Salem doctor Rex Brady has been helping Will through a scary medical situation, but he may soon be facing a potential tragedy of his own: rumor has it the doc's portrayer, Kyle Lowder, has been let go.
Lowder took on the character of Rex in 2018 after a 13-year absence from the soap (he previously played the role of Brady Black, which was taken over by Eric Martsolf in 2008). Unfortunately, the character hasn't proven popular with fans, mostly due to his confusing behavior that included pushing Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) into marriage when it's clear she's madly in love with his brother Eric (Greg Vaughan). And now, Daytime Confidential reports that the Emmy-nominated actor will be exiting the canvas later this summer in a move meant to drive story.
Soap Central spoke with Lowder earlier this spring about Rex's likability, and the actor revealed that the doctor hasn't been the easiest character he's played in his career.
"He's a challenging guy to play," he shared at the time. "He doesn't always have the best behavior a lot of the times -- whether it's infidelity or being aloof or in denial or both with the Sarah and Eric situation. Even if you hate your character, you still want to love to hate him. You still want him likable, you still want to watch him. And the danger is you really have to commit to the work and to the scripts and the scenes and the character, but you don't want to go too far to where people are like, 'Ugh, I can't even deal with him. I can't watch him on-screen.' So, it's always been a challenge to play him and to really try to make him likable, amidst all of the Dumpster fire that he is!"
Lowder also admitted that he knew Rex wasn't popular with fans, but he has been enjoying the opportunity to play him despite the criticism.
"The character really came out kind of strong with some bold choices and some bold behavior and decisions, and he has rubbed a lot of viewers and fans the wrong way, and that's cool. That's entertainment. You can't always be a great guy all of the time," he said. "But I think it's important to say that I have loved, from an acting standpoint, that he is not an easy character to play. I always love a challenge."
The Emmy nominee hoped that he would have the chance to further develop Rex over the summer, and even though it now looks like he'll be exiting the canvas, there's a chance viewers will still get to see a more human side of the doctor before his final appearance -- which is reportedly happening on Friday, August 9.
"The good news is that coming up later this summer, I have a storyline and a lot of scenes where I have the opportunity to kind of round him off a little bit," Lowder revealed to Soap Central back in April. "I'm finally able to show [more than one] piece of his pie, his personality pie, if you will. Hopefully that rounds him out a little bit more for the viewership and will help the likability factor a little bit, which will be good."
Lowder has yet to confirm his departure on social media. If he has indeed been let go, viewers won't have to wait long to see him on-screen elsewhere. As Soap Central previously reported, the actor is producing and starring in the upcoming movie A Mermaid for Christmas.
What do you think about the rumor that Kyle Lowder has been let go from DAYS? What are your opinions on the character of Rex? Do you think he is so unlikable that his future was doomed from the beginning? Or do you think it's never too late to save a not-so-popular character? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
