Don't look for Stefano to come out of that coma anytime soon. Joseph Mascolo who has played the popular Phoenix for over 25 years, is off the canvas. "Stefano is still in a coma and that's where he will remain for now," confirms a show spokesperson.
"From my point of view, as much as I love [Executive Producer] Ken Corday, I am so deeply ashamed of what he allowed to happen to one of the greatest characters they ever had in Stefano," sighs Mascolo, who spoke to Digest shortly after the death of his beloved father, Peter, who lived to be a remarkable 106.
"Let's get to the bottom line. I went along with everything," he continues. "Last year, they called me, the first words out of Ken's mouth were, "I waited 10 years to make this call. We obviously need Stefano back.' We went through a whole, big dance. I wanted to make sure it was going to be done right and that the new writer would be at least worthy of it. And so I said okay and they had Stefano in a wheelchair more than they had him on his feet. And that whole story about the background that I thought could have been interesting? They turned it into a comic strip and it went on forever. It was all wrong. Everything they did was wrong. With John being his half brother, the potential was really very good there for all kinds of storylines."
Mascolo says Corday reached out to him during the writers' strike. "Near the end of last year , Ken called and said, "Listen, please bear with me. He'll be in a coma for a while and we'll see. Trust me.' And then he has that silly thing with Marlena shoving a needle in Stefano's neck. I'm just so disappointed in them; it's like they double crossed me. They asked me to stick with them and then they turn around and don't know what they're doing."
The actor says he hasn't heard from anyone at the show. " Nobody has called me, but they called my agent and said they were not picking up my option in May or whenever it was," he reports. "I can't tell you what's hitting me all over the place in the airports and stuff. I've just totally turned it off. This [his father's death] has happened, so DAYS OF OUR LIVES is the last thing on my mind right now."
Would he come back? "They would have to come on bended knee," laughs Mascolo. "I have already been called to do other work, but I'd probably like to step on the stage again because I love that."
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