Yahoo! Chat
Drake Hogestyn: Hello DAYS fans! I'm so happy to be a part of your evening. Let's have a good time!
Kri_Days asks: What type of storyline for John would be most intriguing to you right now?
Drake Hogestyn: To slowly receive more pieces of information into my past that leads into something deep, dark, and mysterious.
cutes36 asks: John is Salem's hero; who was yours growing up?
Drake Hogestyn: My father. Dad's always been my hero. Perfect role model. Mickey Mantle was pretty huge too.
luckynumber57__ asks: Drake, do you know anything more about Greta being involved in John's past other than John knew Greta? Will John and Marlena get married after John finds out about his past or before? What did you think of the Yankees?
Drake Hogestyn: Boy, we covered the bases there! I was so happy to see the Yankees win and sweep and to be considered one of the greatest teams of all time. I have an emotional attachment to the team from my playing days. Yankees rule!
Greta is - Marlena doesn't trust Greta. Whether or not John does is immaterial, because John is more interested in the information she can provide for him to give him another piece of the past. John trusting Greta and Marlena not trusting her will become a conflict.
As far as John marrying Marlena, the reason John is not jumping into matrimony at this moment is because he would like to know more about his past, so he doesn't hurt Marlena with something that may be revealed. There will be many romantic moments between them as the story unfolds, and he realizes that her strength would be an asset to help him uncover the past. But he also wants to protect her in case something harmful is revealed.
Leanne_08 asks: What would you think if John turns out to be Roman?
Drake Hogestyn: Today I saw Roman and Abe in the cop shop doing a scene together, and the thought crossed my mind that if I knew way back when that I would be giving up the title of Roman forever, I may have had other thoughts about agreeing to that storyline. I've always had an emotional attachment to the character of Roman.
grace3219 asks: There have been some outrageous storylines on DAYS. Are there any that even you stopped and said "Is this for real?"
Drake Hogestyn: (laughs) I would probably - I've been involved in a lot of storylines that suspend belief. Probably the storyline that was the hardest to accept and hard to act was the exorcism storyline. Just the mere fact that John could ever be a priest was tough enough.
But we played it for the truth in it, and the audience seemed to accept it. It was another twist on the hero-heroine. That would be the most outrageous storyline and one of the most difficult.
DeeHallisno1 asks: Drake, you are sooo hot! Do you think you will be hosting the Soap Opera Digest Awards again this year?
Drake Hogestyn: I have not been asked. I had a great time last year with Leeza. It's probably one of the most comfortable shows I've ever been involved in hosting, because Leeza makes you feel so comfortable, and I would be honored to be asked again.
LisMichelle asks: Off screen, you and Deidre are both proud parents. What's your favorite part about working with your on-screen children?
Drake Hogestyn: I take the children aside when they come into the studio and find me. I have a lot of games and toys in my dressing room and we play and we talk. The whole gist of acting is to feel comfortable, and great things then happen. I love the kids to death and I think it shows on tape. We have a good time. We just play. There's no pressure for the kids.
flslp asks: Do you think Greta will wind up being John's daughter or niece?
Drake Hogestyn: I don't know. I've heard some talk through the studio that perhaps John has had in his past life a relationship with the real Princess Gina. I don't know if that means something more than platonic.
I don't know if Greta is part of that equation in some respect. I'm just picking up the script like anybody else, so I have to stay tuned also.
fool4dool asks: Drake, are you personally pulling for John and Marlena?
Drake Hogestyn: John and Marlena will always have a torrid love affair. It feels as if he has done this in a past life. She has always been there for him. They think alike.
John is deeply in love with her at this point and strongly believes that no matter what he reveals about his past he will always love her.
DeeHallisno1 asks: Drake, I have noticed that you are growing your hair out long again. Is this so you can film Father John flashbacks since Father John had long hair?
Drake Hogestyn: To be honest, I was asked to grow it out, about two months ago. The powers that be approached me and said it would benefit the storyline if the hair were to grow for what we are going to be moving into. It helps with the flashbacks and what is to come.
CamanDays asks: Drake, about the Princess Gina storyline, will Kristian and you have any intimate kissing/making love scenes?
Drake Hogestyn: (laughs). I don't know anything about that story. I'm being honest.
I can only flash back to one of the producers telling me when I was in the dungeon years ago that maybe The Thorn Birds would be interesting reading for you. That was four years ago, maybe five. If we get back around to The Thorn Birds, there could be some romantic scenes if they decide to bring in a Princess Gina. I don't know if that would be an actress outside the current cast, or a current cast member. What do you think?
Yael_17 asks: Please...just say good morning to your Israeli fans (it's 5:08 A.M. and I'm still not in bed!)
Drake Hogestyn: Hello! I'd like to treat you to your first cup of coffee this morning.
