User:Nk3play2/John Black

John Black is a fictional character from Days of Our Lives, an American soap opera on the NBC network. He has been played by actor Drake Hogestyn since 1986, with a break in between from January 2009 to September 2011. John was created by script writers Sheri Anderson, Thom Racina and Leah Laiman as The Pawn in 1985 and introduced by executive producers Betty Corday and Al Rabin. John becomes one of Days of Our Lives'  most popular characters when he is revealed to be the presumed dead Roman Brady (Wayne Northrop) with plastic surgery and amnesia. However, Northrop's return in 1991 led to Hogestyn's Roman being retconned into the entirely separate character of John Black, which also establishes the supercouple pairing of John and Marlena, due to John's affair with Roman's wife, Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall). During the time in which he believes he is Roman, John picks up the mantle of Roman's feud with crime lord Stefano DiMera (Joseph Mascolo). John and Stefano's feud is central to the character's history as Stefano is partly responsible for John's memory loss. Their lives are further intertwined in 2008 when the two are falsely led to believe they are half brothers -- a story that was later disproved. Hogestyn's portrayal has made him one of daytime's most popular and recognizable stars. Hogestyn was attributed with helping the series out of its ratings slump in the 1980s. He was often featured in soap opera magazines such as Soap Opera Digest and Soap Opera Weekly.

Creation and casting
The character of John was introduced as "the Pawn" in November 1985. He was briefly portrayed by Glen Vincent and Robert Poynton. At the time, Days of Our Lives had been searching for an actor to play the role once the character's bandages were removed. Former minor league baseball player Drake Hogestyn walked into the NBC casting office to meet with Doris Sabbagh, the head of casting at Columbia Pictures about a guest spot on Crazy Like a Fox. Instead, Sabbagh brought Hogestyn in to audition for the Pawn. Hogestyn explained that he didn't know anything about the character and was under the assumption that he had actually auditioned for ABC's One Life to Live. Though Hogestny was a fan of soaps, his agent had passed on several soap roles, "but Drake wanted this one." He watched some episosed and then went to the audition. Though everyone seemed to love him, Hogestyn nearly lost out on the role feeling he was too young. However, it was his screen test with Deidre Hall that put Hogestyn over. Hogestyn was chosen out of five other actors and initially signed a three year contract. Hogestyn made his debut on January 23, 1986.

Backstory
John Black was born on Valentine's Day in 1955.

Retcon (1991)
By the time John is revealed to be Roman in May 1986, Drake Hogestyn had grown quite attached to the character of John. He said "One of the things I'm concerned about now is that it's going to be sad to put John Black to bed. I've had a lot of fun and it's been a stretch for me as an actor." He continued, "I had a chance to be very creative and take chances." Then Hogestyn was suddenly forced to take the character in another direction to see how viewers would react. "But I don't think they'll totally close the door on John Black" Hogestyn suspected. A year later, though he was happy with Roman, Hogestyn said he initially wanted to find success in his own role instead of a recast. The actor later admitted that he never thought of himself as a recast "because I played five months as John Black before they told me I was Roman." During an interview in 1990, Hogestyn said he hoped Northrop could someday return as Roman. "Then you could start a whole new character out of that complication."

In the summer of 1991, it was reported that Wayne Northrop and Deidre Hall were in talks to return to the series and reprise their respective roles as Roman and Marlena, leaving many to wonder what would become of Hogestyn's Roman. It was later revealed that Hogestyn's Roman was actually John Black all along, and Northrop was the "real" Roman. Hogestyn attributed the plot twist two the "producers' own brilliance" despite him suggesting the storyline a year earlier. He also appreciated the decision from a business perspective. When asked about the possibility of being Roman again if/when Northrop inevitably vacated the role -- as the return was expected to be short term -- Hogestyn said "I think I'd like to stay John Black because I've already been Roman and I wasn't him." Executive producer Al Rabin said "This is a story that we've wanted to tell for a long time." Rabin promised that the plot would not affect Hogestyn's future with Days who at the time was locked into a four year contract. The producer also shot down speculation that the story would take a page from the prime time soap Dallas in which Patrick Duffy's Bobby Ewing was killed off in season 8 and revealed to be alive in season 10 discounting all of season 9 as a dream. To avoid confusion during production, the two men were referenced in the script by number -- Hogestyn being Roman II (John). Over the course of six months, the story explores all avenues most significantly, the affects on Roman and Marlena's twins Eric and Samantha who had been raised by Roman II for most of their lives.

Mexican adventures
To wrap the story, the production goes on location in Mexico in October 1991 where several characters travel searching for answers. Roman and Marlena, and John are along for the adventure.

Impact and aftermath
In 2002 Hogestyn commented on the retcon: "This is daytime television, and you never know where the story is going to take you."

