Black Magic
After Seventeen Years Of Playing Daytime's Most Complicated Character, DAYS OF OUR LIVES' Drake Hogestyn Is Still Charming The Masses:
It's hard to describe Drake Hogestyn (John, DAYS) without gushing a little. Besides his obvious good looks, he's a genuinely nice man from Indiana who has remained remarkably ego-free in spite of the fact that he's one of the biggest names in daytime. Seated in his workout room at the studio, clad in sweat pants and an Abercrombie and Fitch sleeveless T-shirt, with his face scrubbed clean from the day's makeup, the laid-back star speaks romantically about his wife, passionately about his children, and respectfully about the role that he's played for the better part of the last two decades.
"Seventeen years...man, just like that (snaps fingers). It could've been seven days. Or seventeen hours. It's amazing," he marvels. He remembers his first day on-set as though it were yesterday - especially because he cut his script and got a visit from the Executive Producer. "I had a long paragraph that was really hard exposition, plus it was my first scene," he recalls. "When the camera came to me to say my lines, I shook my head and said, 'I'm out of here' and walked out. Al Rabin, our Executive Producer, walked up and was like, 'What was that? You just dropped all the dialogue.' I said, 'He doesn't know who he is, so obviously he'd be a man of very few words.' The truth was I had been in my dressing room literally writing out that scene longhand, and I just couldn't make that speech stick. So, I threw that b.s. out to Al, but it worked in my favor a little bit."
As did being paired with the popular Deidre Hall (Marlena). "We have something special," he acknowledges. "We play off each other really well and it comes across. It's kind of amazing. When the story is there, we can really make some good scenes." But he won't take credit for the success. "I've said it before. Anyone could've been cast in this role at that point," he demurs. "With the story that was being told, it was foolproof. The audience wanted Roman with Marlena."
But when he was revealed as John Black, Hogestyn's popularity never waned. The fans stood by him as he uncovered new identities and facts about his past. Again, the actor credits the writers with making John so beloved. "It was riveting story, which pulled the fans into the character," he says. "It's a thankless job being a Headwriter. I have often thought about it. How do you create escalating, interesting story for all the characters on the show? It takes a very brilliant mind to make all of that happen."
Hogestyn's dedication to the show, its producers and writers is evident during his contract negotiations, which, not surprisingly, are very low-key. "Want to know how my contracts work? First of all, I've signed four-year deals. The way it comes about is I'll run into Ken (Corday, Executive Producer) in the hall, and he'll say something like, 'Hey, Hogey. How many years do you have left on your contract?' and I'll say, 'I don't know.' He says, 'Wanna re-up?' and I say, 'Okay.'" And the actor doesn't ask for perks, like summers off or extensive outs. "Nope, nothing," he reveals. "My dad always said, 'Keep your nose clean, don't rock the boat, work hard and things work out.' I talk to my agent once a year, around Christmas, and she says to me, 'You haven't talked to me all year!' All is well."
One area of his life that has certainly worked out is his storybook romance with wife Victoria. The two met on a baseball field in Indiana when they were young. "I was fifteen and she was twelve going on thirteen," he relates. "We had big plans for our lives and big dreams. She was one of the motivating factors in my life, to try and provide something for her outside of Fort Wayne. I knew that even as a kid." The two split up in 1975 while Hogestyn pursued his baseball career. They spoke again in 1981, then a couple of years later and finally reunited and wed in 1986. Daughters Whitney and Alexandra arrived soon after, joining Ben and Rachael from Victoria's previous marriage.
Family time is at the top of the actor's priority list - he even schedules his workouts early in the morning so they don't conflict with it. "I'm desperately in love with my wife and children," he says. And he means it. What does he look most forward to? "Problems," he laughs, then rubs his hands together. "I kind of embrace problems. This is life. There are little pebbles in the road and we kick 'em out of the way and go over them. A lot of them are crises in the kids' lives that might seem inconsequential, but they are big deals. I like to be a part of all that. That's the best."
