Put a Ring On It! ‘Days of Our Lives’’ Bryan Dattilo Dishes the Lucas-Adrienne Engagement

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They bonded when their gay sons fell in love and got married. Now Days of Our Lives’ Lucas and Adrienne—played by Bryan Dattilo and Judi Evans—are heading for a wedding of their own. Lucas will pop the question in the June 21 episode of the NBC soap, with the ceremony set for the fall. Dattilo breaks it all down for us.

Nice to see Lucas hasn’t given up, since this isn’t the first time he’s proposed to Adrienne. Why does he think she’ll accept this time?
Because Lucas is a great catch! He tried asking her once before, at Abby’s wedding, and she just wasn’t ready. That proposal was a surprise to me. When I read that script I thought it was coming up much too quickly, but I figured Lucas had the ring in his pocket and had been waiting for the next right time. This time, when he proposes they’re at Club TBD. Lucas gets down on one knee, which is always fun.

What’s in it for Adrienne?
[Laughs] Gee, what is in it for Adrienne? Maybe she hopes things will finally be good for her. Of course, this will be a typical Salem wedding where things do not go the way they’re supposed to. Expect fireworks—all the fireworks you need. Things will hit the fan, but you’ll get a good payoff.

What did you think when Adrienne said no the first time?
I thought, “There goes my storyline! It’s all over for me!” Lucas had a lot more hope than Bryan did. Lucas never took it personally. He was, like, “Things are good. I’m not gonna push it. I’ll just let this play out.” He was willing to let Adrienne have her space. He wasn’t being obsessive. But Bryan was obsessive. How could Adrienne say no? I really took it personally. Lucas was a lot more stable about it.

Then Will’s death must have really freaked you out.
When I heard they were killing Lucas and Sami’s kid I was totally freaking. I felt that I needed that character to anchor me to the show, so I was very upset. But beyond that, I didn’t understand why they wanted to kill someone so important to the show and to Salem history. That was tough, but when I got over the shock I saw the opportunity to play some much deeper stuff than they usually give me. I wanted to play it as honestly as I could, especially for the people in the audience who have suffered that kind of personal loss. I felt very naked, very exposed, playing all that grief, but I was proud of the work.

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Where is the happy couple going to live? Where does Lucas live now? We know so little about his life off-screen. Will Adrienne have to support him?
Well, Adrienne is selling Club TBD, so maybe they can live off that. The writers keep Lucas’s life very vague, so I have to fill in a lot of the blanks on my own. I figure he’s been staying at the Salem Inn, and maybe co-managing it so that he has a free place to stay. Maybe Adrienne can move in there. Lucas also travels a lot because he works for the DiMeras.

What does he do for them exactly?
Hmmm. Well…uh, I think Lucas is maybe good with financing. He goes to a company and makes them more money. I don’t know how he does it. Lucas was sleeping at the Kiriakis mansion and got kicked out of there because Victor [John Aniston] didn’t like it. And his options at Titan are gone since his mother Kate [Lauren Koslow] got cut. So, basically, Lucas is a tumbleweed.

Word is, Kate has a big problem with Lucas marrying Adrienne, which is no big surprise. But Adrienne’s kid Sonny [Freddie Smith] isn’t happy, either. What the hell is his problem?
Sonny is hoping his parents will get back together and he really needs to get over that. I mean, Lucas and [Adrienne’s ex-husband] Justin [Wally Kurth] don’t even have a problem with each other, but Sonny has a problem with this? Seriously? As for Kate, what else is new? She’s, like, “What are you thinking, Lucas? Adrienne is Sonny’s mother!” She doesn’t think there’s anything real there. She badmouths all of Lucas’s women. In the past, he’s felt betrayed by that, and confused. Now he just thinks she’s crazy.

So Kate would prefer that Lucas be alone?
Yeah, I think in the back of her mind she would really like that. It’s all about Kate. Every mom wants at least one of her sons to not move on, right? [Laughs]

You know who won’t like this one damn bit? Sami!
Who? [Laughs] No, she would not like it at all. Which is the perfect reason to do it right there! Sometimes when I have to enter a scene and Lucas has to be all mad or upset or worked up about something, I pretend that he just got off the phone with Sami. It puts me right where I need to be.

What are the fans saying to you about the Lucas-Adrienne romance?
I’ve heard it all. The majority seem to be saying, “I dig it. I’m all for it.” But some people say they can’t imagine why Lucas and Adrienne would find their way to each other. Some say what they have is cute but it’s not enough to build a marriage on. People love to tell you what they think.

Is this the real deal in your mind?
Yes, definitely. It’s not some emotional rebound because their other romantic relationships didn’t work out. They have a great thing going. They are happier together than apart. Yes, they share tragedy. Lucas lost his son to death, and Sonny moved away, so in a way they both lost children. But they were there for each other in a very deep and beautiful way. There is nothing desperate about this.

Thoughts on working with Ms. Evans?
I love Judi Evans! She is the coolest. There are so many levels to that woman. Every time I think I have Judi figured out, I realize that I don’t. There is always one more layer to discover. And she’s ridiculously funny. The only problem with her is that she’s got too much of the technology bug in her. She has every pad, watch and phone known to man. She has four phones. She keeps her script digitally on five pads. She carries three with her at all times and when there’s a question about something on the set she can immediately scroll to the answer. And there I am with my sad, rolled up, dog-eared paper script. I used to be the new young punk on Days. Now I’m the dinosaur. [Laughs] How did this happen?