Such a development would be unique to Days of Our Lives. And exactly 20 years later, One Life to Live would do the same thing with Trevor St. John's very popular portrayal of Todd Manning – a role that was originated by Roger Howarth who was equally as popular – if not more popular. Ironically, a theory about the Days plot where Roman II turned out to be Roman I's long lost twin brother actually factored into the One Life to Live story in 2011.

Relationships
Hogestyn always hoped his character would be paired with Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) -- even when his character's identity is in question. Even viewers began to echo his sentiments -- no matter who John Black turned out to be, he and Marlena were meant to be. When Deidre Hall left the series in 1987 and Marlena is killed off, it took quite some for the producers to pair John with another woman. "I get the impression they're trying to keep a low profile because of Deidre's departure." Hogestyn was warned that he wouldn't be getting much story. "I was told I was going to be virtually non-existent" at least until Roman could grieve properly. Though it was difficult wait, Hogestyn understood why the writers chose to put his character in the background. "You can't rush from one love story right into the next" he said. Soap Opera Stars magazine later reported that the show runners weren't sure if Hogestyn would work without Hall and there were plans to write his character out. "Roman's big goodbye scene was nearly in the works." However, after losing several high profile stars after including Hall, and Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso as supercouple Bo and Hope, the network knew they couldn't afford to lose Hogestyn as well. Hogestyn viewed John and Marlena's relationship as a "classic love." It is "the perfect relationship" he said. Hogestyn appreciated that the relationship showed viewers that such a love is possible. When asked about a recast of Marlena instead of a new love interest, Hogestyn admitted that he didn't think viewers would accept it.

Finally trusting that Hogestyn was popular enough to hold his own, the writers introduced a new love interest for him. John/Roman was next paired with Diana Colville played by General Hospital superstar, Genie Francis. Hogestyn revealed that the writers had given the duo much more creative input to establish a more fun dynamic. There weren't any plans to pair Roman/John with Diana but their interactions helped the story write itself. The character of Diana also had a romance with Mike Horton (Michael T. Weiss) and a failed engagement to Victor Kiriakis (John Aniston) and was even considered as a love interest for a returning Bo Brady (Reckell). However, Hogestyn's chemistry with Francis "just couldn't be denied." It is actually John who kidnaps Diana before she marries Victor. While their was initial backlash from staunch Marlena fans fearing John and Diana had developed too soon, majority of viewers quickly became fans of the new pairing not long after their first few scenes together. The duo had really strong scenes from the very beginning. "That was an accident" Hogestyn said. Despite it being seeming too soon, the network ordered the producers to capitalize on the fan reaction. "Genie and I worked hard from day one to make Diana and Roman work" Hogestyn explained. The duo also injected humor into their scenes whenever they could. "That added a nice, little touch to our romance." John/Roman initially tries to keep Diana at arms length because he fears getting so close to another woman, the way he got with Marlena. However, Diana's near death experience is a "turning point in their relationship." Diana and John/Roman are recognized as a supercouple in their own right. When Francis leaves the series in 1989, Hogestyn finds himself on the back burner once again.

The character was next paired with Yvette DuPrés (Lori Hallier) who is also involved with his rival, Victor Kiriakis. John/Roman keeps Yvette "at arm's length." However Hogestyn considered the romance to be a "relationship of convenience." It provides the opportunity for John/Roman to stick it to Victor "and at the same time have some fun." However, insisted that the romance could never live up to his previous two pairings. Hogestyn was surprised by the abrupt ending of John/Roman's romance with Yvette. He really enjoyed working opposite Lori Hallier. "She was very conscientious about wanting to work... working scenes out. That was so refreshing for me." John's short lived romance with Yvette seems to be a precursor to his next great love story. In early 1990, Hogestyn was informed that his character's next great love story was in the works. John/Roman was next paired with Isabella Toscano (Staci Greason) -- the illegitimate daughter of Victor Kiriakis. Hogestyn enjoyed working opposite the newcomer. "She reminds me of me when I first started on the show... I had no soap opera experience, and my energy was boundless."

Identity and lineage
"For months, I didn't know who I was going to turn out to be" Hogestyn said of his character's identity in 1987. There were three options for the character's potential identity -- the presumed dead Roman, crime lord Stefano DiMera (Joseph Mascolo) or John as an entirely separate character. Keeping the character in limbo allowed the producers to keep their options open if Hogestyn did not win over fans. While most actors would feel insecure with such an uncertain future, Hogestyn felt safe because viewers were already invested in "the Pawn" as a character. The writers extended the story for another three months allowing the Pawn to solidify the John character.

When Northrop returned to the role of Roman in 1991, John is left to wonder about the missing part of his life.

Reception
"Rarely has an actor captured the viewers' intent, complete attention" said Meredith Brown of Soap Opera Digest in 1986.

By the time of Northrop's return in 1991, Drake Hogestyn had solidified his place as the "definitive" Roman Brady even winning a fan poll run by Soap Opera Update where fans preferred Hogestyn's Roman over Northrop's.