What We Know About ‘Days of our Lives’ Newcomer Jacob Martinez

Days of our Lives’ Javi Hernandez has a new face in the form of soap opera newcomer Jacob Martinez. The actor joined the 60-year-old Peacock soap in June, taking over for Al Calderon, who had left for a role on the now-cancelled Brilliant Minds. While Martinez is dipping his feet into the world of daytime, he is no stranger to the acting world.

From Nursing to Acting for Jacob Martinez

Martinez hails from Norfolk, Nebraska and trained at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. He began performing at a young age, including on stage at the Johnny Carson Theater. Other credits include the short film Memory Swim, a small role on the series Another Pucking Fairytale, and In Pieces: The Musical at The Public Theater, per IMDb.

Despite his background in performing as a child, Martinez told News Channel Nebraska that he had been accepted into nursing school when he realized the medical field might not be his calling. A teacher had asked him if nursing was his dream, which caused Martinez to reflect and re-evaluate.

“I said to her, ‘I want to sing. I want to act. I want to be a performer for the rest of my life,” Martinez relayed. “And she just looked at me and she was like, ‘Jacob, you have to do that.'”

Martinez steps into a hot story as Javi, with his character recently returning to Salem with a new man in his life after taking vows with Leo Stark (Greg Rikaart) when the year began. Javi and Leo married on New Year’s Eve, but within minutes, Leo’s ex, Dimitri (Peter Porte), appeared. Javi quickly called off the marriage and refused to file the license as he waited for Leo to work out his feelings for Dimitri.

Leo was insistent from the start that he wanted Javi, but Javi left town anyway to care for his sick father. When he returned, he had moved on with fellow paramedic Gus (Michael Ocampo), who recently relocated to Salem.

That’s a complicated soapy situation for Martinez to walk into as Javi, but on DAYS, it’s just another day in Salem.