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Vincent
Irizarry has already taped his final scenes on ‘Days of Our Lives’ earlier this
year and viewers are yet to see what his exit story entails. After watching
Irizarry on ‘Guiding Light’ as Lujack, ‘Santa Barbara’ as Scott Clark, ‘The
Young and the Restless’ as David Chow, ‘All My Children’ as David Hayward and
Deimos Kiriakis on ‘Days’ fans will certainly miss him when his time on the NBC
daytime soap comes to an end.
Soap Opera
Intel caught up with Daytime Emmy-award winning actor who dishes on his
character Deimos, the possibility of playing David Hayward again, upcoming
projects and more. Read the full interview below!
I must first
acknowledge that you are an outstanding actor. I've been a fan of the daytime
genre for decades and I've seen you on Guiding Light, The Young and the
Restless, All My Children and now Days of Our Lives. What is it like working in
the daytime world?
Vincent: Personally, I find it one of the more rewarding and
satisfying genres out there in the entertainment industry. Not only do you get
to perform in stories that are ongoing, but one can also work on the same
character for literally decades, exploring the many facets of that character’s
nature and development throughout those many years. If you’re fortunate to be
gifted with a character to develop on one of these shows, one which is
multi-dimensional, whom also has great emotional depth, it can be very exciting
and fulfilling. I’ve been fortunate to have been gifted with several such
characters throughout the past 30+ years.
Which one of your
alter egos would you say most reflect Irizarry as an individual and why?
Vincent: Funny question in that I believe they all reflect me from
greater to lesser degrees, considering I only have my own personal life
experiences to draw from in order to relate to the characters I’ve played. Of
course, some of my characters have been more nefarious, even more troubled than
I, to put it mildly. I also believe the line between good and evil runs through
the heart of every one of us, again, from greater to lesser degrees, but if the
character is well defined in conception, the actor, and hopefully the audience,
will understand the origins of that character’s tendencies and motives.
Therefore, in order to bring to life those more destructive elements of the
character one has to draw more heavily on the hopefully more dormant side of
one’s own nature. That’s where acting becomes even more fun in that you get to
act out in ways you would never do in life, also without real-life
consequences, i.e. by damaging the real lives and hearts of those around you.
It’s an exploration and exercise of cause and effect in human behavior,
thankfully without permanent scarring… that all being said, I believe that
Lujack, my first role in Daytime on GL, was closest to me at that time in my
life. His life seemed to be more relatable to me and at times even more parallel
with mine during my young adulthood.
And, so far I've
really been enjoying your portrayal of Deimos Kiriakis. It's really good to see
you on Days. Deimos is kind of the bad guy, he reminds me a little of David
Hayward, do you see any similarities?
Vincent: Yes, I do see some similarities between the characters,
given that both their development and actions as adults had been fashioned,
thereby made manifest, almost entirely by their own personal life traumas and
the permanent internal scarring which resulted from their youth. Dr David,
having been witness to his father’s suicide as an 11-year-old boy, desperately
attempting to stop his father’s bleeding out from his self-inflicted gunshot
wound to the head while lovingly cradling him in his arms, was the genesis of
his becoming a world-renowned cardiologist. Whether consciously or not, he
dedicated his life since fighting death itself every time he attempted to snap
others from its jaws in the same way he unsuccessfully attempted to save his
father. It was his way of keeping his beloved father alive in his heart and
memory. Unfortunately for others in his adult life, that traumatic moment from
his past was also what formed his deep resentment and distrust of others, which
is why he would often times lash out in harmful, destructive ways, wanting to
make others suffer for the pain he believed his mother caused him for the loss
of his father, whom he had blamed… Now, Deimos suffered a different type of
trauma which lasted for 30 years; the scarring from which was still
understandably fresh upon his heart when he first arrived in Salem. The fact
that he spent 30 years in a Greek prison, wrongly convicted for the murder of
the first love of his life, Helena, set up by his older half-brother, Victor,
was certainly enough reason to come to Salem with a major chip on his shoulder.
