Copyright Parade
For more than forty years, actor Thaao Penghlis has captivated audiences on Days of Our Lives, as the suave and complex Tony DiMera, and his villainous look-alike, Andre DiMera. In a recent appearance on The Jim Masters Show, Penghlis reflected on how he first joined the long-running daytime drama. During the conversation with host Jim Masters, Penghlis spoke not only about his soap career, but also his passion project, The Great Escape, where he chronicles his journey through the Holy Land and the transformative experiences he encountered along the way. When asked how he came to join Days of Our Lives, Penghlis admitted that working on a soap opera wasn’t part of his original plan. He moved to California to star in Ken Russell’s 1980 film Altered States, opposite William Hurt. “Then we had the strike,” he recalled. The 1981 Writers Guild of America strike, brought most Hollywood productions to a halt. “With the strike, the only thing that we could work on was soap operas,” Penghlis explained. “So, my agent sent me in to audition for General Hospital “ He auditioned for the role of Tony Cassadine, during the iconic “Ice Princess” storyline, a high-stakes summer plot in which Tony’s brother Mikkos Cassadine attempted to freeze the world. “It had a humongous audience, the biggest audience in the history of daytime,” Penghlis recalled. “I remember going in and I got word that they were going to go a different way.” The actor shared that the role ultimately went to André Landzaat. “Suddenly they realized that André wasn’t strong enough,” Penghlis said. “So, they remembered me and they called me in to play the strong Cassadine young brother,” referring to Victor Cassadine. “Pat Falken Smith was the was the head writer,” Penghlis recalled. “I was the only one out of 30 actors who survived that summer story line.” “Pat said, ‘I’m going over to Days of Our Lives. I want to take you with me.’ So I went.” Penghlis noted that his General Hospital bosses weren’t thrilled to see him go, sharing, “Gloria Monty [then General Hospital Executive producer] was very upset.” 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox🎬 Reflecting on his first Days of Our Lives audition, Penghlis shared, “I went over to Days of Our Lives and auditioned with Gloria Loring who ended up being my wife on the show. She was just a delight.” “That’s how Days started,” Penghlis added. “Forty-three years later, I’m still playing character.” Days of Our Lives streams weekdays on Peacock.
