5. John Aniston
Known to some as Jennifer Aniston’s dad, John Aniston played the manipulative and controlling Victor Kiriakis on DOOL for over thirty years. While he portrayed a bad guy who softened up considerably over the years, fans do love to hate this long-standing character. Aniston recently celebrated an Outstanding Supporting Actor Daytime Emmy nod in 2017. He passed away in 2022 at the age of 89.
4. Matthew Ashford
Many fans thought that DOOL executives made a huge mistake when they killed off the ever-popular Jack Deveraux character in 2012. Clearly, the execs believed it too since the Jack made a splashing return to the show in 2019 (very much alive), despite the fact that he had made appearances on the soap prior as a “ghost.” Of course, audiences are more than willing to forget all that as long as Deveraux continues to grace their screens daily!
3. Drake Hogestyn
In 1986, when Hogestyn first entered DOOL, he portrayed Roman Brady, the lost husband of Marlena Evans that was thought to be dead. As the years would pass, a mysterious character would reveal himself and the storyline of ‘Who Really IS John Black’ continues today. Hogestyn is undeniably one of the most popular DOOL characters of all time, and even at the age of 65, many fans still consider him one of the show’s finest-looking men.
2. Peter Reckell
DOOL fans are still mourning the loss of Bo Brady a year and a half later, and that is simply due to Reckell and Bo’s popularity. Peter joined the show in 1983 and played Bo (on-and-off) for about three decades. When he was written out of the show in 2012 without an official onscreen send-off, fans were devastated. Reckell did return in 2015, but sadly his DOOL comeback was short-lived. Bo passed away weeks after he arrived back in Salem due to a brain tumor. In 2009, Reckell earned himself an Outstanding Lead Actor Daytime Emmy nomination.
1. Joseph Mascolo
The late and great Joseph Mascolo played one of the most hated villains in soap opera history, DOOL’s infamous Stefano DiMera. He entered the role in 1982 and played the part (on and off) until his passing in late 2016. Sure, Stefano tortured the Bradys, was responsible for everything bad that happened in Salem, and was an all-around evil man, but Mascolo played the part so well that fans almost reveled at seeing DiMera win over a scheme or come back to life. Salem is simply not the same without Stefano, and while DOOL audiences continue to mourn the loss of Mascolo, the good news is the memories of his amazing performances on daytime screens will forever remain in our hearts.
