TVGuide.ca: James loved John and Marlena …

DH: But you know what? Dee and I were smart to never address him as actors but as characters. I remember when John Aniston yelled at him during the Emmy Awards complaining about how these snot-nosed kids were thwarting him after he outsmarted the CIA, etc.. Aniston was like, “Victor is smarter than that — something needs to change.” James’s response? “It will.” Well, literally the next day, a rewrite came in and Victor ended up in a coma after a heart attack! James was very passionate about the show. This is a testament to James’s power at NBC — the network was furious because John is Jennifer Aniston’s father, but all he said was, “You keep him happy. He’s off my show.” And as we know, James won that battle. But when James went to Passions, Victor miraculously came out of his coma. When it came to James, if he saw you out of character, you were done.

LMAO!!

http://tvguide.ca/Soaps/Features/Articles/100203_drake_hogestyn_NB.htm

I've never been able to be mad at John or Drake Hogestyn. He may not be Olivier but he's too much fun and I thought he tried very, very had with "RoboJohn," who was great fun to watch. That new iteration of the character could've/should've gone on for years and I'd love to see him return for stints.

This interview just solidified my enjoyment of DH. Vee's right, he's no brilliant actor, but he has never purported to be one. There's something about him that just worked as John Black -- it's almost a parody of a "soap hunk," but with a core of sweetness to it. I miss having John on the show, but it's been good for Days to have think outside the Johnandmarlena box.

That last bit about Reilly/Aniston is hilarious.

The only thing great about this guy is his hot pecs and chest.....everything else is forgettable.

LOL they did this on Friends, Joey claimed that he wrote his scenes or something, next we know his character was killed off by Reilly

Reilly was dead wrong for what he did to Aniston.

When it came to James, if he saw you out of character, you were done

WOW!

Someone was def... well... not all there?

Thankfully whoever took over had the smarts to bring Aniston/Victor back.

Victor was generally written as feeble during that time, but I remember how suddenly he fell ill and then was carted off to a home.

I'm not a huge Jennifer Aniston fan but I liked when she went on Rosie O'Donnell's talk show somewhere in 1997 or so and basically tried to shame NBC into giving her father more storyline.

Reilly was dead wrong for what he did to Aniston.

Yep, just proof what an ass JER was. For years we have been saying that JER had it out for John Aniston, Thaao Penghlis and Matthew Ashford and some people would defend him saying he didn't do that to actors because he was just focused on the characters, yeah right.

Victor was generally written as feeble during that time, but I remember how suddenly he fell ill and then was carted off to a home.

I'm not a huge Jennifer Aniston fan but I liked when she went on Rosie O'Donnell's talk show somewhere in 1997 or so and basically tried to shame NBC into giving her father more storyline.

I soooo remember that. It was really good to watch.

James E Reilly was clearly...interesting.

Wasn't Joey's Days character on Friends called Dr. Drake Ramoré? Obviously a shout-out to DH/Roman.

SO glad JER didn't kill off Victor. He is one of my favorite characters of all time and the fact that he now appears 2-3 times a week on Days makes me a happy viewer.

Also wanted to say that Drake Hogestyn gives a great interview here. He sounds thoughtful, bright and self-aware. Loved the point he made about little kids hearing the theme tune of their mother's fave soaps and it being a calming, nurturing thing for them. Daytime losing that multi-generational audience is a huge blow to its longevity.

Also loved the fact that he gets it about the eyebrow-raising/nostril-flaring jokes. I can't hate on somebody like Hogestyn (or Ronn Moss) because they tend to be grounded and gracious about their soap gig.

Victor was generally written as feeble during that time, but I remember how suddenly he fell ill and then was carted off to a home.

I'm not a huge Jennifer Aniston fan but I liked when she went on Rosie O'Donnell's talk show somewhere in 1997 or so and basically tried to shame NBC into giving her father more storyline.

I remember that! I wasn't a Jennifer Aniston fan either, but she won me over for sticking up for her father. I have been such a fan of her father's for so long. Looking at how much Victor is contributing to Days in this limited role drives home how Reilly and others who followed him have wasted Aniston's talent all those years.

He may be a great guy in real life, but DH is by far the worst actor I've ever seen in daytime. He makes Ronn Moss look like Olivier.

Wow his game show ideas sound atrocious!

He may be a great guy in real life, but DH is by far the worst actor I've ever seen in daytime. He makes Ronn Moss look like Olivier.

Nah....they are both awful. I can hear it now.

Announcer: Nominees for the worst lead actor in a soap ...and the nominees are....Ron Moss and DH.....and the winner is??....IT'S A TIE!!