When news broke that Emily O’Brien was taking over the role of Days of Our Lives’ Theresa from Jen Lilley, fans were shocked. After all, she was still playing Gwen Rizcech and was identified with that character who was. a far cry from Theresa in every way.
Emily O’Brien’s Quick DAYS Change
When it came time for O’Brien to make her Theresa debut, Gwen got on a plane with Dimitri Von Leuchner’s (Peter Porte) money and Theresa got off a plane with her son Tate (Jamie Martin Mann) and a shocking mane of blonde hair that was obviously a wig to anyone watching.
Fans were a bit trepidatious wondering if O’Brien would fit in the role despite the distracting wig. After all, we knew O’Brien as a brunette actress with a thick British accent and Theresa didn’t have any accent at all. While O’Brien is originally from the UK, she grew up in the US and now speaks naturally with an American accent, but she’s said she slipped back into her younger years speech to play Gwen.
A Whole New Theresa Is Here
It’s now been several months since O’Brien has been playing Theresa and it’s almost impossible to imagine Lilley in the role she created more than a decade ago. It might help that Lilley hadn’t been in Salem for several years until her two-week comeback before O’Brien appeared in her wig, but that doesn’t take away from her accomplishments.
Despite Theresa still keeping a very messy secret from both Alex (Robert Scott Wilson) and Xander (Paul Telfer), she is breaking our hearts as a mother with a teenage son caught up in a horrible situation. Theresa’s sadness and fear over not being able to see or talk to Tate for a month are palpable.
Her descent back into drug use and subsequent shame at falling off the wagon brought a real vulnerability to Theresa we hadn’t seen in years. O’Brien makes us feel for this messy character and we now find ourselves rooting for her knowing things are about to get messier than ever when the extent of her lies to Alex come to light.
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