DAYS of Our Lives villain Derek Yates has teased a return to the series – and is proposing a “shocking” storyline for his villain character.
Derek, 41, plays Kerry Youmans on Days of Our Lives, where he is involved in a love triangle with Leo Stark and Javi Hernandez.
Derek reprised his role in January after a short stint on the soap, as his character’s episodes are currently airing.
The actor exclusively revealed to The U.S. Sun that he hopes to return to the soap in the future.
“Two episodes, that’s kind of what it was going to be. It was a love interest for one of the leads on the show. It didn’t work out, so my character is just gone. I get a call six months later and they’re like, ‘You’re coming back!’”
“I found out I am a part of a new love triangle situation. Now it’s been revealed that I’m kind of a villain. We’re going to see how it wraps up here soon!
"After I was done with my final day, the director did come up to me and say, ‘Don’t count yourself out yet.’ That’s all I can stay at the moment.”
As for a storyline, Derek proposed, “Now that I have the shorter hair, it would be fun to come back. They’re already doing a twin thing so maybe not a twin thing, but maybe a twin thing.
“I can come out as the same character and be like, the reformed version of my character. He cut his hair, seeks therapy, wants to be a good person, do better and be friends with Leo. It would be interesting to do that flip.”
BEHIND THE SCENES
Derek described the set of Days of Our Lives as a “well-oiled machine.”
“They turn and burn very quickly,” he said. “I wasn’t even fully prepared for it. The only time you have to rehearse is when you’re doing it with your scene partner before. You get one quick take while they’re making sure camera angles and lighting are good. Then you film it. You usually get one take.
“There is no room for mess-ups. There is no room for ‘I feel like I could do more.’ They got the shot. It tells the story, we got to go on. It forces actors to come and bring their game. They have to really nail their character.”
OTHER VENTURES
When Derek isn’t on set, he’s focusing on his career as a personal trainer.
“I started that about three and a half years ago,” he said. “Before the pandemic, I was bartending, then the pandemic happened. Everything was shut down, I was one of the ones who didn’t choose to go back to work to get exposed.
“My roommate at the time was a personal trainer. I always kind of thought about it. I had all this time. I joined this program and started studying. I went through the program and started building my career.
“It’s been really fulfilling seeing different people hit different goals."
Derek also works with Project Angel Food.
He said of the non-profit organization, “They make tailored meals for people who are in need or have a medical condition where they need to be healed by food.
“I learned about it, I helped them by being in the kitchen. I helped with promotional videos, doing fundraisers. I’m going to be doing more kitchen work here soon.”
Derek also works with Locks of Love after losing his brother to cancer.
“I wanted to make sure I was able to raise enough money for them to cover the cost of the wig and any other shipping costs. I was able to raise over $1,600 for the wigs. So that covers the wig and hopefully extra expenses for that child.”
Celebrities on Days of Our Lives
Days of Our Lives has been airing since 1965.
As for what’s next for Derek, he said “nothing at the moment.”
“We just came off a long actor and writer strike,” he explained. “That flowed into last year, making it difficult for a lot of projects to get green-lit, they were cutting roles.
“I was thankful to get all of these roles on Days of Our Lives. Now that we’re in the New Year, I am crossing my fingers that all this publicity from Days will help me push into the next project and you’ll see me in more stuff.”
