One month after his soap debut on “General Hospital” John Oliver premiered in his second soap role on ”Days of Our Lives.” Oliver’s character, Devlin St. John, popped up in Salem to tackle a water case and made more of the late-night talk show hosts’ soap dreams come true.
John Oliver Has Some Words for ‘Days of Our Lives’ Fan Ryan Gosling
Access Hollywood was on hand to talk to Oliver when he filmed his brief arc. During the behind-the-scenes look, which also featured Daniel Feuerriegel (EJ) and Maggie Carney (Rita), Oliver had a message for A-list star Ryan Gosling.
Oliver wore a wig on “Days of Our Lives,” and it was all his idea. This is where his advice for Gosling came into play.
“The name Devlin St. John is writing checks my regular hair can’t cash. Gosling feels that he’s got the chops to go toe-to-toe. I would say don’t bring your own hair, Gosling. Cause I have raised the follicle stakes here. So, you’re gonna need something bobby-pinned to your head. Then maybe we can dance,” Oliver hilariously expressed
Earlier this year, Gosling revealed his love for “Days of Our Lives” and his appreciation for all soap stars, especially Deidre Hall (Marlena). Gosling admitted that Hall was his acting inspiration.
Hall invited him to visit “Days of Our Lives” after she heard his kind words. “The Notebook” star accepted and sent a special gift for the soap legend.
‘Days of Our Lives’ Stars Praise John Oliver
When Oliver pitched himself to be on a soap, via his show “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” he made it clear he wanted the true soap experience. Oliver’s requirement for appearing on a soap included an absurd name, a good-old-fashioned soap slap, and a wig.
“I wanna do something juicy, like murder or slapping or being slapped. I thank the Lord for giving me hands, so I can do this. It’s gonna be slaps flying around all over the place,” Oliver said to Access Hollywood, admitting Devlin and EJ get their slap on, and it was glorious.
Feuerriegel confirmed that when speaking with Soaps, saying, “We did all the things. Everything you would think cliché in a soap, we did.” The actor also gave Oliver mad props for showing up prepared as he dove headfirst into the fast-paced filming schedule and massive amounts of dialogue on “Days of Our Lives.”
The sentiment was echoed by Jackée Harry (Paulina), who had a couple of brief scenes with Oliver. “He was lovely, and he was prepared. He’s a very smart man. I do improvisational and so does he, which was good,” Harry shared with TV Insider, adding that he was “lovely” and “easy” to work with.
Oliver wraps his run on “Days of Our Lives” on Friday, August 14. In July, Oliver had a three-day stint on “General Hospital” as Z, the head of the WSB, which served as a way to write out Ryan Paevey (Cassius) and Andrew Hawekes (Cullum).
The late talk show host was amazing on both shows. Here’s hoping fans see him back as Z or Devlin in the future.
