Lucas Adams Opens up About Leaving and Maybe Returning to DAYS

When DAYS OF OUR LIVES’ Tripp first showed up in Salem two and a half years ago, the odds seemed stacked against him. Steve’s long-lost son came out of nowhere, lashed out at his father, then set about destroying stepmother Kayla’s life. But it was pure soap drama, and newcomer Lucas Adams gave it his all — which is probably why viewers welcomed him with open arms! “Fans were sending me things like, ‘Don’t mess with Kayla!’” he recalled to Soaps In Depth, “but also ‘We love this type of storyline.’ There was never anything negative. I loved that. They were so open to seeing where Tripp was headed.”

Now, Tripp has left far happier than when he arrived, and Adams couldn’t be more grateful for his new family. “I never had a bad day on set,” he said, “and I’d love to thank everyone at DAYS and all the fans for watching. Everyone at the show made my time there so enjoyable and made me feel like I was part of the family so quickly.”

“I really appreciate the fans,” said Adams, “especially the loyal fans who’ve been watching for decades. Having a new character come on out of nowhere and be accepted quickly was awesome.” (Photo Credit: Jill Johnson/jpistudios.com)

Leaving, Adams admitted, was a bummer. “I love everybody there,” he shared. “I love the stories we get to portray. I was excited to get to try other things, but it was kind of a bittersweet moment, like, ‘Oh man, I’m not gonna get to come back here for a little bit.’” Still, Tripp’s leaving town is something the actor “understood, as a character. Medical school is something that he’s talked about for a long time. He came full circle. He grows into himself and into an adult.”

Adams can’t keep the pride out of his voice when talking about Tripp. “I loved his growth,” he explained. “That was my favorite thing about him. He grew by knowing that he did something wrong and constantly trying to make up for it.” Moving past his vendetta against Kayla was “when he started thinking about his life more instead of just everything being wrong around him,” he continued. “It shows that while he’s just like Steve, he wants to be like Kayla, too.”

That said, if Tripp’s exit was the perfect coda for his relationship with Kayla, it wasn’t the same for Patch. Missing Stephen Nichols’ comeback “was the one sad thing,” Adams admitted. “I wish Tripp could’ve been there to say goodbye. That was the whole reason he came to Salem in the first place.”

“I love any scene with Mary Beth Evans (Kayla),” Adams shared. “She’s just like a second mom. We would just be chit-chatting and talking.” (Photo Credit: XJJohnson/jpistudios.com)

Since leaving DAYS, Adams has already landed a Lifetime movie, Killer Ransom, (and wrapped work on it months ago!). “I play a really bad guy,” he shared excitedly. “That was just a lot of fun. I kidnap this daughter and try to extort money from the parents.”

And now that Ransom’s under the actor’s belt, he’s ready to sink his teeth into something even murkier. “I want something where I’m down in the dumps and very dark and gritty,” he admitted. “I would love that.” In a way, it would bring Adams himself full circle. After all, he reflects, when he first came to DAYS, “Tripp started off in this really dark place. Then he started helping other people get out of their dark places. It’s like he got to Salem and something was covering his eyes. Now that he’s leaving, it’s finally lifted. If he comes back, he’d come back older and more mature.”

Tripp’s leaving, then, like Adams’, is just a part of the journey, rather than the end. So, of course, we have to ask whether the actor would be up for returning to the role if Tripp ever journeyed back to Salem. “Yeah!” he answered without hesitation. “I mean, the hospital’s a big part of DAYS. He’s going to medical school, he can come back as a smart doctor!”

For more on your favorite DAYS stars — past and present — keep reading Soaps In Depth magazine.