Back in February, news broke that Hank Northrop had been cast on Days of Our Lives in a new role. His name may sound familiar to fans of the soap as he is the son of the late Wayne Northrop, who played Roman Brady and Alex North on DAYS, and General Hospital star Lynn Herring (Lucy), who herself made the Salem scene as Lisanne Gardner. Now, Soap Opera Digest can report that Northrop will be making his debut in the episode streaming on Wednesday, October 29.

Like Father, Like Son

When Northrop’s casting was first announced, details of his character were kept under wraps, but now we know that he will be playing Liam, who is Abe Carver’s literacy mentee, which allows the young actor to work closely with DAYS vet James Reynolds (Abe). As longtime DAYS fans know, Abe and Roman were partners at the Salem PD, kicking off a close friendship not only between their characters, but between Reynolds and the late Northrop, as well.

“My dad always said, ‘James has the best laugh you’ll ever hear,’ and I finally got to hear it in person,” Northrop told TV Insider of what it was like to meet and begin working with Reynolds. “This man just lights up the room. He was so kind to me. We honestly couldn’t stop hugging each other.”

Although both of his parents are actors, and both actually worked together as Rex Stanton and Lucy Coe on the GH spinoff Port Charles from 1997-98, Northrop said, “They tried to keep my younger brother Grady and me as far away from the business as possible. They loved what they did, but obviously, there are a lot of hardships that come with the business that they experienced firsthand, so they wanted us to have our own path. I worshiped my dad. He was my hero, still is to this day, and forever will be, so in the back of my mind, I always thought, ‘I know they don’t want me to be an actor, but I want to follow in his footsteps.’”

And now that Northrop has followed his father’s path to Salem, he reported that his mother couldn’t be happier about his new gig. The younger Northrop shared with TV Insider that Herring “gave me so much great advice before my first day and gave me so many tips heading into it. She’s been the best support system I could possibly ask for.”

The actor noted that appearing on DAYS was “a healing moment” for his entire family as they navigate the loss of their patriarch, who passed away in November 2024 after a six-year battle with early onset Alzheimer’s, and declared, “I’m just so honored now to get to honor my own father on the show that he loved so much.”