As far as his relationship with Victoria, Hogestyn says, "I'm very romantic - I'm a sap. There's nothing wrong with that." Though his daughters sometimes think differently. "I can't do any of that (romantic) stuff anymore. I mean, I can, but if they see me, they say, 'Oh, Dad, you have on that soap opera face again.' I'm like, 'Wait a second, kids. Maybe that has always been my face and that's why it's on the soap opera. Because I had it first!'"
And if it's up to the actor, he'll stick around that soap. "I never planned on being in this business," he reflects. "I've been pushed through different doors in my life. I've been blessed that I've had the right people in my corner at the right time. When we went through the network negotiations, I had time to pause and reflect a bit on how fortunate I am to be associated with an ensemble like this, with a show like this, that has had faith in me for a period of time, has provided a very nice way of life for me and for my family. I have a lot of loyalty and emotional attachment here. I'm just glad to be a part of it. I will remain here as long as they will have me."
Just The Facts...
| Question |
Answer |
| Birthday |
September 29 |
| Hometown |
Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| First Tape Date |
January 10, 1986 |
| First Air Date |
January 23, 1986 |
| John Vs Drake |
Drake Hogestyn: I'd like to be funny sometimes, but that's not John Black. He's a pretty serious guy. I have a chance to be funny when I'm with the fans (at appearances) one-on-one. |
| That's A Fact |
Drake Hogestyn: That's a Drake expression. They write it in. Sometimes there are certain things that feel comfortable when you say it and it doesn't change the plotline or character at all. It kind of identifies the character. |
| The Kids Are All Right |
Hogestyn's children are Rachael twenty-three; Ben twenty-one; Whitney seventeen; and Alexandra fourteen. |
| Men's Health |
Drake Hogestyn: I enjoy feeling alive and exercise makes you feel alive. It's good to push your body and sweat and blow out all the junk in life. People ask what my hobby is and I always say, 'I don't have one.' But in reflection, I do. This is what I do. An hour-and-a-half a day. |
| Clothes Call |
Drake Hogestyn: The girls dress me. They demand that they dress me. |
| Friends, Indeed...Drake Hogestyn is the only Drake on daytime, so when FRIENDS named Joey's character Drake Ramoray, we figured it couldn't be a coincidence. How did Hogestyn find out about it? |
Drake Hogestyn: The kids brought it up to me. I don't watch a lot of television. A lot of times I'll be there with them, just so I can talk to them about it. It's another line of communication open. FRIENDS is obviously a fantastic show. I guess I work late on Thursdays sometimes and didn't get the whole gist of what was going on with the DAYS OF OUR LIVES connection. If that's the case, and they named him after me, I'm very honored. |
Stephanie Sloane, SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 6/17/03
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♥ NBC Gossip
DAYS OF OUR LIVES…
But What I Really Want To Do Is...
Will there be directing in Drake Hogestyn's (John) future? "On my days off, I've come in here and observed in the booth, just to watch with all the directors around - to see how they break the show down, what their points of view are on each scene and how they put it together," he explains. "I think I might want to direct. I ask the directors, 'What do you get out of it?' Basically the response is just to watch characters take lines, make them their own and watch the scenes come alive. But we're so fast. If I were to direct the show, I would be on the phone the night before talking to cast members who are going to be in the scenes and give them some points that I'd like them to think about because in this scene here we're gonna do some dramatic show and everything is gonna be you. Give them something to think about beforehand because I'm not going to have time to do it on the floor. They're all fabulous directors here, though. I don't know that I could do it this fast."
SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 6/24/03
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♥ Veterans Say
DAYS' Long-Running Actors Reflect On Those Magic Moments In Salem:
SOAP OPERA DIGEST: How has daytime changed over the years?
Drake Hogestyn: Daytime used to be called racy and provocative. Now, you have seven-hundred-fifty-five-million channels out there with naked people all over the place leaving nothing to the imagination, so how racy can daytime be? Obviously, it's changed in that regard. I've always believed that leaving more to the imagination is more provocative. I have always firmly believed that we are in the business of selling a special brand of entertainment, and all we ask is that the audience enjoys a chapter of our book for an hour a day. Plug in, charge up and forget about all the b.s. in your own life. When we try to get outside that and tell moralistic stories...I guess that has its place, but I don't think we're a public service announcement. We're a daytime entertainment show and we ask people to go along for the ride. That's where our strength is - entertainment and escapism.