The beauty of playing Deimos is in that he not only had those 30 years behind
bars, plotting and planning his revenge against Victor for those many formative
years he had denied him in life, but also there is a tender, romantic duality
to his nature, the true love he held for Helena, the only woman he had ever
loved, she being the one link he had to hold onto throughout all those years
behind bars, in a male-dominated and dangerous culture, to his own humanity.
That back-story alone was enough for an audience to at least have empathy for
all the years, its simple life pleasures/experiences, most of us take for
granted which he was denied, all at the hands of his own flesh and blood. It
also is the colors’ palette which fashioned him, allowing them to witness a
romantic side to his sometime ruthless and vindictive nature. All this gives
Deimos a richness and depth of character I truly love exploring, bringing to
life. At least, in the spirit he is originally conceived and intended to be
played when introduced.
It is so sad to see
Joseph Mascolo no longer with us, may his soul rest in peace. I'm sure it would
have been fun to see Deimos and Stefano in battle...any thoughts?
Vincent: I’ve expressed this several times, but one of my great
regrets once coming onto the canvas in Salem was that I never had the
opportunity to work with Mr. Mascolo. When I began taping, he was just
finishing up his storied run there. I’m grateful, however, to have had the
opportunity to share my regrets with him personally at the 50th anniversary
party. His was a life certainly worth celebrating and remembering. He was one
of Daytime’s icons, for sure.
Could we see Deimos
and Nicole really making it down the aisle - do you think they will?
Vincent: LOL! Can’t comment on that one! Best to leave you all in suspense
:)
AMC fans have been
dying for a return of Lindsay Hartley to Days as Arianna Hernandez to whip
Deimos away from Nicole. What are your thoughts on that? Would you love to reunite
on Days, I mean close to end of AMC - Cara and David was very popular so what
are your thoughts?
Vincent: Admittedly, the way AMC ended was difficult for all of
us, especially the viewers, due to the fact that there was no closure
whatsoever. All the stories were left hanging, which was extremely difficult
and disappointing for the countless viewers who had been committed to the show
for literally over 40 years. Honestly, it was very sad and not well thought
through… Where David and Cara were concerned, the audience was aware of the
fact that he finally had a child, a son with Cara, whom he himself had not yet
been made knowledgeable of on air, which would have most likely been the
direction of that story. They knew how significant that desire was for him throughout
those years in Pine Valley, and the joy that would bring him after all those
years of loss; the death of his beloved daughters, Babe and Leora. Whether
bringing the actors together again would make sense, I’m not in a position to
say where story is concerned on a different show, but if that were ever the
direction the Days’ writers chose to go, I’d of course be happy to play with
Lindsey again in the context of the different characters.
And, now ABC has
back the rights to both ‘One Life to Live’ and ‘All My Children’. A rumor is
currently out there that AMC could end up on Netfix and often times in the
world of daytime we see actors/actresses doing double duty for instance; Eileen
Davidson who played Kristen DiMera on Days while playing Ashley Abbott on
Y&R and Wally Kurth who plays Justin Kiriakis on Days while playing Ned
Ashton on General Hospital. Could we see you doing double duty as well if the
rumors turn out to be true?
Vincent: Again, since I’m not really in the position to make those
decisions on either of the above-mentioned shows, I’d just say, of course, I’d
be open to exploring either of those scenarios. There are so many
actors/directors/writers/producers I’ve had the good fortune of working with
throughout my many years in this medium, and I’d consider it a pleasure to work
with many of them again, in whatever capacity.
Outside of Days are
there any other projects, movie appearances or primetime appearances on the
horizon for you?
Vincent: Currently, I have 2 projects I’m working to get off the
ground as a producer, both as indie films: one which I helped develop, the
other which is already shot while searching for finishing funds. I’m also on
hold for another indie film as a co-lead which has been recently put on hold.
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