The death of Drake Hogestyn (John) has hit the soap world hard, especially for his Days of our Lives family.
Two of Drake’s on-screen children and real-life friends recently opened up about his last scenes on the show and his illness.
Eric Martsolf plays John’s son, Brady, while Christopher Sean plays his son, Paul, on the hit Peacock soap.
As Monsters and Critics previously reported, Christoper and Eric were among many Days stars who shared tributes to Drake.
However, after news broke about Drake’s final episode, Eric and Christopher spoke out about those scenes.
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The two men got emotional as they remembered Drake when speaking with Access Hollywood.
Eric Martsolf tears up honoring Days of our Lives dad Drake Hogestyn
It turns out that Eric had the privilege of being featured in Drake’s final scenes on Days, and he opened up about being part of that history.
“There was a particular sequence of scenes where in which I actually looked him in the eye and said, ‘How you doing man?’ And he did that little grunt that he does and said, ‘Kid, I’m on a journey, got to do my thing,’” the actor expressed.
Although Drake kept his cancer diagnosis private, his Days of our Lives colleagues knew what he was going through and were there for him every step of the way.
“I could tell that he was going to fight hard. He did not want to leave the program. He would compose himself off-camera and get right in there,” Eric shared.
When the scenes were shot earlier this year, no one knew that would be his last scene. The scene hits differently now, especially for Eric, who called it an “honor” to have that memory.
Christopher Sean breaks down, sharing how he learned Drake Hogestyn was sick
Christopher didn’t know about his illness before the last scenes he shot with Drake. Christopher saw something was off and asked his TV dad how he was doing when Drake came to his dressing room.
“‘Oh, not feeling too good, so I’m not going to talk much,’ and I said, ‘Oh geez.’ The first time ever he’s not telling me a story,” Christoper spilled. “So I start talking to him and he stops me and is like, ‘You know what? This is what’s happening to me. I’m going to be honest with you.’ And he told me everything.”
The actor welled up adding, “Oh man, I just remember thinking, ‘No, no, no, no. Not him.’”
Christopher and Eric expressed how much they loved Drake because he was much more than a TV dad. They spent countless hours together, with Drake being a friend and a real-life father figure.
The two men spoke about the number of tributes that have poured in for Drake, who deserved all the praise and love. Eric and Christopher vowed to “Swing for the Fences” in honor of Drake and his signature phrase.
To see more tributes from the Days of our Lives cast, including Stephen Nichols (Steve) and Mary Beth Evans (Kayla), click here.
Days of our Lives airs weekdays on Peacock.