The following article was written by Stephanie Sloane for TV Insider. To view the original article on their website, click here.
On June 22, Deidre Hall marked 50 years since she first appeared as Days of Our Lives‘ Marlena Evans. In a flashback-filled episode, the show celebrated the milestone by taking a trip down memory lane, revisiting highlights from her five decades in Salem.
While in New York recently, Hall visited the TV Insider offices and sat down for a lengthy conversation about her remarkable run.
Hall’s path to playing Marlena in 1976 actually began in another soap town — Genoa City. On March 26, 1973, she appeared in the very first episode of The Young and the Restless as Barbara Anderson, an experience that helped shape the next chapter of her career.
“When I was on Y&R ever so briefly, I developed envy for those relationships,” Hall shares. “The actors that would rent a little house on the beach or do things together, and I called my agent, and I said, ‘I want me some of that.’ ‘What, you want to do a soap opera?’ ‘Yes, yes! So please, can I do a soap opera? And so that’s how it began — wanting to be part of that sort of family.”
Gary Null/©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
When a role on Days became available, Hall was ready. After auditioning alongside some familiar faces, she was cast as Marlena — but her initial reaction was to turn it down. “I had screen-tested with a number of women that I recognized,’ she explains. “I thought, ‘Oh, wait a minute, they gave it to me when they had all these amazing women. Nah, there’s something wrong with this stinking part.’”
She ultimately accepted the part, and today, Marlena is the character most closely associated with the soap. From beloved romances with Roman Brady (Wayne Northrop) and John Black (Drake Hogestyn) to headline-grabbing stories such as Marlena’s infamous devil possession, Hall has remained at the center of Salem’s biggest moments — something she never expected when she first joined the cast.
“When you first join a soap, you sign a 13-week contract, which means you could be out of here so fast,” she says. “And I guess maybe when that period lapsed, I thought, ‘Oh, I get to have a 26-week contract.’ … 50 years? Never, never could have imagined. And as I’ve said before, I’m often relieved when my key card opens the gate, because I think, ‘Everything’s okay, I’m still welcome.’”
In this special retrospective video, Hall reflects on five decades as Marlena, shares her favorite memories, unforgettable stories, and the moments that have stayed with her the most. She discusses working with her twin sister, Andrea Hall, who played Samantha Evans, and reveals the one storyline the writers never want Marlena to tackle, and so much more.
Charron / TV Guide / ©NBC / courtesy Everett Collection
Hall also dishes on some of her most famous fans — from Ryan Gosling to Julia Roberts — and shares stories of her experiences on Our House and Hacks.
Through it all, though, Days has remained a constant. “A show that I began with a 13-week contract has turned out to be a place that I have gone through so many changes in my life,” Hall reflects. “It’s been a really wonderful life.”