Wayne Northrop’s Son Hank Talks Joining ‘DAYS’ and Keeping His Father’s Legacy Alive

Stephanie Sloane February 14, 2025, 12:02 pm

Hank and Wayne Northrop — Peter Konerko; NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection

An actor with a very familiar last name to soap fans has been hired at Days of our Lives in a new role. Hank Northrop, son of the late Wayne Northrop, who played Roman Brady, and Lynn Herring, who plays General Hospital‘s Lucy Coe, will arrive in Salem later this year but has already started filming.

The opportunity came Northrop’s way late last year, around the time his father passed away on November 29. “I did the audition and I felt good about it, but my focus was on my father,” he recalls. “So, it kind of took the back burner in my mind. And then I got a callback and didn’t hear for a little bit. And then the most magical thing happened on my birthday, January 9. I got the call saying, ‘Congratulations, you’ve booked Days of our Lives.’ And I just immediately broke down in tears. It was so cosmic. It was almost like my dad had given me a birthday present, the first birthday after his passing, to help me through the trauma of dealing with his passing. You can’t script it. It gave me the ability to cope with it a little more. It was just such a beautiful full-circle moment and I thank [Executive Producer] Ken Corday, [Co-Executive Producer] Janet Spellman-Drucker, [Casting Director] Marnie Saitta, and the production team.”

Stepping onto the Days set was a whirlwind of emotions for the newcomer. “I’ve been acting for a while now, and this was just such a special experience, coming to a show my dad loved so much and that he was so loved on,” Northrop explains. “I didn’t know what to expect. I just wanted to do my best and be as nice to everyone as I could. So I showed up on my first day, and everybody was so friendly. It was just such an amazing, warm, welcoming experience, and it just made everything so much easier for me. I got back in my car after I did my scenes and I just kind of said, ‘Thank you, Dad,’ and had this amazing moment of gratitude.”

Corday Productions/JPI Studios

In his new role, Northrop is working closely with James Reynolds (Abe Carver), the actor his father worked closely with for years. “What a legend,” Northrop marvels. “First of all, it was so cool because he and my dad had such a great working relationship, and they didn’t tell him that I was coming on to work with him. So when I saw him for the first time, he just lit up. My dad always said, ‘James has the best laugh you’ll ever hear,’ and I finally got to hear it in person. This man just lights up the room. He was so kind to me. We honestly couldn’t stop hugging each other. We kind of holding up production a little bit because we were just wanting to connect, and he was just like, ‘Oh, my gosh, you’re Wayne’s son. This is the best thing. I’m so excited. I loved your dad so much.’ I could not ask for a better first scene partner on Days. He took me under his wing and taught me the ropes.”

Wayne Northrop, James Reynolds - 'Days Of Our Lives'

Paul Skipper.jpistudios.com

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Wayne Northrop played Roman Brady from 1981-94 and 1991-94, and Alex North from 2005-06, so his son has vivid memories of his father’s workplace. “I remember hearing all the amazing stories from the set,” he shares. “My dad was such a jokester and a prankster. He would tie people’s dressing room door handles together so when they called them the set, they couldn’t open their doors, and he’d get in trouble for that kind of stuff. He was always pranking around with [the late] Drake [Hogestyn, John Black], too. So Days was always a big part of my life growing up. And Alex North’s storyline was super fun, too.”

After his father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, one thing remained constant, Hank says. “He never lost his sense of humor. He would joke around the whole time. Up until his very last days, he always had a smile and was always teasing people.”

While acting was the family business — Northrop and Herring appeared together on Port Charles as Rex Stanton and Lucy Coe from 1997-98 — they didn’t encourage their children to learn the craft. “They tried to keep my younger brother Grady and me as far away from the business as possible,” he reports. “They loved what they did, but obviously there are a lot of hardships that come with the business that they experienced firsthand, so they wanted us to have our own path. I worshiped my dad. He was my hero, still is to this day and forever will be, so in the back of my mind, I always thought, ‘I know they don’t want me to be an actor, but I want to follow in his footsteps.’ My brother and I would put on [GH‘s] Luke and Laura plays at home. We’d switch spots. I’d be Luke one time, he’d be Laura, and then I’d be Laura, he’d be Luke, and we would just put on these over-the-top shows for my mom and dad. So, acting has always been in my blood, and I’ve always enjoyed it.”

Northrop didn’t major in theater at the University of Southern California, but did take some acting classes and ultimately decided that it was his future. His parents “were super supportive,” Northrop says, “but they told me it’s not all going to be sunshine and roses, and boy, were they right.”

Corday Productions/JPI Studios

Nevertheless, Northrop has racked up some impressive credits along the way. “One of my first bigger jobs was with Reese Witherspoon on the pilot episode of The Morning Show,” he recalls. “It is just me and her fighting and yelling at each other. And everything you hear about Reese Witherspoon is so true. I got to go to the table read, and there were 25, 30 executives sitting there, and there’s me sitting next to Reese and Steve Carell and Jennifer Aniston and everyone’s treating me like I’m just one of the cast. Reese took me under her wing. She was so friendly to me. In between takes, we’d laugh our butts off, and then we’d go right back into yelling at each other. She was such a giving actor that after we would do a take, she would look at me and be like, ‘Do you want to do another take? We can get more coverage of you.’ To have one of my first bigger jobs be with an Academy Award-winning actress who was so friendly and nice, I could not have asked for a better introduction into the entertainment world.”

His most recent project was Taylor Sheridan’s upcoming series for Paramount, The Madison, which also stars Michelle Pfeiffer. “It’s just an amazing cast, and I’m sure I can’t say too much about that, but I literally just wrapped filming that in Texas, right before I got the part on Days.”

Wayne Northrop, Lynn Herring - 'Port Charles'

Cathy Blaivas /Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

And though his parents may have been initially reluctant for him to become an actor, Northrop says his mother, who has been on GH since 1986 and played Lisanne Gardner on Days in 1992, couldn’t be more thrilled about his new soap job. “She is ecstatic. She wants to scream it from the rooftops,” he smiles. “She has been so supportive. She gave me so much great advice before my first day and gave me so many tips heading into it. She’s been the best support system I could possibly ask for. I feel so privileged and so honored to have her in my life, as I’m now embarking on my Days journey, because, what better reference point than a woman who’s been doing the genre for almost 40 years now? And it’s honestly, for our entire family, just such a healing moment for the tough times of going through losing Wayne. I’m just so honored now to get to honor my own father on the show that he loved so much. It’s just so special.”

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