Since it was revealed that fan favorite Theresa Donovan (played by Jen Lilley) was being recast in part due to her most recent return to “Days of Our Lives,” the soap opera industry has been ablaze with controversy. Emily O’Brien, who presently portrays Gwen von Leuschner on the serial opera, will take over for Lilley. One actress is playing two different roles on “Days” at once in an odd turn of events, and the transition couldn’t be more awkward.
Theresa Donovan was a character that Lilley created in 2013 and intermittently portrayed until September 2023, when a new casting was revealed. For Victor Kiriakis’ (John Aniston) funeral in August 2023, Lilley returned to the soap, but due to a communication error, she was unable to participate in the entire filming schedule. Per People, Lilley anticipated that the timetable would be streamlined so that she could finish in time, but the powers-that-be had already recast her with O’Brien by the time she started filming. The two actresses had a really awkward talk as a result of the mistakes.
The recasting caused some awkwardness between Jen Lilley and Emily O’Brien
Jen Lilley was to return to “Days” for a 12-week character arc, but when scheduling conflicts got in the way, it was decided she could film for four weeks instead. In an interview with People, Lilley detailed her first time meeting Emily O’Brien on set during her first day back to filming. They introduced themselves and discussed who their characters were, but little did Lilley know what was coming.
“We’re catching up in the line,” she told the outlet. “All the while, poor thing knows that she’s the recast. At this point, nobody else knew.”
Lilley continued by saying that when she questioned former producer Albert Alarr about her allegedly light filming schedule, he replied that they had substituted another actress for the remaining arc. As she stated in the interview, “They do not take recasts well,” Lilley asked fans to be understanding of her and offered an apology to O’Brien for how both actresses were handled.