Kri_Days asks: What actor/actress most influenced you when you first joined DAYS, and who continues to do so today?
Drake Hogestyn: Deidre Hall. From the standpoint that she was here from my first day. I watched, I learned, I grew, I experienced from being with her.
DeeHallisno1 asks: What former cast member do you miss the most?
Drake Hogestyn: There's so many. I'll start with some of my leading ladies. I've had a few of them! I had a great relationship with Genie Francis. She was a lot of fun. Isabella, which was Staci Greason. I felt that storyline was finished prematurely. We still had a lot of story left. Very sad to see her go. Stephen Nichols was a good buddy. Charlie Shaughnessy. Matt Ashford, who I still keep in touch with on a regular basis. I miss John Aniston. The list could go on and on.
Kri_Days asks: How are you and John Black similar? How are you different?
Drake Hogestyn: There are a lot of similarities between myself and John Black. I'm a true friend. You can always count on me. I would go to battle for you. And as far as John and Drake goes, Drake has one true love who has always been Victoria, and John has a true love and it's Marlena. He's a hero in his kids' eyes. The worst thing that could happen is to fall from grace in his children's eyes. They both enjoy being role models. They're both romantic and sensitive and at the same time a man's man. That about covers the bases on that!
lexieangel asks: Is there any one particular actor or actress that you wish you could have scenes with that you haven't had the opportunity to work with as of yet?
Drake Hogestyn: I've pretty much worked with them all. I'd like to work with Frances Reid more. I'd like to do more scenes with Christie Clark, because I miss those scenes we had when she was my daughter.
candykiss9899 asks: Drake, on the soap today, Vivian signed the papers. Even though she can make you hate her, I still feel bad for her. She's not going off the show, is she? Will John save the day?
Drake Hogestyn: Watch the show tomorrow and you'll get a great reveal. It'll be okay tomorrow. It's not what it appears to be!
Clair9 asks: Are you surprised that John and Marlena so sparked the imagination of viewers that they kept clamoring for them even when Deidre was paired with Wayne and you were paired with Eileen?
Drake Hogestyn: No, because they play so well off each other. Very comfortable to watch. They genuinely like each other, and it shows, and the history is too strong to deny.
lovedjm_86 asks: How would John handle it if he were to learn by some bizarre twist of fate he was Stefano's son?
Drake Hogestyn: He'd kill Stefano. That second.
JudyCAgem asks: How many kids do you have in real life?
Drake Hogestyn: Four.
SweetVanilla13 asks: Why does John hang around the police station even though he does not work there?
Drake Hogestyn: Because he knows more than anybody else. Don't forget, John Black was the Commander when he was Roman. He has the natural instinct - he thrives on his instincts, and he can think like the criminals. He misses that place a whole lot. It's not fun being an entrepreneur.
lexieangel asks: It was very sad when Macdonald Carey died. What is your favorite memory of him?
Drake Hogestyn: In the mornings, Mac would come in, and when he would ask you 'How are you Drake?' He meant it, and it opened up conversation. I remember telling him one time about a Jackson Browne song. One of the lyrics went "People always ask you how you're doing, because it's easier than letting on how little they could care, but when you know you found a true friend somewhere, all the rest are easier to bear."
When Macdonald asked you 'how are you?' he was asking you 'how are you?' That's so rare. He was a wonderful man.
We had a scene one time on the show where Frances was saying goodbye to Tom, and she went over and put her arm around the chair where he sat and said 'I'll miss you, Tom' and she walked away. At that moment, this blue light appeared in his chair! I was in the makeup room, watching the scene along with my castmates, and we looked at the monitor and we saw this blue light. First, we didn't know how to react. We thought they were using a special effect in remembrance.
I walked out onto the set, and the directors and the producers were all standing there with the cameramen asking each other 'What happened? Did you catch a flare?' They replayed the tape again. It wasn't a special effect. No one planned it! Our take on that is that it was Mac stopping by to say hello. To this day it hasn't been solved. Very interesting! True story.
LuvWoozles asks: Drake, what is your most memorable John and Marlena moment? Please tell why.
Drake Hogestyn: There's been so many. The reunion on the docks was powerful. Something funny about that scene - at that time, her hair was short, and she had these extensions in there. In the scene, when I saw her and walked up to her, we're doing the scene and doing all the emotional stuff, and I'm running my hands in the back of her head like 'my god, it's really you,' and I could hear her say 'you're pulling my hair out.'
It kind of threw me for a second, but I literally pulled her hair out, the extensions. She was just wearing them till her hair grew out more. That's why we play so well together.
My first days on the show, a lot of scenes were very powerful, maybe because it was all new. There's something about the first couple months, we had some nice scenes. Some of those exorcism scenes were powerful.
