DAYS: Recast Lucas?

[MikeGoldy]

Good question I find the Kate and Lucas relationship very interesting. So much of who Kate is now, is because of her relationship with Lucas growing up, and how she wanted to give him a better life. It was them against the world, which kind of explains her obsession with Lucas now. Also, Lucas is a Horton, something that hasn't ever been explored in any great detail. He's Bill's son, Jennifer and Mike's brother, and also related to Philip and Billie on Kate's side. He has his past as an alcoholic, and that connection he shares with Maggie. I would love to see a real actor and leading man take on this role. It's not even about EJ and Sami; I could enjoy Lucas and Sami with a different actor in the role.

[sungrey]

Exactly. Much as I like Shelle, two different Shawns and three different Belles have been in the mix. With Sami and Lucas, it's been Alison and Bryan all along. You don't erase all that history just to recast a part. Besides, I have to agree that Bryan's been eating up the material a bit better now that Ed's in charge.

[Gray Bunny]

Recasting Lucas would be dumb.

How about a good recast of Stephanie Johnson, since she doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I'd prefer an actress in the role, not a Teen USA model.

[Keith]

I love you.

The problem is the writing, not the bloody character. DAYS has always shown that an actor doesn't have to be 6' tall and perfect to be a leading man.

[MikeGoldy]

I agree that the writing is awful for the character, and to be a leading man, you don't have to perfect looking. Tony Geary, and Stephen Nichols with the patch, shows that. I just think that Datillo's acting is below average; he yells out his lines, and I never see any chemistry between him and his leading ladies.

[IMissAremid]

But you would be throwing away all that past that you mention by getting rid of BD at this point IMO. What is the point of recasting a role specifically so you can mine the history of a character? That just makes no sense to me. I mean Jennifer and Mike aren't even on screen at this point and nothing indicates they're coming back so I don't know what that has to do with anything. Or are you wanting Jennifer and Mike recasts too?

I like BD just fine in his scenes with Billie and Kate and Phillip. For me it's just the romantic pairing of Lucas and Sami is just too far gone to work, and I like them when they are fighting, so again I'll reiterate I don't think a Lucas recast should happen and if for some reason he leaves Days Lucas should either be written off leaving town with Will or killed off for the drama factor. No recasts.

I would actually love this too. After Stephanie found out dating the pretty boy wasn't all it was cracked up to be and decided dating her uncle wasn't her best move while Sami and Lucas's marriage fell apart, she and Lucas could get together to bond over their failed relationships and have a fun fling or maybe even love. Stephanie could work out her daddy issues with an older guy who wants to settle down and isn't a player the way her exes were and by dating a younger woman who isn't a total conniving bitch and has no history with either of his brothers maybe Lucas could finally get some happiness and security about who he is.

[MikeGoldy]

The way I look at it, the character of Lucas has a lot of potential, that the actor can't pull off. For me, it's like Brenda Dickson and Jess Walton as Jill on Y&R. Dickson played the part for many years and was very popular. But when Walton joined the cast, Jill became more of a fleshed out character, because Walton had the skills to pull it off. Even now, with Datillo in the role, Lucas is such a wasted character. You never see him with the Hortons, you never see him deal with his alcoholism, he hardly ever interacts with Billie and Philip, and Lucas and Kate's relationship, which could be deep and complex, is just surface. I tend to think that the show doesn't think he can pull it off, so they don't give Datillo any real story. Ultimately, I know no one agrees, and that's ok! lol but, I feel the character has so much potential, that another actor can bring out. Oh, and his connection to Mike and Jennifer is important, even with them off the canvas. These were the siblings he never really got to know, who were important characters on the show, and could come back at any time.

And No, I want Stephanie for Philip; plus, Lucas would go from being married to sisters Carrie and Sami, and then dating their cousin. What is he, Brooke Logan and Reva Shayne!? lol

[billyjill]

I agree that the character has immense potential, it's been an annoyance of mine for many years that they never make more out of his relationship with his mother (yes, totally interesting if done right, and not just the same old same old Sami/Lucas/Kate stuff) and the Hortons. And I'm not talking just nice fluffy scenes, but something deeper that would tie him in better to the canvas.

[MikeGoldy]

I so agree. It's criminal that they haven't had Lucas interact with the Hortons. They could really use it for future story though. Maybe Lucas stays away from the Hortons because he feels he is Bill's bastard child, and he feels uncomfortable around the "perfect" Hortons. Everytime Lucas sees them, he is reminded that he didn't belong growing up, and he doesn't belong now. His biological father may be Dr. Bill Horton, but he will never be a true Horton. He would gain much needed depth right there.

[billyjill]

I definitely play with that "belonging" issue in all my own "if only" storylines. If it were up to me I would've written some good stuff with Mike, Jennifer, Jack, Lucas, Kate, Bill, and Billie, there are a ton of really good potential character match-ups and uses of history there. A death in the Horton family could be a good catalyst for a real family issues/secrets type plotline.

Alas TPTB don't seem to equate my obsessive fandom with required qualifications for writing a soap

[koos]

I liked Lucas, twisted schemes and all (back when he really was Sami's counterpart), but he really bothers me this year. Why do they continually give him the same sarcastic/incredulous lines? It gets old, and he's become grating. I don't know if that's the actor's fault or the writer's, or a combination of the two, but it has to stop.

[Gray Bunny]

They've been tearing Lucas down to build EJ up. After you rape the woman in the center of your love triangle, you have to make the rapist look better than the devoted hubby.

[maconrich]

I know you didn't ask me, but imo the answer is a clear nothing. Seriously if lucas and sami are the end game they need to be put on the backburner with the airtime going to anyone else. The increased time lucas has been getting has been too obvious. He grates on my nerves so badly that I literally get a headache - as in a little bit of lucas goes a long way and I can only tolerate him in small doses. And the dumbed down version of sami when she's with lucas is almost as annoying.

Granted if the character would stop the ranting, the in your face shouting, scrunching up his face, whining, having temper tantrums, reducing sex to the level of a 15 year old boy and playing jokes that are more on the level of a 12 year old, I could tolerate him a lot better. None of these things are new and the character really hasn't changed much over the years (aka arrested development). There's little difference regardless of the scene - making times when he should be angry or whatever less effective because it's just more of the usual.

The character, to me, is a supporting one at best and the less time he's on the better. And I've felt this way for a *very* long time so it has nothing at all to do with any *other* character. Again this is just how the character hits me...

And BTW EJ has never been written as a one note superficial character, so to say lucas is made to look bad because of EJ... well I don't see the connection especially since lucas has been written the same way for years.

[MikeGoldy]

Right, this so isn't a Lucas-EJ tring. Lucas has been written this way for years, and Datillo has played Lucas like this for years. Who knows if his performance suffers because they write Lucas like an obnoxious toad, or they write him like that, because that's what they see in his performance.

[PhoenixRising05]

BD is a capable actor and has shown that when given good material. I also think he has suffered from poor direction, especially this year. Since ES came aboard, he has improved immensely.

The writing hurts him though. Hogan started out good with him but then it went south. Lucas has great potential. The show should explore his Horton roots and start defining him as a character and not a mere crutch for Sami. He needs more scenes with Billie and Philip. We need to see him as an individual. The problem with Days is that the fanbases don't like that writing. They like their couples and that is what Corday refuses to deviate from based on that. My hope is Ed will put an emphasis on good story and characters as individuals. That would help Lucas immensely.

I would never recast Dattilo. He is established and the character is his. He has great chemistry with AS, LK, JP, and JKJ. The show can't take anymore people that fans can't recognize. Keep him or dispose of Lucas.