lives. You’ve spent a lot of time with Lucas.
BD: Oh yeah!
CTT: How much is Bryan like Lucas?
BD: I think in order to be successful you have to incorporate some of yourself into your character. But, with that said, Lucas is definitely his own kind of person. Bryan is much different from Lucas. Bryan is not as serious as Lucas. Lucas is very serious. It takes a lot to get a smile out of Lucas. Bryan smiles and laughs everything off. I try to incorporate my sense of humor in Lucas from time to time, particularly during the last five years. I tried to lighten him up and use a little more of my reactions in my tone with him, but the dialogue always instigates him being stressed out. He cares about everything and always tries to do the right thing and be there for so many people. I don’t know if Bryan would do that. Bryan would get exhausted by that. [Laughs]
CTT: You spend a lot of time on Days and you also spend a lot of time with your fans — more than most. What brings you to do that? You go all over the country to meet fans.
BD: To me that’s the biggest part of my job — meeting fans. I get to travel. I’ve been to every single state, and probably two or three towns in each state, in the last 24 years. I think that’s the true reward in the job that we do — actually hearing how many people you affect. When you’re in the studio, or at home, you don’t understand how many people actually depend on the show, and watch it, until you travel. Until you get outside of Los Angeles — how much it means to so many people. People have had bad luck, confined in the hospital, and say things like, “Oh, you got me through that, and if it hadn’t been for Lucas and Sami…” When I’m traveling I hear that people watched with their mothers and they tell me that she’s not here anymore, but every time they watch, they think of her — you guys are like family. Every time I hear that, it beats any award or check I can get. (Pictured left with Guy Wilson, who played Bryan’s on-screen son, Will Horton, at a fan event.)
Actors, despite what people think, we don’t all make tons of money. People think, “Oh, you must be so rich. You must have a limo, a private jet, how did you get here [fan events]? I [tell them] I came here in coach. [Laughs] This is a huge part of my life outside of working. The job of meeting people, and having the chance to supplement my income as well. People may think we’re so rich, but like everyone else I worry about bills every month. Maybe some people have that luxury, but I don’t. I love travel I think it’s the biggest perk ever from Days.
CTT: That’s great!
BD: I love meeting people. I don’t really love sleeping in a hotel bed.
CTT: Is there any particular fan interaction that’s particularly memorable, or stands out, in your mind — positive or negative?
BD: All the meetings have been positive — everybody, really. It’s a great time when sometimes the story line crosses over into reality. For example, when Lucas was fighting for Sami with EJ [James Scott] — when I would travel, EJ would have so much support, people would come at you in a certain way as if you were the character. Then they’d say, “I’m sorry, but I like Sami and EJ,” and then I’d say, “Well, don’t worry, I’m not Lucas.” And I’d let them know that’s okay, they’re entitled to like whatever they want, but they would still say they’re sorry and I would let them know they don’t have to be sorry. They could have their own opinion about it. We all have to remember it’s just a show and I’m on board with it, just like you are. Sometimes people get very adamant about their characters and who they root for. I have to understand that when I travel. I have to keep that in mind when I’m traveling because sometimes when [my character] does something to another character on the show that might make me less appealing and I hear about it. But I’m ready for that and can’t take it personally. (Pictured left with co-stars Christopher Sean and Casey Moss at a fan event.)
CTT: Lucas has always been a personal favorite. I like to see him on the show, but when you have downtime, which we’ve seen throughout the years, what do you do between Days of Our Lives stints?
BD: As an actor, it’s kind of hard because if you are in one medium for so long you, somewhat get typecast so when you go out for other roles, it’s hard, because they only see Lucas. They only see the guy from the soap. It’s kind of hard when you’ve been signing autographs for someone’s mom too, then jump into another character, to be seen as the new character. Acting gigs are hard to come by. At the auditions they basically see Lucas. So that’s a tough hurdle to get over as far as that. It forces me to do the other skills I do well. I’ve done construction at Sony Pictures, which was weird because Sony pays me as Lucas when I’m on, and then when I would go off, I would work for the soundstage guy at Sony. So, I would have to go to the Sony lot and then run into all the executives that I used to see as an actor, while doing construction. That was kind of cool. There were a couple of tours that went by, and they would ask, “Are you Lucas?” [Laughs] I would say, “Oh no. That’s not me.” And they would say that I look just like him. Then they’d ask if he’s a good actor and I’d say, “Yeah, he’s okay.” I’d say he’s okay, but it’s not me. [Laughs] Then they say, “You look so much like him! What are you doing, doing construction?” Well, making ends meet.
CTT: Have you ever done stand up? You seem to be a natural at just enjoying fun in all things. You always bring out the humor in everything.
BD: I don’t take much seriously. I never did standup, because I’m not that tall. [Laughs] So when I stand up people are like, “Are you standing up,” and I’m like, “Yeah, I’m standing.” [More Laughs]
I did standup once. That was actually my first job. It was on a Disney show called Wish Upon a Star a long time ago. Byron Allen was a young comedian at the time. I guess the show was based on what you want to do; what your dream is. Some people wanted to be an astronaut, so they sent them to Space Camp and I said I wanted to be a comedian, so they sent me to the Improv with Byron Allen. We did a routine. It was hilarious. It was great. It was my only comedy thing. I think it was in 1978. [Laughs] But, I did go to the Improv and I performed in front of a live audience. It was really funny. They said, “Here is the comedy team of Byron and Bryan,” and I said, “Or Bryan and Byron.” And he said, “Are you from a small-town?” and I said, “Yeah, I’m from a small-town… so small that when one chicken died, the whole zoo had to close down.” Ha ha Ha. It was just one-liners like that. It’s somewhere out there.
CTT: If there was YouTube back then, we could see it now.
BD: Yeah, you still might be able to get it.
CTT: That would be great. We’d love to see that.
BD: It was a classic. I think I wore a corduroy, tan suit, a blue and yellow argyle sweater, topsiders, and no socks. I was very hip back in the late ‘70s. I had a bowl haircut. [Laughs]
CTT: I know you’re Days fans would love to see that. If we can track it down we’ll share it here.
BD: Wish Upon a Star, with Byron Allen.
CTT: They need to get you and Meredith Scott Lynn at a fan event to do some standup together!
BD: Well, interesting that you say that. You never know what’s going come up on Days. We’ve been taping some really funny stuff.
CTT: We saw when Anne got stuck at the DiMera mansion for a night. Is there more?
BD: There’s more coming.
CTT: Everyone’s going to love that!
BD: There’s more Anne and Lucas coming. She’s fun to work with.
CTT: That’ll make our day. Lots of fun to look forward to! Thank you so much for talking with us!
CarolynTopolTalk.com enjoyed getting Bryan’s take on so many issues. He was generous and honest with all his responses and added his natural humor to the entire interview.