SOAP OPERA DIGEST: What is your favorite storyline?
Drake Hogestyn: That probably goes back to when I started in 1986. It goes back to John Black (created in the image of) Jason Bourne; the beginning of this whole (character), which we are still playing out today. It was powerful, foolproof story from when I started in January until May sweeps when it was revealed that John was Roman. There were five powerful months where my growth on the show was exponential as far as learning the technique of tape as opposed to film, which is what I had done. Everything was new and exciting and fresh. It still is, but in a much different way.
SOAP OPERA DIGEST: Has there been a memorable fan experience you can recount?
Drake Hogestyn: There have been a lot of very sad things. I've been at personal appearances and run into husbands holding their children. How out of place could that be at a 99.9 percent predominantly (female-attended event)? If it's happened once, its happened seven times where I've spoken to the guy and he's told me that his wife is dying and that she wanted him to come listen to what I had to say and go back and tell her. I'll ask, 'Where is she? When do we wrap this? When does my flight leave? Do we have time? Let's go over to see her.' Those moments are priceless. And I stay in touch until those people are no longer with us. One time, there were these young girls at an appearance with this man. The girls told me that they all had cancer and that they watched the show together. It turned out that one of their best girlfriends couldn't make it to the event because she was in the hospital. I went to see her afterward. Her mom and dad were standing near her bed. This (girl's skin) was gray. Then, she rolled over, looked at me, and all of a sudden, the color came back to her face. It was pink. She sat up. Her parents couldn't believe it. This girl is doing well to this day.
THE ULTIMATE DAYS OF OUR LIVES FAN GUIDE BY SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 6/24/03
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♥ RoundUp
SOAP OPERA DIGEST: What is your most memorable moment from your time on DAYS?
Drake Hogestyn: About six or seven months into this role, Marlena had died, and there was a scene where she came, and John saw her.(OOPS! This is wrong. Typo alert! We think this should say "Roman saw her" not "John saw her" because Drake was playing Roman at that time.) She said, 'I can't stay. I have to go, but you and the children will be fine.' The awareness was that she wasn't there. She was gone. That was an emotional moment...spontaneous and totally unexpected. It came out of the material. I was worried about how I was going to play that scene, but it ended up being a huge breakthrough for me as an actor. I hadn't seen, felt, or tasted the salt of a tear in a long time, but that was the real thing.
THE ULTIMATE DAYS OF OUR LIVES FAN GUIDE BY SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 6/24/03
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♥ RoundUp
SOAP OPERA DIGEST: Aside from your own, who is your favorite DAYS character?
Drake Hogestyn: Stefano, because of all the unfinished history between him and John. I enjoyed watching the character and I had a lot of fun playing with (Joseph Mascolo) over the years. We had some really good scenes. There were times when I felt we were doing mini-movies.
THE ULTIMATE DAYS OF OUR LIVES FAN GUIDE BY SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 6/24/03
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Take Five
Drake Hogestyn
(John, DAYS OF OUR LIVES)
SOAP OPERA DIGEST: What's your favorite summer memory?
Drake Hogestyn: Driving my 1961 Corvette convertible into the studio at five o'clock in the morning with the top down.
SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 7/1/03
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♥ Take Five
Drake Hogestyn
(John, DAYS OF OUR LIVES)
SOAP OPERA DIGEST: What is your favorite grown-up toy?
Drake Hogestyn: Automobiles. Machines. It's still the same old cars I've had forever...the 1969 Corvette and the 1957 T-bird. (OOPS! This is wrong. Typo alert! Drake owns a 1961 Corvette not a 1969 Corvette.) They're sexy, rolling sculptures. (The industry is) making cars good now; they're starting to come back. I have all the tools. You're only as good as your tools. Seriously, that's what that's all about. I like old cars. I don't treat myself to anything. I've had the regular old car passed down to the kids.
SOAP OPERA DIGEST: What puts you in a good mood?
Drake Hogestyn: Good news.
SOAP OPERA DIGEST: What aspect of your daily routine do you look forward to the most?
