Leo Rising

Greg Rikaart dishes about his return from the dead as DAYS’s Leo Starke

Finding out he’d be back to wreak more havoc as Leo on DAYS didn’t actually come as a surprise to Greg Rikaart. Although he officially found out in May, via a phone call with an offer from Co-Executive Producer Greg Meng, he already knew the character was destined for a resurrection.

On his last day of filming Leo’s “death”, Co-Executive Producer Albert Alarr let him in on the secret. “He said, ‘Well, anyway, we’re all going to think that Leo is dead, but...’ That’s how he sort of ended the sentence,” recounts Rikaart. “So I knew there was a chance he still was alive. And in typical soap opera villain storytelling, it’s always good to keep all options on the table.”

Not surprisingly, Rikaart was “thrilled” with the twist. “Playing this character has been one of the most fun experiences of my career, especially this time,” he enthuses. “He was so fun the first round, but coming back we see more and more layers to Leo and learn more about him. His first time in town Leo was a hired hand, basically. He was the henchman for the ‘bad guy’; first Vivian and then Kate. Whereas now he’s the guy running the plan and whatever complications arise from that. So as fun as it was the first time, it’s paid off in dividends this time. It’s super-fun.”