Drake Hogestyn (born
Donald Drake Hogestyn on September 29, 1953) is an
American
actor best known for his long running role as John Black on the American soap opera Days of our Lives.
Biography
Early life
Hogestyn
was born in Fort Wayne,
Indiana
. He attended the University of
South Florida
in Tampa
on a
baseball scholarship, majoring in pre-dentistry. He
graduated with a double major in microbiology and applied sciences.
He was then drafted by two professional baseball organizations: the
St. Louis Cardinals and the
New York Yankees. Hogestyn signed
with the Yankees and played third base for one of their farm teams
until he was injured in 1978.
Career
Hogestyn began his acting career by entering a
Columbia Pictures talent search that
included 75,000 people. Hogestyn was among the 30 selected, and his
first starring role was on the prime time series
Seven
Brides for Seven Brothers . After a few minor roles (one
as Kort, leader of the Micro Workers in the episode 'Princess
Metra', on the 80s television series
Otherworld ), Hogestyn joined
the cast of
Days of our Lives in 1986. He initially played
a mystery man referred to simply as "The Pawn," however, it was
soon revealed The Pawn was the presumed dead
Roman Brady. Hogestyn quickly became a fan
favorite and enjoyed many popular pairings, the most popular of
which was the legendary one he shared with longtime co-star Deidre
Hall. In 1998, while starring on
Days,
Shelley Long wanted Drake to join her for an
upcoming series,
Kelly, Kelly. He was set to star in both
until the filming of the
pilot
episode of
Kelly, Kelly conflicted with his schedule
on
Days and the role went to
Robert
Hays..
In 1991,
Wayne Northrop agreed to
return to
Days to reprise his role of Roman. In order to
keep both actors on the show, Drake's story was
retconned and his past rewritten. Despite this
change, Hogestyn remained one of the show's most popular actors.
The pairing of
John Black
and Marlena Evans (
Deidre Hall) is
one of the show's enduring
supercouples.
Drake's John Black character was "killed off" the week of October
15, 2007. It was rumored the character was officially dead and
would not be back, but
Days has a reputation for "killing"
many characters and eventually bringing them back. In actual fact
it turned out that John was not really dead at all, but had been
abducted by long-time nemesis
Stefano
DiMera. As of January 8, 2008, Drake was back on
Days of
our Lives in the role he created. Confirmed on November 17,
2008, Drake, along with his long time co-star,
Deidre Hall, were let go from
Days of our
Lives due to budget cuts.
Personal life
Hogestyn married his childhood sweetheart Victoria Post on December
31, 1986. The couple have two children, Whitney and Alexandra. Mrs.
Hogestyn also has two children from her previous marriage.
Awards, honors and nominations
- *Winner, Hottest Male Star (1994)
- *Winner, Hottest Male Star (1995)
- *Nominated, Hottest Male Star (1997)
- *Nominated, Hottest Male Star (1998)
- *Nominated, Hottest Romance (1998) shared with Deidre Hall
- *Nominated, Favorite Couple (1999) shared with Deidre Hall
- *Winner, Favorite Couple (2005) shared with Deidre Hall
Roles
See also
References
- Soap Opera Digest online bio for Drake Hogestyn [1]
- Quote at IMDB regarding Kelly, Kelly [2]
- SOD Winners 1994 [3]
- SOD Winners 1995 [4]
- SOD Winners 2005 [5]
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
