Deidre Hall has been playing Marlena Evans on Days of our Lives off and on since 1976.
The legendary soap actress has been given many challenges regarding playing her alter ego.
From being possessed by the devil twice, being a cheater, being “dead,” and becoming the Salem shrink, Marlena has undoubtedly been put through the wringer on Days.
However, with her 50th anniversary as Marlena coming up quickly, Deidre has expressed the storyline she would like.
It turns out that Deidre wants her alter ego to battle a “serious illness.”
No, not like the illness that supposedly killed Marlena, Kate (Lauren Koslow), and Kayla (Mary Beth Evans), but a legit sickness.
Days of our Lives star Deidre Hall opens up about the Marlena storyline she wants to play
During a recent interview with People magazine, Deidre got real about her hope for what could be next for Marlena on the hit Peacock soap.
“Marlena has never had a serious illness – unless you’re counting possession,” she shared with the outlet.
The actress thinks the good doctor needs to face an illness that features many setbacks and will resonate with Days fans. Along with the illness storyline, Deidre would love to use her knowledge of sign language on the show to teach others.
Days of our Lives celebrates its 60th anniversary next year, and in 2026, Deidre will celebrate her 50th anniversary on the show. Perhaps one of those anniversaries will allow Diedre to play her bucket list storyline on the show.
Recently, Deidre got the opportunity to take a break from Marlena and tackle a new, funnier role.
Deidre Hall guest stars on Hacks
Last week, Deidre made her debut on the hit show Hacks, playing the mother of Jimmy (Paul Downs). Paul and his mother are huge Days of our Lives fans, and his mom suggested that Deidre guest star.
“It was a surprise,” she explained to People magazine, adding, “It was fun — I loved it!”
The timing was perfect, too, because Deidre was able to film on one of the dark weeks. Who knows if she will be back again on Hacks but we do know that Marlena has been keeping Deidre very busy lately.
Right now Marlena has her hands full helping Eric (Greg Vaughan) deal with the fact Sloan (Jessica Serfaty) passed off Nicole’s (Arianne Zucker) baby as their adopted son. The good doc also remains focused on helping Everett (Blake Berris) amid his DID diagnosis.
Days of our Lives airs weekdays on Peacock. Hacks is streaming on HBO Max.