DAYS Exclusive: Paul Telfer on Xander’s Downfall and Being ‘A Total Pariah’

Tossed out of the Kiriakis mansion by his wife, Sarah, and shunned by Maggie after brutally beating his brother, Philip, Xander finds himself in a familiar, albeit dreaded, position: Suddenly, he’s the town pariah again. It’s a hard fall for the Days of Our Lives character, who had recently been walking the straight and narrow and enjoying a happy, respectable life. Paul Telfer discussed the storyline that’s blown up Xander’s world with Soap Opera Digest and the downward spiral his complicated character is likely headed for.

Soap Opera Digest: Xander kept his cool for a bit upon learning that Philip had finagled getting part of Victor’s inheritance, but ultimately, he reverted to his thuggish ways. Did that surprise you?

Paul Telfer: There was an opportunity after everything was [revealed] for Xander to really genuinely demonstrate growth and maturity – not just in a business sense, not just with his brother or to the public, but in his relationship in privacy solely with Sarah. He wasn’t quite able to do that. He backslid in a moment of massive crisis and massive emotion. He backslid quite drastically and now has to carry the weight of that crime or failure or however you want to describe it. It’s the chink in his armor now against Sarah, who took it on the chin, admitted to everything, and is no longer keeping any secrets [about Philip’s duplicity or her own]. They [could have tried to rebuild their relationship] from a place of truth, but Xander was undermined by his own behavior.

Digest: Xander seemed truly disgusted when he confronted Sarah about her betrayal.

Telfer: There was this little bit of catharsis, I suppose, of just knowing the truth. I think it was the first time Xander ever saw Sarah or looked at her with a kind of disdain and almost contempt that he’d never let creep in before. That’s the new color on the Xander side of this, and it’s so hard for him to get past.

Digest: Things aren’t looking good for the couple. Is this the biggest challenge they’ve faced?

Telfer: Oh, yeah. I mean, you can argue whether the baby swap or Sarah hiding her pregnancy from Xander could be considered worse, but certainly the way this is written and the way it impacts the characters it is by far the worst. This configuration of lies and behaviors and choices becomes an almost insurmountable problem between them.

Digest: Meanwhile, Maggie has understandably taken Sarah’s side.

Telfer: Maggie’s refereeing it a little bit and trying to keep the ultimate peace within the family. She’s giving good advice to both of them to focus on love and their daughter, but all the love in the world can’t overcome [this divide between them]. Love isn’t always enough. Events really do conspire, not just against Xander, but also against Sarah and Philip. It puts them all in these positions where they can’t ignore how bad things have gotten. There’s no, “Oh, well, we all did bad things. Let’s move forward.” The repercussions are so profound and can’t really be ignored. Otherwise, they’d all be living a different kind of lie.

Digest: How difficult is it for Xander to have lost Maggie’s support?

Telfer: Everybody has become justifiably very angry at him. So even people that typically are inclined to cut Xander slack stop cutting him slack. I think it’s the first time he’s ever been totally without an ally on the canvas. Certainly since I’ve been back as a solidly contract character, it’s the first time he’s a total pariah — and not just in the town. It’s more that he becomes a pariah within his family and in a more profound way than he’s ever been before. Because if he loses Sarah, well, that’s happened before. But he’s never lost Maggie before. So Maggie no longer wanting to be the neutral one trying to keep things together… When she makes the decision that Xander’s crossed the line, that maybe he’s out, that’s when things become very real and very scary for Xander.

Digest: Why is that, in your opinion?

Telfer: Xander’s not afraid of prison. He’s not afraid of physical harm. He’s not that kind of guy. He is deathly afraid of being returned to what he sees he is, which is this outcast, black sheep thug. That’s what he is the most terrified of happening again. And it’s what he keeps reverting to when things get hard. And this is off the back of regaining and re-losing his mother, and regaining and then re-losing his wife and daughter. And losing his father. He lost Victor. And then if he loses his surrogate mother, Maggie, then who is he anymore? Then the struggle becomes like, “Well, can he still be good?” Typically in the past when everything goes wrong for Xander, he just goes on a drunken bender for three to 10 episodes. Trying to react to something so awful without slipping into his old behaviors becomes [a challenge]. And without any help from Jack or Gwen or Sarah or Maggie or even Victor… There’s no one, actually. How will he choose to be when he doesn’t have any good influence in his life? Maybe that’s an opportunity to finally show that he has grown up.

Digest: How have you been enjoying playing Xander’s latest downfall?

Telfer: I’ve absolutely loved it. I was very concerned about the way this would all play out, because in my heart of hearts I didn’t really believe at first that the lie was big enough to be as shattering as it became. But by the time it all happened, because of all the people involved, the story that goes on, and the various complicating factors, I think it totally works. I’m just really grateful to have had such a big emotional year on the show. If you think back to Fiona and the mother storyline, I’ve been very lucky the way they’ve pushed Xander into kind of a leading position. Those stories have been very enjoyable.