But the reunion scene was strong stuff. The whole couple days after, too. Especially since I was supposed to be at my engagement party for Isabella. What a great show!
I was told that my storyline was between February and May scenes, to help out, when I came on. 'We've got the Pawn, we're going to bring him to Salem, it'll be the February to May sweeps story.' It still seems fresh, though. It seems like yesterday. It's been one hell of a wonderful ride.
LoDays asks: Hey, Drake. What do you do for fun in your spare time? Do any of your kids play baseball, and do you still play yourself ever?
Drake Hogestyn: I don't play as much as I did. I'm still passionate about the game. There's so many parallels between baseball and acting, and I use analogies every day.
In my spare time, with four children, my spare time is with them, whatever their activities are. Ben, my son, does not play baseball any more, though he's thinking about it again now that he's going to high school. He's big on the water sports, living on the beach. He's the number one scorer on the Malibu Sharks water polo team, and as of today, they won the Frontier League championship with an undefeated season, so he is to be applauded for that.
This weekend, Alexandra has a horse show out in Burbank. 7:00 A.M. Saturday and Sunday. That'll be hard on Sunday because we have our DAYS party Saturday night. We'll be packing things up at 5:00 A.M. There's never a dull moment at the Hogestyn house.
Estele_98_98 asks: What was it like kissing Susan with those teeth?
Drake Hogestyn: That is the only time in the history of DAYS we took eight takes to get that scene! You have to understand, the one scene that's the fantasy scene where I was kissing her, she had the teeth out, and she would do part of the scene, and then she'd jam them in her mouth. I'd give her a look, she'd crack up, then I'd crack up - that's the only time I remember when I couldn't keep it together. It was so hilarious!
And no, it wasn't the greatest kiss ever!
male17sixpacklovesexerce asks: Drake, do you ever disagree (to yourself) about how the producers want things to pan out?
Drake Hogestyn: No. That's wasted energy. As an actor, you must have trust in the production team. They do their job. They put it on the page. As an actor, you take it to the stage. And your job is to do the material to the best of your ability, and not change things to shift the character, shading or plot logic.
The aspect of writing the show is impossible. It is such a difficult feat. I have tremendous respect for the writing team. We're having our 34th anniversary party. Obviously they're doing something right.
It's a huge machine. They're there right now, putting up new sets, starting lighting. At 6:30 A.M. they're finishing the lighting and we're back to work.
lisaGriswold asks: Drake, if you could go back in time, would you stick with acting or go back to baseball?
Drake Hogestyn: Wow! I always dreamed of playing for the Yankees in the big leagues. Since I was a child, that was the dream, just to put those pinstripes on and walk out on the field for a big league game. I have to be honest with myself. I was a good player, but I wasn't great.
I still fight myself with that question even to this day. I just wanted to taste it once, come up for a cup of coffee. Minor leagues was fine, but it takes a tremendous talent to make it to the big leagues.
I can play the acting game a little longer. I have no regrets. I'm happy where I am. But I never dreamed of being an actor!
cofdrocks asks: Did you enjoy doing the Cruise of Deception story? That seemed so much fun to do with everyone in one place! Are they planning to bring back Ernesto for the Gina story?
Drake Hogestyn: Good question! We just talked about him on the show the other day. John Black brought it up because he tried tying Stefano into the cruise. I said Stefano was in on the plot to replace Hope with Greta, and he had to know Ernesto and be in cahoots. Whether that plays out anymore, I don't know.
It was fun. Fantastic set - disintegrating ship, the island scenes. Isabella was a lot of fun once again.
Cinderlee1 asks: How long does it take for you to get your lines right?
Drake Hogestyn: I read my scene twice, and it's there. If I can run it through once and have a strong point of view and am on the dialogue, it's locked-in the second time. After that it's a matter of gathering the other actors and rehearsing it to find the strong point of view, wherever it may be, and as a group arriving at a conclusion as to what idea you want to leave the audience with. By the time you come out to the floor, be prepared to make it come alive the first take.
IrishC98 asks: Outside of Isabella's death, has there ever been a story since that impacted you in that same way?
Drake Hogestyn: Interesting that you would mention Isabella's death. You must have read what I said about that. Sad, great, foolproof story, because she was going to die.
We couldn't even rehearse those scenes. It was so well structured and so sad. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.
Other storylines - there was an interesting piece of one outside of the exorcism which impacted me. I know it actually aged me. It was very difficult material. I was taking myself into areas that I had never explored as an actor.
There was a week of intense emotional work that left me very drained. A lot of preparation and homework.
On another note, there was a short storyline with Deborah Moore, who played Danielle Stevens.
She recognized me as being her long-lost husband, John Stevens, and took me to Switzerland to access a safe deposit box. Might get into the same storyline - they did drop it.
