“Days of our Lives” star Al Calderon has joined the cast of NBC’s “Brilliant Minds” as a series regular for the upcoming second season of the medical drama series, which premieres Monday, September 22 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, following “The Voice.”

Inspired by the extraordinary life and work of world-famous author and physician Oliver Sacks, the series follows Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto), a revolutionary, larger-than-life neurologist and his team of interns as they explore the last great frontier – the human mind – while grappling with their own relationships and mental health. 

Calderon is set to portray the role of Nurse Silva, who is described as the Mayor of Bronx General. With his ability to run the hospital while looking good doing it, his warm, funny and outgoing charm may or may not be the reason why he knows everything about everyone at work.

"Hold up, lemme get my scrubs on right quick," said Calderon in the caption of a post he made on Instagram. "Big thanks to my crew, my village, my gang literally couldn’t do this without my right hand @mattgogal @culturedartists. My sweet sweet agent @juliemfulop @akatalent. Extra extra special thanks to @davidrapaport and @nbc for rocking with the kid."

In addition to Calderon, new cast members joining the show during Season 2 include Brian Altemus and John Clarence Stewart, with the former playing Dr. Charlie Porter, the new neurology resident who is guarded, competitive and hiding something from his fellow doctors. Meanwhile, Stewart will play Dr. Anthony Thorne, a mid-career ER doctor who’s grown a little too comfortable with the maxim that emergency medicine is blue-collar work.

Zachary Quinto, Teddy Sears
Brendan Meadows/NBC

The series cast also includes Tamberla Perry as Dr. Carol Pierce, Ashleigh LaThrop as Ericka Kinney, Alex MacNicoll as Dr. Van Markus, Aury Krebs, Spence Moore II as Jacob Nash, Teddy Sears as Dr. Josh Nichols (“One Life to Live”) and Donna Murphy as Dr. Muriel Landon. Bellamy Young (“Scandal”) recently signed on as a recurring guest star.

According to Deadline, which first reported the news of Calderon’s casting, the bilingual actor, singer and dancer is “coming off a contract role on ‘Days of our Lives,” which seems to indicate that the actor will be exiting the daytime drama series in the coming months, though a spokesperson for the soap opera tells Soap Opera Network, “We do not comment on the contract status of our actors, but fans should not worry, ‘Javi’ is alive and well in Salem.”

“Brilliant Minds” was created by Michael Grassi, who also serves as writer and executive producer. Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Leigh London Redman, Lee Toland Krieger, DeMane Davis, Melissa Aouate, Henrik Bastin, Jonathan Cavendish, Andy Serkis and Shefali Malhoutra also executive produce.

Berlanti Productions, Fabel Entertainment, The Imaginarium, Grassi Productions and Tavala produce in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Note: The post Al Calderon Joins ‘Brilliant Minds’ As Series Regular For Season 2; Find Out What The Future Holds For His ‘Days Of Our Lives’ Character appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.
 

 

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Edited July 30, 2025Jul 30 by Errol
Corrected grammar

23 minutes ago, Errol said:

According to Deadline, which first reported the news Calderon’s casting, the bilingual actor, singer and dancer is “coming off a contract role on ‘Days of our Lives,” which seems to indicate that the actor will be exiting the daytime drama series in the coming months, though a spokesperson for the soap opera tells Soap Opera Network, “We do not comment on the contract status of our actors, but fans should not worry, ‘Javi’ is alive and well in Salem.”

We know they don't comment... and their statement does not allude to whether he is exiting or not; of course, producing ten-plus decades in advance helps them. 🤣

If he is going to be stuck with Leo, I'd rather see him go and enjoy watching him on Brilliant Minds.

Congratulations to Al Calderon on his new job!

4 hours ago, Liberty City said:

We know they don't comment... and their statement does not allude to whether he is exiting or not; of course, producing ten-plus decades in advance helps them. 🤣

Yeah exactly. They're what? 8-9 months ahead at this point? So Al Calderon might exit Salem as Brilliant Minds wraps up its season. Plus, last season NBC failed incredibly badly in the drama department that unless Brilliant Minds has some sort of ratings spike, it's not likely to last beyond season two. So Calderon might want to keep that door to Salem open... 

6 hours ago, te. said:

Yeah exactly. They're what? 8-9 months ahead at this point? So Al Calderon might exit Salem as Brilliant Minds wraps up its season. Plus, last season NBC failed incredibly badly in the drama department that unless Brilliant Minds has some sort of ratings spike, it's not likely to last beyond season two. So Calderon might want to keep that door to Salem open... 

Who knows? It seems like Calderon is also doing quite well with his music, so he may want to focus on that, too. The world is his oyster, and he is honestly better than what DAYS has offered him.

4 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

Who knows? It seems like Calderon is also doing quite well with his music, so he may want to focus on that, too. The world is his oyster, and he is honestly better than what DAYS has offered him.

Oh I agree. Even if Brilliant Minds gets cancelled, it might lead to better things for him. I suspect that he'll leave DAYS and wouldn't go back until all other options tanked. Javi has hardly been a great role for him to show his acting chops, even if I'm sure he's happy to have had a reliable income. 

But we'll see. He might reason that if he can do both for a bit it'd help him build up a nest egg. 

13 minutes ago, te. said:

Oh I agree. Even if Brilliant Minds gets cancelled, it might lead to better things for him. I suspect that he'll leave DAYS and wouldn't go back until all other options tanked. Javi has hardly been a great role for him to show his acting chops, even if I'm sure he's happy to have had a reliable income. 

But we'll see. He might reason that if he can do both for a bit it'd help him build up a nest egg. 

I think NBC giving Brilliant Minds a second season was fantastic and the right move; its ratings are fairly good. In December 2024, it ranked eighth, behind Special Victims Unit, which I do believe is a promising sign that audiences are there for the series. I am sure the network will be looking at how it performs during its second season this fall.

As for doing both, it may be difficult. Days of Our Lives tapes in Los Angeles, while Brilliant Minds films in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, I believe.

8 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

I think NBC giving Brilliant Minds a second season was fantastic and the right move; its ratings are fairly good. In December 2024, it ranked eighth, behind Special Victims Unit, which I do believe is a promising sign that audiences are there for the series. I am sure the network will be looking at how it performs during its second season this fall.

As for doing both, it may be difficult. Days of Our Lives tapes in Los Angeles, while Brilliant Minds films in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, I believe.

Yes it does

Regardless of what happens, we'll be seeing him as Javi in Salem until at least 2027 at this point. 

For all we know, Al Calderon could've left months ago in real time.

The show is recasting per Deadline.

3 minutes ago, Errol said:

The show is recasting per Deadline.

Well, that's all the answer we needed. 🤣 They said, "SON won't get the exclusive. Deadline Hollywood will." damn.

20 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

Well, that's all the answer we needed. 🤣 They said, "SON won't get the exclusive. Deadline Hollywood will." damn.

Technically, Deadline's "sources" are saying they are recasting the role, so the show didn't necessarily tell the outlet anything different from what I previously reported. Haha.

11 minutes ago, Errol said:

Technically, Deadline's "sources" are saying they are recasting the role, so the show didn't necessarily tell the outlet anything different from what I previously reported. Haha.

Still should have been SON, but I am biased. 🤣

I don't see why recast when the character is kind of taking up space