Days of our Lives star Deidre Hall reveals why she said no to playing the part of Dr. Marlena Evans 

Days of our Lives was among the honorees inducted into the Broadcasting + Cable Hall of Fame this week in a ceremony held in New York City. Iconic Deidre Hall, who has played Dr. Marlena Evans since 1976, and some co-stars were on hand to accept the honor. While Hall was in the Big Apple, she appeared on a local talk show where she revealed why she initially turned down the part of Marlena.

Days of our Lives, Hall of Fame

"Sounds like a crazy thing that actors can do," Hall told New York Living host Marysol Castro about her decision to pass on playing the part of Marlena. "But when I screen tested, I screen tested with women that I recognized, and I thought they're not going to choose me."

After three days, Hall still hadn't heard, so she assumed incorrectly that the show had gone in a different direction. Not so! "When I got the call, I thought, 'Oh, everybody else turned it down!" she chuckles. "I'm not taking that...so I did turn it down."

According to Hall, producers continued their search for someone to play Marlena by looking at New York-based actresses. Her agent called her and asked her why she didn't want to take the part of the role that would become synonymous with Days of our Lives. "I said, 'No, I love the part. I just thought they didn't love me so much," Hall shared.

Over the years, Marlena has been married, divorced, widowed, had her life threatened, been Stefano DiMera's (Joe Mascolo) obsession, given birth to twins, been kidnapped, and gone on trial. However, the storyline she's asked about most often is the possession storyline from the mid-1990s when James E. Reilly was the show's head writer.

"I didn't know about it before I knew about it," Hall recalls of the controversial tale. "I got called upstairs." Around that time, The Desecrator was creating havoc in Salem, but Hall had no clue that Marlena was behind it all!

"[Jim] was there, and he said, 'We just want to let you know that you're the one doing it,'" Hall said. The stunned actress asked how that was possible. "Oh, you're possessed by the devil," the show informed her.

Viewers recall that at one point, a possessed Marlena levitated off her bed. She didn't reveal how that bit of movie magic was accomplished, but she promised the Living NY hosts that she'd tell them off-camera!

Iconic Days of our Lives

Hall, along with co-stars James Reynolds (Abe), Paul Telfer (Xander), Abigail Klein (Stephanie), and Eric Martsolf (Brady), were on hand for the Broadcasting + Cable Hall of Fame ceremony, which also honored Drew Barrymore (The Drew Barrymore Show), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary), and Michael Gelman, who is the executive producer of Live with Kelly & Mark executive producer Michael Gelman. DAYS was honored with the "Iconic Show Award Honoree."

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Days of our Lives, created by Irna Phillips and Ted Corday, is celebrating its 60th anniversary on November 8 this year. Ken Corday is the show's executive producer.

Catch all-new episodes of Days of our Lives weekdays on Peacock

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