Drake Hogestyn: The workout. I look forward to them. It's where I get most creative and let it go and get the heart rate up. I'm very creative and zany, and in the shower I'm like, 'What was I thinking?' but I like that aspect of it.
SOAP OPERA DIGEST: Do you have any bad habits that you refuse to give up?
Drake Hogestyn: All or nothing. If you're going to do it, you do it. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing, or you don't have that energy or don't want to invest your time in that. I don't know where it comes from. Are a lot of people like that?
SOAP OPERA DIGEST: What is your least favorite household chore?
Drake Hogestyn: I don't have any problems with doing the work around the house. I sweep, I iron, I try to cook.
SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 8/19/03
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Cast Cuts Rock Daytime!
DAYS' Drake Hogestyn Uproar:
"I Was Speechless"
DAYS' Hogestyn - Not Fired:
It seemed improbable, but with all of the firings going on at DAYS, the rumor that seventeen-year vet Drake Hogestyn (John) was the next victim of cast-cutting spread like wildfire across the Internet over Labor Day Weekend. Fortunately, Hogestyn didn't hear of the rumor until he showed up for work on September 2 and had a conversation with the soap's publicist.
"Andrea (McKinnon, DAYS' publicist) walked into the makeup room, and she just had a funny look," the actor explains. "She said, 'There was a lot of discussion on some websites that you were being released.' I hadn't heard anything, but I responded, 'Well, I guess we hear it there first.' Alot of other people in the makeup room had heard, though, and hadn't said anything and they had the same look as Andrea. I said, 'from a production standpoint, they're trying to keep this show on the air and obviously, we're all aware of the cuts that are being made. If this is a viable option for them, that's business. There's nothing you can do; that's the way it is.' Kristian Alfonso (Hope) told me, 'Don't talk like that.'"
Unsure of his Salem status, Hogestyn returned to his dressing room, where he got a visit from Co-Executive Producer Stephen Wyman. "I laughed and said, 'Oh, no, you're not supposed to be here,'" says the actor. "As I started to talk, he said, 'I don't know what people are talking about, but it's not true. Just wanted to put your mind at ease in case you're been hearing all this talk on the Internet. I didn't want to call you up because that would have freaked you out. I just wanted to come down and tell you in person that we know nothing about that.'"
Hogestyn's recent work schedule did make him wonder though, however. The actor returned from a summer break to discover he would be working for three-and-a-half-weeks straight. "I told (wife Victoria), 'That's unusual...they might be working up to something.'"
The actor admits that he was overwhelmed by the fan outpouring in the wake of the rumor. "I'm actually speechless. I appreciate - and I hate to use the phrase 'the love,' but it's nice to know that the fans are talking about the show."
And to the person who sent the initial post? "I think it has created a buzz. Maybe that's part of the plan. Whoever did that out there, good job, and I hope you're not right!"
SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 9/23/03
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♥ Fun Factoids
Drake Hogestyn will sometimes take over for the NBC page when he catches a tour coming through the studio.
The biggest set in Salem history was the jungle set, when John and Hope went to the DiMera compound looking for a cure to save Roman in 1997. It took up an entire sound stage, complete with an operating twenty-foot waterfall. Currently, the biggest set is Echelon, which, from the exterior to VIP room, takes up one-half of the stage.
Alison Sweeney often bakes cookies for the cast and crew.
Actors know their tentative schedules about two weeks in advance.
There are four storage areas full of clothes, and each actor/character essentially has his/her own closet. Clothes are usually kept for the duration that the character is on the show, although the wardrobe is modified over the years to keep the character trendy. When a character dies or leaves, their clothes are sold to an entertainment second-hand store for resale. Costume Designer Richard Bloore usually gives the actresses three outfits to choose from for the day.
Photos of the cast anniversaries through the years hang in the hallways at DAYS.
If the show is number one in the female eighteen to forty-nine demographics when the numbers come out on Thursdays, the cast and crew get ice cream with all the fixings from Baskin-Robbins.
SUNSET BEACH used to tape on the DAYS lot; nowadays, THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO and ACCESS HOLLYWOOD are the only other shows that tape there.
Somebody is always working on-set, twenty-four hours a day, six days a week and shifts are staggered throughout the day/night.
