Days of our Lives' Stefan O. DiMera is getting a new face this month: former General Hospital star Brandon Barash (ex-Johnny Zacchara) is taking over the role originated by Tyler Christopher.
Rumors have been circulating for months that Days of our Lives star Tyler Christopher has left the NBC soap opera and has been replaced by General Hospital star Brandon Barash (ex-Johnny Zacchara) in the role of Stefan O. DiMera. And it looks like the casting switch is finally coming to fruition.
Daytime Confidential reports that Christopher's last airdate will be on Wednesday, March 20, and Barash will make his onscreen debut as Stefano DiMera and Vivian Alamain's son on Friday, March 22.
As fans DAYS may recall, Christopher took on the role of Stefan in December 2017 but departed the NBC soap opera due to undisclosed reasons, with Barash stepping into the role. Due to DAYS' advanced shooting schedule, the actor swap has yet to be seen onscreen.
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Barash made his daytime debut as GH's Johnny, a role he played from 2007 to 2013 and again in a recurring capacity from 2014 to 2016. His additional credits include Major Crimes, Timeless, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, Scorpion, Lucifer, and Good Trouble.
Christopher got his start in daytime as General Hospital's Nikolas Cassadine, which he played on-again, off-again from 1996 to 2016. He can next be seen in the family-friendly film Max Winslow and the House of Secrets, which he filmed in January.
DAYS' Stefan has forged several relationships since coming to Salem in 2017, including romantic connections with Gabi (Camila Banus) and Chloe (Nadia Bjorlin). Time will tell how those connections will hold up with a new actor in the role or if the powers that be will take Stefan in a new direction now that Barash is in the shoes of the character. His connection with Chloe will be short-lived no matter what; as Soap Central previously reported, Bjorlin will be exiting DAYS later this year. As for how well Barash can play a villain like Stefan with nefarious parents, it shouldn't be much of a stretch: on GH, he played the son of mob boss Anthony Zacchara.
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