Soap Opera
Deidre Hall Recalls the Surprising Moment She Learned ‘Days of our Lives” Marlena Was Possessed
Deidre Hall reflects on ‘Days of our Lives” iconic 1990s possession storyline, which even inspired Ryan Gosling to become an actor, 32 years later.
Few soap opera plots have earned a place in pop culture history the way Days of our Lives’ 1990s possession storyline has. Although the 63-year-old soap tried a possession plot again as recently as 2021, the original story is still one fans — and Deidre Hall — are talking about 32 years later.
Deidre Hall’s Big Surprise
Marlena’s possession was such a television phenomenon in the ’90s that Ryan Gosling invoked it this year when he appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast and admitted that watching Hall navigate this storyline is what inspired him to become an actor.
“I have to say, it was an incredible acting class,” Gosling said. “I loved it. What’s amazing is, I remember that, thinking like, ‘God, Deidre Hall is a great actress because she’s having to act possessed right now! That just seems like a lot to ask of her.'”
When Hall learned that it was her character who was causing so much destruction around Salem, she was certainly surprised.
“We had been shooting shows where strange things were happening — Christmas trees catching fire, blah, blah, blah, you know the story — and I got called upstairs before Christmas break, and I thought, ‘This is not a good thing,'” she told People in an interview reflecting on 50 years of Marlena. “They said, ‘We just wanted to talk to you before we break to let you know that you’re the one who’s causing all the chaos.’ Okay, why is that? And he said, ‘Because the devil possesses you.’ As one is.”
Once Hall got over the shock, she decided if DAYS was going to do this, then they had to do it right.
“All I said at the time was, just because it’s such an odd thing to do, let’s really commit to it and do it right so it’s a story we can be proud of,” Hall admitted. “[I said,] ‘Please do it well. And I didn’t even know what I meant by that, but, ‘Please don’t cheap out on it.'”
Indeed, DAYS truly did commit to the story, which came complete with levitating, glowing eyes, and a dramatic exorcism that will go down in soap opera history.
