Chatting with Blake Berris of ‘Days of Our Lives’ on Peacock

Abigail Klein and Blake Berris in ‘Days of Our Lives.’ Photo Courtesy of JPI.

Emmy-nominated actor Blake Berris chatted about being a part of the Peacock daytime drama “Days of Our Lives.”

Presently, he plays the role of Everett Lynch on the show opposite Abigail Klein, who plays his love interest Stephanie Johnson. Prior to this character, Berris previously played the role of Nick Fallon on the soap opera.

Playing Everett

On playing Everett, he said, “One of my favorite things about playing him is that he is more of a straightshooter than Nick ever was. There is more to Everett than meets the eye, but I think he is quite genuine in a way, and romantic.”

“Everett is really smart, and his journalistic integrity is important to him,” he said. “Nick had a lot of iterations, but he wasn’t very romantic. He had a manipulative but brilliant big brain,” he admitted.

When asked if he has a personal favorite character (Nick or Everett) that he played, Berris claimed “Everett” as his choice of preference at the moment. “I really like Everett,” he noted.

Working with Billy Flynn

Berris’ character, Everett, is in the midst of the Chad/Stephanie/Everett love triangle.

“I feel really lucky to be able to work with Billy Flynn,” he said about his co-star. “Billy is one of my favorite actors I’ve ever worked with. He is incredible. We have a lot of fun taking the piss with each other on-screen. Billy works in a similar way to me, and I love working with him.”

“Soap operas work so quickly and normally you have that one take, which you can utilize to increase the spontaneity of that scene,” he explained.

Working with Susan Seaforth Hayes, remembering Bill Hayes

He also praised veteran actress Susan Seaforth Hayes. “Susan is such a spitfire, I love her,” he exclaimed. “I am sending her so much love during this time period, especially after she lost her husband and co-star, Bill Hayes. Also, her character, Julie, lost her house on the show at the same time.”

Zombie scenes

Berris enjoyed doing the zombie scenes (as Nick), where he was brought back by MarDevil (Marlena being possessed by the devil), alongside Charlie Dale (Mike Manning), and Deimos (Vincent Irizzary).

“Those scenes were fun to do,” he recalled. “It was crazy. I always like working with Camila Banus. I was living in Ireland at the time, my wife just flew in for twins, and I flew in for them.”

Heaven scenes

He also shared that he liked doing the “heaven scenes,” where he worked opposite the show’s leading matriarchs Lauren Koslow, Marth Beth Evans, and Deidre Hall.

“I am enamored by all three of those actresses,” he said. “Lauren is one of my favorite actresses of all time, I love her. Mary Beth is hilarious, cool, and stylish. She is such a wonderful lady.”

“Also, Deidre Hall is the queen, and she has been such an amazing supporter to me and she has really vouched for me, and stepped up to the plate to try to help me, and I am forever grateful to her,” he added.

Daily inspirations as an actor and filmmaker

On his daily inspirations as an actor and filmmaker, Berris said, “It’s the little details that inspire me. You witness something on the street, or you see something, and if it resonates and feels true, I think it’s really inspiring. If it hits you on a primal level, it activates the inspiration mechanisms in our brains. It’s a great place in your brain to live.”

“In general, the first time you read a script, ideally, you are in a place where you can be with your thoughts, and you can really focus on it. There is nothing like the first time where you are having real-time impulses that come out of you when you read it,” he elaborated.

“On the other hand, as a filmmaker, the whole story has to come to you,” he said. “There is always a spark for it. It’s usually something small, things that you like and things that turn you on.”

Dialogue-heavy

When asked how he handles being dialogue-heavy, he responded, “You just have to work on it a lot. You have to spend a lot of hours doing it. I like running my lines.”

Advice for young and aspiring actors

For young and aspiring actors, he said, “I think people should fight to do what they want to do in this world, but they shouldn’t be illusioned by the glamor of the industry. It’s a hard business, and it requires a lot of rejection, grit, and uncertainly in terms of your finances and where they are coming from.”

“My advice would be to explore it and to check it out. If it’s not for you, that’s okay. It’s a tough business, and the only people who should really do it are the ones that absolutely have to,” he added.

‘Fangirl’ movie

Berris opened up about his film “Fangirl.” “It’s going great,” he admitted. “We were supposed to shoot in August, but it was a casualty of the strike. We are rebuilding right now, and we are in the process of re-budgeting. I am digging into the script a little bit. It’s active and we are juggling schedules.”

“I have a very cool cast attached to it, which will include Eileen Davidson,” he hinted. “It’s very exciting because there are some really cool people involved that I am excited to let people know about soon. Hopefully, we will make ‘Fangirl’ this year.”

Stage of his life

On the title of the current chapter of his life, Berris said, “Renovation.”

Success

Regarding his definition of success, he said with a sweet laugh, “If I can get my kids into bed by a decent hour, and not have a nervous breakdown, that’s what success looks like these days.”

“I have ambitions and I think it’s nice to be working towards something whether it’s a house or a career or the building blocks of a child’s life. Success is a result-oriented thing,” he noted.

“Success is like an operating system that is balanced enough that it can withstand adversity,” he added.

Message for his fans

For his fans, Berris concluded, “I have such an appreciation for them. There is no show without the fans. The success of the show has been built on their backs for nearly 60 years. It is one of the most loyal and long-lasting fan-bases in history. The fans are a part of a legacy; we see you and we appreciate you.”

To learn more about Blake Berris, follow him on Instagram and check out his IMDb page.