‘Days of Our Lives’ Dan Feuerriegel Breaks Down E.J.'s Famous Last Words

“I won,” were the words Days of Our Lives star Dan Feuerriegel uttered moments before an unknown assailant shot his character E.J. DiMera in the chest. Now the actor is reflecting upon those words, the story as a whole, and when he learned who the culprit really was.

Speaking to Woman’s World, Feuerriegel stated, “Just before he got shot, he goes, ‘I won’—famous last words! EJ revels in that kind of hate, because in his mind, he’s like, ‘Sweet! I’m doing what’s best for my family, and if that means pissing everyone off, so be it.’ For him, it’s always about him controlling the narrative, and it’s always for his family. At least, that’s his justification.”

Fans will remember that back in December 2006, Sami went on a romantic cabin getaway with her on-again/off-again love interest Lucas “Roberts” Horton (Bryan Dattilo) when tragedy struck, and Lucas was trapped as the roof of the cabin collapsed. Desperate for help, Sami ran to the street. There she ran into E.J. (then James Scott), on the run for having shot her stepfather John Black (Drake Hogestyn). E.J. forced Sami to help him avoid a police checkpoint, and afterward offered to assist her and save Lucas’s life, but in exchange E.J. explained that he was tasked by his father Stefano (Joseph Mascolo) to “plant the DiMera seed” with the Brady of his choice, and Sami was to be given the honor. After discussing the situation, Sami gave in to E.J.’s demands, thus conceiving her son John “Johnny” Roman DiMera (Carson Boatman). E.J. proceeds to hold up his end of the deal and saves Lucas’s life.

Now, 19 years later, the ripple effects of the storyline are playing out as Johnny’s grandfather Roman (Josh Taylor) and step-grandmother Kate (Lauren Koslow) revealed the circumstances of his conception, ultimately leading to a heated exchange between father and son, and setting up the perfect motive for Johnny to be a lead suspect in the tale of “Who Shot E.J.”

Discussing what it was like to film the story, Feuerriegel said, “My job is to not judge the character, but to feel it and stay true to what he’s going through. It’s a challenge to go, ‘All right, how is EJ going to justify this?’ It’s great, because you get to really delve into darkness and flex that muscle. It was also a good acting exercise, because in the majority of the scenes, Carson Boatman was running the show, so I just had to react and listen.”

Teasing when he learned who the shooter was, Feuerriegel explained, “The show did not tell me who it was until it was revealed in the script. The crew gets episodes before we do, so they had theories, and then other actors had theories based on their storyline and what they’d read. But I never got to see those scripts, so I was in the dark for a while!”

Days of Our Lives streams weekdays on Peacock.

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