There were some great things happening as John Black realized the life he used to live in Switzerland. Danielle turned out to be Romulus, the jewel thief. For an actor, there was a lot of interesting feelings coming out of the character he was exploring, before the storyline was cut short. I was enjoying that.
whimsicalwoman2 asks: Have you ever done feature films or movies?
Drake Hogestyn: Feature films, no. Are movies the same thing? TV movies? Yeah, I did a film with Lisa Hartman called Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues. I did another film called Generation. That was years before I did DAYS. Did a series called Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. But no, no feature work.
missfilagirl asks: Did your children watch the exorcism scenes?
Drake Hogestyn: No, I don't encourage my children to watch the show.
mollybob1919 asks: Do any of your kids aspire to follow in their Dad's footsteps and go into the acting profession?
Drake Hogestyn: No, none of the children want to act. However, they will be on the show for the Christmas party. They are the children in the hospital. We tape on Saturday 11/21, come into the studio and partake in those scenes. It's fun for them. Once a year is enough.
Nakensil asks: Does the cast ever play tricks on one another? What is the funniest one you have ever done to Deidre?
Drake Hogestyn: No, no tricks in that area - Oh, there's all kinds of tricks going on, but I can't offhand think of any I should share!
abercrombarbie asks: Drake, what is some good advice you could give to a 14 year old that wants to follow their dreams?
Drake Hogestyn: Stay positive. Keep in mind that there is no one like you. You have a special gift to offer. Don't let anybody tell you no. Practice, practice, practice.
CamanDays asks: What has been the most frustrating thing to deal with after the new writers took over?
Drake Hogestyn: It was a very smooth transition. Sally, speaking as John Black - when Sally came on board, Kristen was getting ready to depart, so we were concentrating on that storyline.
There really wasn't any tough transition. It was very smooth. There had been other times years ago when there were some problems, but nothing with this one.
True2GB asks: You have a great sense of humor. I know now why all the others speak so highly of you when doing their interviews...where did you get that trait from?
Drake Hogestyn: Life should be fun. People shouldn't take everything so seriously.
I probably get that from Mom. My Dad's a pretty nuts and bolts kind of guy. Sense of humor, but pretty conservative.
iam_mnb asks: Were you named Drake after anyone in your family?
Drake Hogestyn: Mom would never tell me. My full name is Donald Drake Hogestyn. Mom just said she always liked the name. Maybe one of these days, I'll squeeze the truth out of her.
Kri_Days asks: What major storyline which involved John have you disagreed with the outcome?
Drake Hogestyn: Hmmm...I can't think of any. I don't know. I think somewhere in the Chitzén Itzá, Mayan ruins storyline. At that point we were trying to bring Stefano back and he didn't come back. There was something planned that fizzled out.
There were two Romans all of a sudden, and the decision was 'let's go back to Salem and figure it out.'
We were in between writers too. When Jim Reilly came back, he wanted to address the two Romans thing, and we got back into it.
JCrew31 asks: Will we ever find out who "John Black" is?
Drake Hogestyn: In a way, I hope a part of him always remains a mystery. I think right now what is fun is that the audience is learning with John Black.
As he is finding out the pieces to his past, the audience is finding out with him. There's nothing hidden. You don't know what's happening elsewhere - we're all learning together, and I find that exciting.
To the best of my knowledge, I'm Forrest Alamain, taking everything I learned from Lawrence.
Soapfan35 asks: Is it true you were married on New Year's Eve?
Drake Hogestyn: Absolutely! That way, I'll never forget my wedding date.
katazina asks: How do you feel about the millennium?
Drake Hogestyn: Well, let's say that since I have an old Corvette and an old T-bird, when the chips in the new cars malfunction, I'll still be able to get to work.
Loridays37 asks: Didn't John get his name from a plaque on the wall from a soup kitchen?
Drake Hogestyn: The day I shot that show was January 10, 1986, and it was Brother Francis' Soup Kitchen. The first name off the Vietnam war memorial was John Black.
In the dungeon, I saw "Johnny Black, 1985" written on the wall. Couldn't figure that one out!
Clair9 asks: Which role do you prefer...when you played Roman Brady or John Black?
Drake Hogestyn: I always had an emotional attachment to the character of Roman.
I was offered to give up the role of Roman. I didn't have to give it up, but it was presented to me that we could explore John Black. To me it seemed like there were a lot of avenues that could expand me as an actor and that I could have a lot of fun with.
But I always thought deep down inside that somehow, I would end up being Roman again.
Steph2_1974 asks: How many love scenes have you had? Which was your favorite? You're so great!
Drake Hogestyn: Too many to count, and they were all delicious!
Let's all do this again real soon! It's been fun being part of the party. Stay tuned when the fireworks begin in January...Love you all.
11/5/98
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