Roman Brady is a fictional character from the long-running NBC soap
opera Days of Our Lives. The role was originated in 1981 by Wayne
Northrop, who played the role until 1984, was filled by Drake Hogestyn
from 1986 to 1991, again by Northrop from 1991 to 1994, and is
currently being portrayed by series veteran Josh Taylor, who stepped
into the role in 1997.The role was originated on December 8, 1981, by
Wayne Northrop. Northrop departed from the series on November 26,
1984, and the character was killed off during a battle with his
arch-nemesis, international criminal mastermind Stefano DiMera. On
November 27, 1985, the series introduced a character known as The
Pawn. The role was portrayed by Robert Poynton until January 20, 1986,
though the character's face is wrapped in bandages. On January 23,
1986, The Pawn's bandages were finally removed as Drake Hogestyn made
his first appearance as John Black, a character with no memory of his
past or knowledge of his real identity. In May 1986, Hogestyn's
character of John is revealed to be Roman with extensive plastic
surgery and Hogestyn played the role written as Roman until 1991. When
Northrop returned as Roman on August 30, 1991, the character that
Hogestyn had been portraying for five years was retconned to be an
entirely separate character that had been brainwashed to believe he
was Roman Brady. Northrop once again departed from the series on
August 2, 1994. On July 18, 1997, Josh Taylor appeared in the role as
a recast of Roman Brady. The casting was met with criticism due to
Taylor's previous portrayal of Chris Kositchek, one of Roman and
Marlena's closest friends. Northrop was later recast as another new
character, Dr. Alex North, and scenes from Northrop's time playing
Roman were edited to create the new character's backstory.Roman is the
retired police commissioner of the fictional Midwestern town of Salem,
and currently manages and tends bar at his family's business, the
Brady Pub. He is also a former agent of the fictional International
Security Alliance (ISA), a spy agency focused on all sorts of
unusually high-level global conspiracies that tended to center around
his otherwise-quiet home town. During his portrayal by Northrop, he
was established as a top-notch cop but also a bit of a renegade, often
accepting deep-cover assignments, and a master of disguise (similar to
Sherlock Holmes). Hogestyn's character was more by-the-book on the
job, although still dangerous with a dark side somewhat characteristic
of an ex-spy (which later fed into the "John Black" persona), with
expertise in Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, and a little more of a ladies'
man. Taylor's portrayal is more that of a "regular guy", with a bit
less intrigue and more straightforward professionally, although still
with an eye for the ladies and more inclined to engage in one-night
stands with various women than the character as portrayed by Northrop
or Hogestyn (such as with Kate Roberts, Billie Reed, ex-wives Anna
DiMera and Marlena Evans, and a strongly hinted at â€" but never
confirmed â€" rendezvous with Nicole Walker).Over the years, much has
been made of the creation (and constant retcon of the backstory) of
Hogestyn's character John Black as an entirely separate character than
that of Roman Brady, especially after the show had invested over five
years in establishing John's identity as Roman, complete with a
plausible backstory of his “time away†(while he was being held
captive, brainwashed, and trainedâ€"-unsuccessfullyâ€"-to be an
assassin by Stefano DiMera), and "Roman's" reemerging memories.
However, with Roman's recasts and changes in characterization over the
years (while John has consistently been played by Hogestyn), in
hindsight it can be said that it was actually John Black that remained
more true to the original "Roman" persona, and that it was Roman that
was gradually developed into a separate character. This was especially
illustrated in 2016 when Roman, who had always been a straight-shooter
with regard to the law, became complicit in the cover-up of
sister-in-law Hope Brady's murder of Stefano DiMera, who she wrongly
believed was responsible for the disappearance and later death of her
husband (and Roman's brother) Bo Brady.
opera Days of Our Lives. The role was originated in 1981 by Wayne
Northrop, who played the role until 1984, was filled by Drake Hogestyn
from 1986 to 1991, again by Northrop from 1991 to 1994, and is
currently being portrayed by series veteran Josh Taylor, who stepped
into the role in 1997.The role was originated on December 8, 1981, by
Wayne Northrop. Northrop departed from the series on November 26,
1984, and the character was killed off during a battle with his
arch-nemesis, international criminal mastermind Stefano DiMera. On
November 27, 1985, the series introduced a character known as The
Pawn. The role was portrayed by Robert Poynton until January 20, 1986,
though the character's face is wrapped in bandages. On January 23,
1986, The Pawn's bandages were finally removed as Drake Hogestyn made
his first appearance as John Black, a character with no memory of his
past or knowledge of his real identity. In May 1986, Hogestyn's
character of John is revealed to be Roman with extensive plastic
surgery and Hogestyn played the role written as Roman until 1991. When
Northrop returned as Roman on August 30, 1991, the character that
Hogestyn had been portraying for five years was retconned to be an
entirely separate character that had been brainwashed to believe he
was Roman Brady. Northrop once again departed from the series on
August 2, 1994. On July 18, 1997, Josh Taylor appeared in the role as
a recast of Roman Brady. The casting was met with criticism due to
Taylor's previous portrayal of Chris Kositchek, one of Roman and
Marlena's closest friends. Northrop was later recast as another new
character, Dr. Alex North, and scenes from Northrop's time playing
Roman were edited to create the new character's backstory.Roman is the
retired police commissioner of the fictional Midwestern town of Salem,
and currently manages and tends bar at his family's business, the
Brady Pub. He is also a former agent of the fictional International
Security Alliance (ISA), a spy agency focused on all sorts of
unusually high-level global conspiracies that tended to center around
his otherwise-quiet home town. During his portrayal by Northrop, he
was established as a top-notch cop but also a bit of a renegade, often
accepting deep-cover assignments, and a master of disguise (similar to
Sherlock Holmes). Hogestyn's character was more by-the-book on the
job, although still dangerous with a dark side somewhat characteristic
of an ex-spy (which later fed into the "John Black" persona), with
expertise in Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, and a little more of a ladies'
man. Taylor's portrayal is more that of a "regular guy", with a bit
less intrigue and more straightforward professionally, although still
with an eye for the ladies and more inclined to engage in one-night
stands with various women than the character as portrayed by Northrop
or Hogestyn (such as with Kate Roberts, Billie Reed, ex-wives Anna
DiMera and Marlena Evans, and a strongly hinted at â€" but never
confirmed â€" rendezvous with Nicole Walker).Over the years, much has
been made of the creation (and constant retcon of the backstory) of
Hogestyn's character John Black as an entirely separate character than
that of Roman Brady, especially after the show had invested over five
years in establishing John's identity as Roman, complete with a
plausible backstory of his “time away†(while he was being held
captive, brainwashed, and trainedâ€"-unsuccessfullyâ€"-to be an
assassin by Stefano DiMera), and "Roman's" reemerging memories.
However, with Roman's recasts and changes in characterization over the
years (while John has consistently been played by Hogestyn), in
hindsight it can be said that it was actually John Black that remained
more true to the original "Roman" persona, and that it was Roman that
was gradually developed into a separate character. This was especially
illustrated in 2016 when Roman, who had always been a straight-shooter
with regard to the law, became complicit in the cover-up of
sister-in-law Hope Brady's murder of Stefano DiMera, who she wrongly
believed was responsible for the disappearance and later death of her
husband (and Roman's brother) Bo Brady.
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