Thaao Penghlis has been a part of the fabric of Days of Our Lives for more than 40 years. With the soap celebrating its 60th anniversary this fall, rumors have spread that Penghlis’s on-screen father, Stefano DiMera, may once again rise from the ashes. Penghlis is now sharing his thoughts on the rumor.
The actor recently appeared on the Christian Media Spotlight podcast where he was interviewed about his time on the beloved NBC soap opera.
During the discussion Penghlis was asked if he saw a point where the soap may recast the role of Stefano. The actor shared, “I don’t think Tony DiMera or Stefano DiMera, I don’t think those two characters would be recast.”
Penghlis went on to explain how much impact his portrayal of Tony/Andre and that of Joseph Mascolo as Stefano has played on the show.
“Because of what we brought in. We were the beginners of that story line. The reason why it survived was because of who we were and still are.”
In the DiMera family mansion’s living room set a giant portrait of Mascolo’s Stefano hangs where his presence is felt looking over the family at any given time. Penghlis shared how it just wouldn’t be right to have a different portrait hanging in the room. “You couldn’t bring another actor in to play him and have his portrait up there in the living room.”
Soap operas are known for multiple actors portraying certain roles over the years in order to keep certain characters on when other actors for a multitude of reasons ranging from the actor being unavailable or the series wants to take the character in a different direction.
The character of Stefano DiMera was written off in 2016 when Mascolo passed away. Since that time ‘Stefano’ returned once in 2019-2020 when his ‘essence’ was transferred into Steve Johnson’s body.
Rumors of Stefano’s return have intensified with the soap opera celebrating its 60th anniversary, and as Parade previously reported, during a promo for what’s to come, Days of Our Lives teased Stefano’s possible return. “There is a reason that Stefano is known as the phoenix” Rafe tells Cat. Afterwards, Anna is then seen telling Tony, “She claims your father’s alive.” The promo then ends with Tony’s voice heard saying, “It’s almost time father.”
With that said, Penghlis maintains that the role is too important to recast. “There are certain characters that you can’t change because they’re unique in their way and that’s why they’ve survived. It’s the reason for longevity in this business is because something about what you’ve contributed is unique.”
Fans will have to tune in this fall to see if Stefano makes an appearance and how the story will unfold.
Days of Our Lives streams weekdays on Peacock
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 3, 2025, where it first appeared in the TV section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
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