After playing out Adrienne’s death, Judi Evans was understandably thrilled when DAYS reached out to her to reprise the role of Bonnie. “Oh, my gosh,” she says. “I’m honored and grateful. I love, obviously, working there. That is such a huge, wonderful family that I am just so grateful to be a part of in any capacity. I was really excited about coming back. Bonnie’s so fun. So naughty, but with a good heart somewhere deep down inside. It’s such a pleasure to play her, for sure.”
But saying good-bye to the alter ego she first created in 1986 was tough. “It was devastating,” she recalls. “I was like, ‘Oh, no!’ But knowing that Bonnie was out there, that it was always a possibility should they want to go that way, it softened the blow a bit.”
Bonnie first crosses paths with Wally Kurth’s Justin. “Not to give away too much, it was kind of difficult,” she teases. “I can’t give away too much of why. Especially playing two characters that look alike that aren’t related, you have to be so careful how you play things because they have to be different. But the situation in which she comes back made it even more of a challenge. It was fun. And that’s the thing about DAYS. Every single day I work there it’s a wonderful challenge. Challenges make you alive and vibrant. I’m just so grateful because they do give me the best challenges.”
Finding Bonnie again wasn’t one of them. “It’s so funny because the two characters are so different,” she observes. “It was just like stepping into a really comfortable pair of shoes again. Both characters are comfortable pairs of shoes, just one is really high heels and the other is more moderate.” The actress previews that Bonnie won’t be exactly the same when viewers see her again. “There’s a lot of the old Bonnie still right there,” Evans notes. “She still has a long way to go to be a redeemable person. But there’s a journey for her, too.” One thing that hasn’t changed: Bonnie still carries a torch for Lucas. “I get all the good guys!” Evans enthuses. “I got a lot of luck going on there. I get to work with Bryan [R. Dattilo], who is fun and wonderful, as well.”
Ultimately, Evans is just thrilled to have gotten the call to come back. “It’s a difficult business as it is,” she points out. “It’s difficult for women. It’s difficult for women over 22. To be part of such a family, to be 55 and still a working actress but so blessed to be with such a great family, I can’t even measure that joy and gratitude that I have to just be a part of that wonderful family. That they keep inviting me back is beyond my wildest dreams!”
