‘Days Of Our Lives’: Shawn Christian Says He Was Hurt Over Daniel’s Abrupt Death
Days Of Our Lives fans still miss Dr. Daniel Jonas, who was a fan favorite character on the soap opera for eight years. Recently, actor Shawn Christian opened up about finding out Daniel was being killed off. He admits that he was hurt by it, especially since it was so abrupt. Find out what else he had to say.
Characters are sometimes killed on television shows. With DOOL and other daytime soaps, that doesn’t necessarily mean the end. Fans have seen over the years many dead characters that turn out to be alive. However, that isn’t possible with Daniel Jonas, at least it wouldn’t be believable and would be too difficult to explain. The NBC soap opera has treated fans with Daniel returning now and again, but it is in spirit form, only visible to Nicole Walker (Arianne Zucker).
In an interview with Soap Opera Digest, Shawn Christian spoke about his shock and disappointment over finding out he was being kicked to the curb.
“It hurt, you know? Just the way it ended so abruptly. I’m not going to lie. To not know why and have it be so abrupt, like, ‘Look, we’re going to kill him off camera and spread his body parts across the canvas,’ it felt like there was a clear, ‘There’s no way we want this character back.’ And in the soap world, people come back from the dead all the time. The way it was done was like, ‘We want this character off.'”
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the Days Of Our Lives actor hinted several months ago that Daniel’s death came as a complete shock. He was given no warning and was stunned when he read the script.
“I had no idea it was coming, so I was part blindsided and part sucker-punched.”
Now that some time has passed and Shawn has been busy with other projects, he views things a bit more positively. The actor is happy that Daniel is being remembered by Nicole Walker (Arianne Zucker), Eric Brady (Greg Vaughan), Brady Black (Eric Martsolf), and of course, Maggie (Suzanne Rogers).
“His value, I have to say, has certainly served the Nicole character well. Ari’s done a great job, and it’s been able to spawn some really good story. I get a sense they still talk about Daniel, even today. It’s a humbling compliment, so kudos to the writers and the people who still keep Daniel’s legacy — and the impact that he had in the lives of Salem — alive.”
With all the changes at Days Of Our Lives over the years, Christian explained the challenge of keeping up with a character that kept changing. He explained that during his time on the NBC soap opera, there were four executive producers and four different head writers. As a result, each of them had a different idea of who Daniel should be.
Right now, Shawn Christian can be seen in Freeform’s Famous In Love. He plays Alan Mills, a ruthless and passionate studio executive. It turns out that during a table read, executive producer I. Marlene King revealed she was a huge fan of the actor. When Christian was on As The World Turns, King had a crush on the soap star. In fact, she introduced Shawn to everyone has her high school crush.
The former Days Of Our Lives actor enjoyed working on Famous In Love. However, it seems that what happened with DOOL is still with him. After filming the last episode of the Freeform TV show, he thanked everyone for letting him be in the series. When Christian was assured he was coming back, he jokingly asked for that in writing.
What do you think of what Shawn Christian had to say about Daniel Jonas’ death on Days Of Our Lives?
[Featured Image by Peter Newcomb/Getty Images for Days Of Our Lives]
