Best Soap Opera Recasts Of 2021 — Days Of Our Lives Daniel Feuerriegel And Genera Hospital Nicholas Chavez

It’s not easy to recast two iconic soap characters who spent years identified with one performer, but Days of Our Lives and General Hospital managed to do it successfully in 2021.

Days Of Our Lives Needed EJ DiMera

Although James Scott left the role of EJ DiMera behind on DAYS when EJ was shot dead in 2014, we knew he was alive since 2018, but we also knew he had plastic surgery after a fire and had a new face. We waited three years to see that face and meet our new EJ and the soap didn’t disappoint with the casting of Daniel Feuerriegel.

NuEJ still gives us that devious side of EJ that Scott delivered, but Feuerriegel does so with a twinkle in his eye and a different kind of charm. Although this EJ has no problem blowing up people’s lives where he sees fit, he also has a warmth and heart to him we have never seen before. Maybe a near-death experience and almost losing it all has made him see the value of family, but the mother and son scenes between EJ and Stacy Haiduk’s Susan after Susan stabbed herself to save him was the stuff that soaps are made of, even with the wacky accents and political references.

General Hospital Needed To Age Spencer

Since Spencer Cassadine, Cameron Webber, and Josslyn Jacks were all kids together (along with Emma Scorpio-Drake), it made no sense that Spencer remained younger while Cam (Will Lipton) and Joss (Eden McCoy) were aged to high school students. Yes, Spencer was off in a European boarding school, but when he returned on occasion he was still played by the talented Nicolas Bechtel, who just didn’t fit with the other two slightly older actors.

GH finally decided the character needed to return and fit into the teen scene/college scene story and a new actor had to be found. The show struck gold with Nicholas Chavez, a soap newcomer who has given Spencer more layers than just the slick, precocious kid that Bechtel brought to life. Now, Spencer is a romantic lead and we can see the character’s heartbreak over how his father treated him the last few years. We also can’t wait to see what happens between Spencer and Trina Robinson (Sydney Mikayla).

Sometimes recasts work and sometimes they don’t. Days of Our Lives and General Hospital got this casting job done right in 2021.