Content Warning: This article mentions a storyline about sexual assault
EJ (Dan Feuerriegel) has done his darndest to cheese off nearly everybody on Days of Our Lives. The icing on the cake was the revelation to Johnny (Carson Boatman) that Dad EJ had forced his mother Sami (Alison Sweeney) to have sex with him many years ago, and is how he was conceived. EJ has angered so many people that several had a reason to kill him, and someone tried just that — by shooting him. EJ is in the hospital and not out of the woods just yet, and with Sweeney's return impending, there’s a lot of chaos in Salem right now.
Don’t look down
Feuerriegel had a fun conversation with Soap Opera Digest, where he discussed this latest major storyline, which he’s enjoying because it’s something different. In order to land in the hot water where he is, the actor explained that EJ had been, “Just pissing everyone off. I got to go full-on hardcore — I mean, as hardcore as you possibly can for daytime TV.”
He was asked if there was any stunt work involved in EJ getting shot, and he stated that the only instructions he received were, “Just fall to the ground. Don’t hurt yourself [laughs].” He further noted that there’s usually a soft pad on the ground, and actors are instructed to be “as relaxed as you possibly can when you hit the ground, and not slamming onto it.”
Chad came in and found that EJ had been gunned down. He called for help and got the DiMera to the hospital, where he landed in a coma. Feuerriegel felt it was fun to be able to lie down on a bed during those scenes, although not making any movements was difficult. He had a great analogy for having to play such a scene: “You know when you think, ‘Don’t look down, don’t look down,’ and you look down? It’s like that [laughs].”
The dialogue was juicy
What he particularly liked about this current storyline was that EJ was at the center of things, allowing the actor to work with other actors who don’t normally cross his path. “It was good to get into some really juicy dialogue and a juicy emotional space,” he remarked.
He also touched upon the three conflicts that led up to EJ being shot. Rafe (Galen Gering) came in demanding a confession out of EJ for replacing him with Rafe lookalike Arnold. What EJ didn’t know was that Rafe had planted a bug in his living room.
Speaking of bugging devices, the next person to come to EJ was Belle (Martha Madison), who pretended she wanted to continue their relationship. However, she was wearing a wire, which EJ sniffed out a million miles away. But EJ’s actions ruined any chance of a reunion between the two as the actor noted, “I think there’s a lot of self-sabotage [there].”
And finally, there was EJ’s sister, Kristen (Stacy Haiduk), who’s always had a contentious sibling rivalry with him. “EJ and Kristen are very, very alike,” he remarked, noting they’re constantly playing mind games.
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But all of those suspects are far too obvious, so it will be fun finding out who really shot him. And with Sami’s return, we’re hopefully going to get some healing for their son, Johnny. It’ll be interesting when she explains her actions to the young man, and what his reaction will be, especially since his dad is at death’s door.
Days of Our Lives can be seen on Peacock.
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