DAYS: Behind the Scenes, Articles/Photos

[Vee]

I'm not claiming he was a saint or excusing his alleged behavior. I just think he was second to none as Edmund in the '90s, and while I like Drake a lot I can't see him doing it better.

[carolineg]

I don't disagree.  I can almost see it with Drake, but not fully.   Listen, in the end it worked out for both of them

[Khan]

Nancy?  As in Lee Grahn?

I'm trying to remember what she tweeted about JC, but it's been a few semesters.

The beauty about AMC's writers, though, was how they would tailor or re-tailor a character to fit the actor's personality.

Plus, remember that AMC and DAYS were timeslot competitors for many years.  If DAYS had decided to ditch Drake, who'd built up a following as Roman Brady #2, I think AMC would have at least offered him a spot on their show, if only to lure his fans away from one show and toward the other.  Just as Y&R figured getting Peter Bergman, who'd just been dumped as AMC's Dr. Cliff Warner, to succeed Terry Lester as Jack Abbott would help lure AMC viewers to Y&R.

Edited May 9, 2022 by Khan

[carolineg]

Yes.  Nancy Lee Grahn.  This is her statement.  Right when he passed-(SIC because there are mispellings)

While I worked with John and am sad about his passing, I also mourn the many atmosphere players who confidided in me that he exposed himself to them and when I reported it, NO ONE DID ANYTHING. Some will say now is not a good time. I will argue it’s never a good time.

[Khan]

Oh, yes.  Now I remember.  Unfortunately.

Thanks, @carolineg.

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[carolineg]

Yeah.  It's hella awkward.  Because he passed and has a child it's unfortunate that it is published on the internet without proof. But at the same time I don't doubt it's true..It's just definitely not the appropriate time to bring it up. 

But Drake playing Edmund is really looking solid now lol.. 

[Khan]

Don't let JC's alleged bad behavior color your impressions of Edmund, lol.  If you agree with @Vee and others that only JC could have played Edmund - and by the way, I'm not suggesting that they're wrong to believe as they do - then stand firm.

I'm just saying, I think Drake had what it took to be successful on a show like AMC.  If he had played Edmund, it wouldn't have been the same as when JC played him, but it still would've been a successful character nonetheless.  His Edmund would've been just...different.

Edited May 9, 2022 by Khan

[carolineg]

I don't feel him as Edmund as he was played by JC.   It doesn't seem like a good fit for me.  BUT if they tailored it to be a little more blue collar and a rough and tumble guy you can have beer with sure.  But that's almost a completely different character.  I don't doubt Drake couldn't have made it work on charisma and chemistry alone, but it's hard to compare with something that's almost incomparable.   I am going to be honest and say I can barely envision Drake doing anything but swoon over Marlena.

And well were are at it "Doc" and "Fancy Face" are the two most obnoxious nicknames of all time!!

[Khan]

Well, that's how I would have written Edmund.  After all, he was a journalist, lol.

[carolineg]

Yeah.  I want to stand firm one way or the other but I just can't.   I like the idea, but I am not fully seeing it lol.  I think Drake could have been a star on almost all the soaps, but it's just hard to picture him on them if that makes sense.  Characters would have to be tweaked a lot to fit him in.

Edited May 9, 2022 by carolineg

[Wendy]

I think casting - as @carolineg points out - makes a difference for any role. Would Drake have worked as Edmund Grey? Maybe. He had the charisma and charm. But he may not have been a journalist had Drake played him.

To use an old prime time example, apparently, the character of Sam Malone on Cheers had apparently been envisioned not as an ex-baseball player, but an ex-football player! And one of the actors in contention for the role was real-life former L.A. Rams player turned actor Fred Dryer (who would recur as sportscaster Dave Richards on the show and also got his own big break with Hunter, obviously!) I think I even read that William Devane (ex-Greg Sumner, Knots Landing) had also read for Sam.

However, once Ted Danson got the role, it was changed so that Sam was a former member of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, and the rest is history.

(On a side note, another actress up for Diane Chambers was Julia Duffy. She, of course, landed on Newhart as Stephanie. I think she even appeared in a Cheers episode as a friend of Diane's, but I can't be sure.)

So I think any role can be played by almost any actor if the details are tweaked just so...

[will81]

Julia Duffy did appear and I think she may have appeared in an episode with Fred Dryer. Maybe not, but I'm pretty sure she did. 

[carolineg]

You articulated that better than I could.  Do I think Drake could have played Edmund?  Yes, but not the Edmund that JC played.  Drake could definitely fill that role with the same co-stars, but I can't see him as a journalist per se.  The character would just have to be built more around Drake's strengths than JC's.  But I have a hard time imagining him as anything other than John Black/Roman Brady.  

I had the same feeling when about a decade or so ago people were wanting Dee Hall to go to Y&R as Nikki's sister.  I am sure that would have worked, but I have a hard time picturing it.  I am sure MTS and DH would have been best buddies though.

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[victoria foxton]

 

  

[carolineg]

Thank you for bringing this over!  I don't know if I have ever seen it.  The hits will keep coming for Marlena in 1980.  Again, I just don't know what happened to DH's acting.  She really is good here.  

Don always comes off like a dick in this, but JA/Don are so likable as well.   When she lays it out to Maggie like that you kind of agree Marlena/Don should divorce lol.  Also, spoiler alert Doc!, Kellam was not innocently kissing you.  That's not really a thing.