Inside Deidre Hall's 50-year run on 'Days of Our Lives' and what's next

Dr. Marlena Evans, the iconic "Days of Our Lives" character portrayed by the equally iconic Deidre Hall, has been through a lot over the last 50 years on the NBC soap opera.

Marlena was possessed by the devil (twice), plummeted 30 feet from a window, was the surrogate to alien twins during a four-year coma, was targeted by several serial killers and was even once made to believe that she herself was a serial killer.

The actress won't concede to any parallels between her real life and her character's, although they are clearly both survivors in their own right. But Hall does credit Marlena with creating a unique bond between herself and the loyal "Days" audience since she first joined the show in 1976.

"I get gifted trust, and I get gifted secrets, and I get gifted hopes and heartbreak," Hall, 78, tells USA TODAY over Zoom from her New York City hotel room. "This is not about my own personal family; this is about fans."

As an example, Hall cites a 2012 storyline where Marlena's grandson, Will Horton (Chandler Massey) comes out as gay to her. The actress credits the soap opera's writers with handling the situation well.

"We had a lot of mail from young men saying, 'I wish my mother would accept that or wish my grandmother could have been there and had someone to share this with and someone to talk to about,'" she recalls. "I think in that way we get to teach, which I love about our medium."

"We get to show the audience a little different way of handling something," Hall continues. "So whether it's surrogacy or infidelity, being unable to have a child, we get to show, 'Here's how you might handle that. Maybe it wasn't your first inclination, but try this.'"

Those fans who trusted Hall will get to take a trip down memory lane with the actress. On June 22, "Days of our Lives" will look back at 50 years of Dr. Marlena Evans in a special retrospective episode streaming on Peacock.

Yes, Deidre Hall is still asked all the time about the demonic possession

For all of the incredible storylines that Hall's character has been a part of, fans still bring up a particular one the most: the devil possessing Marlena.

It occurred in 1994. Stefano DiMera (Joseph Mascolo) attempted to brainwash Marlena so she would fall in love with him. Instead, her soul became vulnerable, and the devil moved in.

Hall recalls using contact lenses to turn her eyes yellow – "That was not a whole lot of fun," she says – and actually levitating during the infamous scene where she becomes possessed. She says "Days" producers called in a group separate from the special effects team to make it work.

And while Hall says she hasn't kept much from her 50 years on the show, she does have one memento from that storyline.

"We were all a little excited and we all had our own belief systems about the devil," she says. "Ken Corday, who was our showrunner, had been traveling. I think he might've been in Italy, and he brought back a crucifix that had been blessed by a priest, and he gave it to me and we never did a scene without it."

Her only other pre-scene ritual? Corday also returned with holy water and Hall would spray some on her wrist before she filmed.

Is Deidre Hall retiring? What she says about her future

Season 61 of "Days" is currently streaming on Peacock; it moved from airing on NBC in September 2022. Hall says the production feels more "relaxed" now. It also allows the cast to get away with things that they might not have been able to on broadcast TV.

"I was doing a scene and I came into a room and Christie Clark, who plays my daughter Carrie, had on a really revealing little top," Hall says. "I said, 'Honey, you better button that up.' And she said, 'No, it's OK. We're streaming now.' That's when I figured out streaming was different."

Last year, NBCUniversal announced that "Days" was renewed for its 62nd and 63rd seasons. And it sounds like if the decision is Hall's, she'll stay on for as long as possible.

"I often said that when my key card doesn't open the gate, I'll go home," she says with a laugh. "It's an easy life for me. I don't work every day and I memorize very easily, luckily, at this point. And I get to spend the day with really creative, talented people that I admire and respect and enjoy."

"I get to sit in the makeup chair and ask my makeup artist how her son's college exams went. I mean, people that I've known for so many years and I get to catch up and be their person in that moment," she adds. "That I adore."