Days of our Lives Performer of the Week: Leo Howard as Tate Black

Days of our Lives and other soaps often tell teen pregnancy stories from the perspective of the mom. This past week, however, the spotlight shifted to new dad, Tate Black, who had to bid farewell to his "daughter" before he ever met her. For playing Tate's emotional loss, Soap Central is giving Performer of the Week honors to Leo Howard, Tate's portrayer.

Days of our Lives Performer of the Week, Leo Howard

Sophia Choi (Rachel Boyd) showed up to see Tate to deliver her planned speech that she had given birth to their daughter, and her adoptive parents had already taken custody of the newborn. These are lies, of course. Sophia gave birth to a son and put him in a fire department Safe Haven Baby Box weeks ago. Sophia felt Tate wasn't prepared to be a dad, so she gave the child away. What Sophia wasn't counting on was just how much Tate loves his child.

At first, Howard played Tate as bewildered as the teen wasn't quite sure what Sophia meant by saying that the baby was "gone." Howard was called upon to deliver a series of conflicting emotions in the scenes that followed, and he performed them beautifully.

"You gave our baby away without asking me," an incredulous and vulnerable Tate cried out as he blasted Sophia. "I wanted a chance to say goodbye, and you took that!"

Leo composed himself after his father, Brady (Daytime Emmy winner and 2025 Eric Martsolf), pointed out that Sophia had gone through a big ordeal. Still, it was apparent in the choices Howard made that Tate wanted to be there for his baby's birth.

Tate focused on putting what was best for his child first while trying to meet his own needs. "It's not too late for me to meet my daughter," Tate pointed out to Sophia. "Just give me the address of the adoptive parents. I'll go there, I'll meet the baby, and I will just make sure everything feels good for me before I sign anything."

Sophia needed to get Tate to refocus. She pointed out to him that his visiting his child could result in the adoptive parents not going through with the deal. "Of course, I don't want to screw up the adoption," Tate declared.

Father's daze

Had Tate pressed his point of wanting to see his child, Sophia's lies could have been exposed. That prompted Sophia to play the "this is what's best for our baby" card. Because Tate loves his "daughter," he acquiesced and signed the legal document relinquishing his rights. Howard needed to sell that moment or else Leo would have likely gotten Sophia to crack about what truly occurred. This time, it was the dad who delivered. Bravo!

The young actor was supported nicely in his scenes by Martsolf, his TV dad, and Boyd, whose Sophia continues to hold tightly to the belief that what she did was the right thing.

Believing Sophia and wanting to do what was best, Tate signed the document. "Of course, I don't hate you," Tate told Sophia, his voice breaking a bit when she hoped that he wouldn't feel that way towards her.

Once Tate was alone with his father, Howard had Tate show a different kind of vulnerability. "I just thought I'd get to meet her," Tate lamented, "hold her in my arms one time. Dad, I feel like something was taken from me." Brady lovingly held his son as the teen father suddenly became the child for a moment.

During a call with Holly, Tate wasn't going to share what had happened. Then, we saw him change his mind. "Holly, I didn't even get to hold her," Tate sadly shared, bringing yet another layer of vulnerability to his role. Alone, Tate processed the enormity that he wasn't there when his child was born. His eyes were teary. Real men, they say, aren't afraid to cry.

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Earlier in the week, Howard showed that Leo has action-hero skills when he helped rescue a kidnapped Holly. Now, viewers know that the performer has the acting chops to handle poignant story beats. Bravo to Howard for continuing the tradition of leading men on DAYS who deliver the emotional goods.

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