Legions of soap opera fans were super ecstatic when rumors began swirling early this year that longtime The Young and the Restless star Daniel Goddard (ex-Cane Ashby) had joined Days of our Lives as a recast in the role of E.J. DiMera. Unfortunately, the rumors were later reported to be a huge misunderstanding -- but as it turns out, there's a lot more to the story, and there was more truth to the rumors than anyone realized!
As fans may recall, the situation began when She Knows published an article with a list of New Year predictions the site had for each daytime soap opera. In a photo gallery accompanying the article, the publication gave a 2021 DAYS prediction that read, "When Days of our Lives Sami returns to Salem, she'll do so with true love E.J., no longer a shell of his old self but the spitting image of The Young and the Restless Daniel Goddard."
Goddard played along with the site's made-up prediction and cheekily wrote, "Well, hello #DaysofOurLives" along with a winky face. His tweet caused a huge social media frenzy as some fans assumed that the actor was confirming he'd been cast when, in fact, it was simply his way of indicating that he'd be interested if the opportunity arose. And, as it turns out, the opportunity did arise!
In a new interview with SheKnows, Goddard reveals that he met and talked with the executive producer of DAYS, and when the soap was casting E.J., he was asked to screen-test for the role. Unfortunately, he chose not to move forward at that time.
"It was in the works, and then there was the situation where DAYS may not have been picked up," the actor shares. "So, what happened is, it only would have been a four-week commitment and I was in the middle of launching [the DYSKO app] and building the augmented reality aspect into it. It was too much of a pivot to do something that may pull me away from where I was at this time without any payout... of a long-term thing."
In the end, DAYS was renewed for another two seasons, and the NBC soap opera cast Spartacus actor Dan Feuerriegel in the role of E.J., while Goddard went on to launch his DYSKO app, which fans can learn more about here. It's still fun to dream about the what-ifs, however, and it's also fun to imagine Goddard heading to Salem in a different role. Do you agree? Let us know in the Comments section below!
How do you feel about Daniel Goddard having come thisclose to playing DAYS' E.J. DiMera? It didn't happen, but could you see him stepping into a different role on the NBC soap opera? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
