Blake Berris was thrilled when DAYS contacted him to once again reprise the role of the late Nick Fallon. “I had done the Christmas special [A VERY SALEM CHRISTMAS on Peacock] and the zombie thing on the Halloween episode [in 2021] and I had such a good time doing it,” he recalls. “Albert [Alarr, co-executive producer] asked me if I was up for more and I was like, ‘Yes, 100 percent; I’m loving it.’ ”
Berris was unaware at first what this latest visit would bring. “I’m so interested every time they call because my character is dead,” he points out. “Then I started reading the script and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is bonkers,’ but I just loved the writing of it so much. After the initial shock of, ‘Oh, he’s Satan’s secretary,’ I just loved it. It’s really funny; there’s some great comedy in it. I think that Ron [Carlivati, head writer] and Ryan [Quan, creative consultant] and all of the writers over there just do such a great job getting the snark and the intelligence and the vindictive way that Nick can be. But it does come around on this mini-arc; there is some vulnerability there and I had a great time with it. It was a fun couple of weeks.”
Berris admits he never saw a return for Nick after his alter ego’s 2014 demise. “I thought maybe there was a world in which I played a different character, the other way that people would come back, but I really didn’t think he’d be rising from the dead. And certainly not as a zombie or gatekeeper to purgatory, but I absolutely love it. Especially at the juncture I’m at in my life, where I’m doing a lot more writing, producing and directing stuff at the moment.”
The actor was also happy when he found out who his scene partners would be. “I love, love, loved working with Deidre [Hall, Marlena], Mary Beth [Evans, Kayla] and Lauren [Koslow, Kate] again,” he raves. “Deidre and I would have an occasional scene back when I first started and she was always really lovely to me, but we got a lot closer, uh, physically during the Halloween special a year before when she raised Nick up from the dead and we started briefly making out. And we just had a ball with each other and really bonded even more this time. Mary Beth is so funny and she’s just great to work with. Lauren is such an amazing actress. We realized that at one point years ago, we had a lot of material together. Kate and Nick had this real rivalry for a while and we had all these one-on-one scenes going at each other and there’s a similar sort of bitchiness that they both have that was really fun to revisit.”
Berris felt right at home from day one and shares that he still has strong ties to his co-stars. “It really is like a family,” he notes. “Galen [Gering, Rafe] is such a good buddy of mine and we kept missing each other. Eric Martsolf [Brady], same thing. I got to see Maria [O’Brien], the beloved acting coach on set. And it’s cool to see Albert. He’s such a loving top dog, and it totally trickles down through the rest of the production. It’s a great vibe there these days.” He’s also connected with some other DAYS alums of late. “I just had such a fun night with Shelley Hennig [ex-Stephanie] and Kate Mansi [ex-Abigail]. They came over and we had some margaritas and had a delightful catch-up.”
When he’s not in Salem, Berris is keeping very busy, both professionally and personally. “There’s some really exciting things that are happening with Fangirl, the project that we talked about [in 2020]. Obviously, the pandemic was a big transition period for the project, but we’re gearing up to shoot in June and there have been a lot of big changes — I’m no longer in it. There will be some new people in the cast and there will be a lot of other people, and I’m excited to update everything when I can. I just did a guest-star role on an episode of 911 that should air soon. And I started a production company with my wife [Alexandra McGuinness], so we have other exciting things that are coming out. She’s about to do another movie in Europe after mine goes in June.”
The couple has also expanded their family. “I actually have three kids now; we had twins while we were away [living in Ireland]. So it’s a madhouse, as you can imagine. My son Lir [3] is wonderful, and his brothers, Naoise [pronounced Nischa] and Beau, are insane and I love them.”
Berris says he has a profound appreciation for DAYS and playing Nick. “It’s just become such a larger part of my life than I ever imagined,” he reflects. “And if I’m speaking frankly, when I first started as a young actor right out of college, I had a lot more angst about it and I battled with my identity as being characterized by a soap opera. And I think I’ve just sort of fallen in love with it; I love the world and I love the people and I love how loyal they’ve been to me. I love going back now and it’s really become a big part of my life, especially because I’m about to make this movie that’s sort of a reconciliation, in a way, of that early time period. I just have a total ball when I go back, and I don’t have the struggle that the character in the movie that I wrote does, but between that project, which certainly at the moment is occupying a big part of my days, and this, it’s just been great and I’m so thrilled that it continues. I feel really thankful for it, for the fans, for the creative team there, and it helps me get my health care, so it’s amazing! I’m so thrilled that they keep bringing me back and I hope there’s more.”
