‘Days of Our Lives’ Star Peter Reckell on His Emotional Return for John Black’s Memorial

“Days of Our Lives” fans are deep in their feelings this week while dealing with the loss of beloved character, John Black, played by the late Drake Hogestyn. The cast and crew of the long-running daytime series are right there beside them.

Peter Reckell has returned for a limited run as “Bo Brady,” and he told TV Insider that it hasn’t been particularly easy. “It’s still difficult to talk about because Drake touched everybody in his sphere so closely, and he was my brother and one of my best friends,” Reckell shares.

The Emotions Have Been Real for Peter Reckell

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Given the fact that Peter Reckell and Drake Hogestyn had shared decades of friendship, the memorial scenes were incredibly emotional. “Having his memorial, there was no acting required in those scenes, because you’re saying things as the character that parallel your feelings in your personal relationship. When I went to John’s memorial and all these emotions came up, I just wanted to run away and be by myself and feel those feelings. To have to do it as a character was really difficult,” explains Reckell.

“When he (Bo) walks into the memorial service, everybody is about to leave. The service is about to break up and Bo then makes his way to Marlena. “I go to Dee [Hall, Marlena],” the actor continues. “We have like two sentences, and it’s just us looking at each other. And, as always with her, the connection is immediate and deep, and powerful. I’m looking into her eyes and seeing the pain in them, and she’s looking into mine.”

Peter Reckell Tried to See Drake Hogestyn Before His Death

The actor, who now lives in Alaska with his wife, Kelly Moneymaker, regrets that he didn’t have a final chance to visit with Drake when he filmed at the studio in Los Angeles last year.

“I tried to go see Drake, but when I went down, it was just a couple of weeks before he passed, and so I didn’t get to see him,” Reckell sighs. “I’m not feeling sorry for myself, but you gotta take that time to tell people how much you love them and how much they mean to you. We’re at that age in our lives where people are going to transition.”

More than anything, Peter Reckell will miss his friend off-camera. “It’s not so much the work we did together, but the personal stuff that we did together,” explains Reckell to Soap Opera Digest. “As you know, Drake was just an amazing storyteller. You could start pretty much any conversation with him, and it would remind him of something. And just the love that he had. I think that’s what touched people. He just pulled you into his heart, and [his being gone] is leaving a big hole in a lot of people.”