Days of Our Lives’ Matthew Ashford opened up about rejoining the show on a regular basis and what purpose Jack could serve.
Days of Our Lives’ Jack Deveraux has always had something of a disregard for people’s expectations. He started off as a villain, but the love of Jennifer helped turn him into one of the good guys, but his rebellious attitude remained intact. Matthew Ashford has been bringing life and evolution to Jack since 1987. He’s been in and out of Salem over the last few years, most recently returning for John’s funeral. Ashford took some time to talk about where he would like to see Jack go from here.
He Hopes To Return
Ashford explained to Soap Opera Digest that, “There’s a lot of stuff Jack could do.” He stated that he’d like to play Jack on a more recurring basis and had some thoughts about where he would fit in. In the last few years, Jack and Jennifer (Melissa Reeves) have been focusing on the newspapers they own, including The Spectator, which they recently reacquired from Xander (Paul Telfer).
“I’d be happy to reignite some of the old days craziness at The Spectator,” he remarked. The actor also noted that the show is chock-full of new, younger performers. He further stated that the show needs to figure out what direction to take these young people’s stories in, “and it would be a great opportunity for Jack [to get involved].”
From 1988 to 1993, Wayne Heffley played the newspaper’s editor, Vern, who was Jack’s former mentor and go-to guy. Ashford referenced Jack’s old friend when trying to justify what Jack could be doing, stating, “Vern got [to] do a lot of crazy things, and I could do the same things.” And since Jack and Jennifer own more than one paper, Ashford explained that Reeves wouldn’t have to return to the show full time with him.
Recently, Jack had a pleasant conversation with Leo (Greg Rikaart), someone he used to despise. But Ashford noted that he was starting to warm up to the former schemer and felt it was a good example of what Jack could do moving forward. “I’ve thought it would be great for Jack to come back and be a mentor to some of the young people, the same way that Vern was a mentor to Jack.”