THE ULTIMATE SOAP FAN GUIDE BY SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 9/23/03
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♥ Tip Sheet
How-Tos From
Your Favorite Stars
SOAP OPERA DIGEST - How to get a photo back:
Drake Hogestyn: To be honest, the best way is send a self-addressed stamped envelope, because the hardest thing to do is find the stamps and the right envelope to fit the picture. But if they send their own envelope, it's a no brainer. I have stacks and stacks of photos, and it's easy to sign my name. But you know me, I usually have to put a piece of paper in and write a little note!
THE ULTIMATE SOAP FAN GUIDE BY SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 9/23/03
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♥ Tip Sheet
How-Tos From
Your Favorite Stars
Up Close And Personal:
SOAP OPERA DIGEST - To get a little friendlier with Drake Hogestyn, join his fan club and go to his personal appearances. Here's why:
Drake Hogestyn: I enjoy the interaction of doing personal appearances. I enjoy the multigenerational groups who come, and I enjoy hearing what they think of the show and my character. I usually do take a lot of time with each person because I never understood the process of autograph signing, where you sign an eight by ten, slide it to someone and all they see is the top of your head and your handwriting. You can just write me at the studio for that. I always put a chair next to me so people can sit down and chat, and we can take a picture and get to know each other for a few minutes. I love hearing about how passionate they are about DAYS. When I go to do personal appearances, I will bring my fan-club members who are there to a room and talk with them. It's all off-the-record, and it's something I've always enjoyed.
THE ULTIMATE SOAP FAN GUIDE BY SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 9/23/03
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♥ Networth
SOAP OPERA DIGEST: How do you log your online time?
Drake Hogestyn (John, DAYS)
Drake Hogestyn: I go to old car sites. I look for old parts for my 1961 Corvette and my 1957 T-bird. I usually run into the sites by accident. I'll go (to one site), hit something else, and the next site will come up. The only thing I ever bought online was a four-fingered original baseball glove. I looked up 'baseball memorabilia' and found a Ted Williams four-fingered glove. I could not believe I found that on eBay. It's really cool and it was only thirty-six bucks.
SOAP OPERA WEEKLY, 10/7/03
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RoundUp
SOAP OPERA DIGEST: Have you ever had a supernatural experience?
Drake Hogestyn (John, DAYS)
Drake Hogestyn: When (my wife) Victoria was pregnant with Whitney, and Rachael and Ben were little, we were going to see my parents in Connecticut. I rented a Jeep Eagle because it had four-wheel drive and it was supposed to be snowing like mad from Fort Wayne (Indiana) to Connecticut. I was driving through northern Ohio and there was a George Michael song on the radio. We were the only ones on the freeway. I was doing seventy-five miles an hour and there was no snow yet. All of a sudden, straight ahead to my left, I couldn't tell how far away or how close it was, but it looked like an upside-down aircraft carrier. As I was driving, it wasn't getting any closer and it wasn't getting any farther away, but it was slowly coming across in front of the highway. I was staring at it. My mouth was open. I was looking at Victoria and she was looking straight up at it with her mouth open. I said, 'What are we looking at?' I pulled over at the side of the road, turned my lights off and it crossed the road and then it was gone. It just disappeared. We just sat there. That was weird. At least I had a witness.
SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 11/4/03
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♥ NBC Gossip
DAYS OF OUR LIVES
Getting Ahead Of Himself:
Drake Hogestyn (John) reports that in spite of the sadness of losing cast members, the actors are pretty excited to receive their scripts. "We shot a couple of scenes ahead recently, and Kristian (Alfonso, Hope) asked a question about where we were coming from. I said, 'Because so-and-so did this and did that...From that point, you do this, that and the other,'" he explains. "She said, 'We've been reading ahead, haven't we?' That's just it. When you start reading ahead in the script, that shows you that the program is picking up momentum. That's the way I'm looking at it. Some people are looking at it as, 'Am I next to die?' But if that's the case, the audience is also jumping on board with that and picking up the momentum." But, he laughs, "The cast is not too happy when Celeste shows up and flips down the skeleton death card! It's an interesting ploy. The fans are guessing (who's next) along with us."
SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 11/18/03
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