Jamie Martin Mann Reveals Why He Left DAYS OF OUR LIVES
Fans may have been surprised when DAYS OF OUR LIVES announced that they were recasting the character of Tate with actor Leo Howard since Jamie Marin Mann has only been playing the role for five months. It was Mann’s decision to exit the soap, though it wasn’t an easy decision for the young actor to make. Unfortunately, he was unable to juggle working on DAYS with his studies at the University of Michigan.
“Traveling back and forth would’ve been a considerable impediment to [earning a] musical theater degree,” Mann admitted to Soap Opera Digest. “I know it seems very hoity-toity and aloof, and it’s not a ‘real’ major, but there is a considerable amount of work and it requires a lot of time in class. Reading about acting only gets you so far and having the practical application is such an imperative part of the major. So to miss class when you’re in an acting program can be extremely detrimental.
“I also think it would not have been fair to the show and to my fellow castmates to not be dedicating the time required to [the job],” he added. “You’re only as good as your partner. If you’re working with a scene partner who’s not prepared and who’s not fully committed, it’s not fair. And it’s not fun to do that. I didn’t want to put any of those fellow actors that I respected so much through that position.”
After discussing the issue with his parents, Mann made the difficult decision to leave his job and focus on his education. “In the end, the pros outweighed the cons to stay and finish out my degree at the age that is stereotypically normal, maintain all the friendships that I have, and not put my college degree on hold,” he explained. “I also think part of that was just the fear that I would never find the time to finish it out. I really just want to be able to close this chapter before I inevitably enter the industry again.”
As his final episodes air, his alter ego has finally been cleared of the drug charges that saw Tate arrested and sent to a halfway house. “I felt a lot of gratitude that I had the chance to close the storyline,” Mann confessed. “It was extremely fulfilling both for the character and also just for me, acting-wise, to be able to see the other side [of Tate’s predicament], to be able to actually step out, go back, and re-encounter that sense of normalcy.”
Please join us in wishing Mann all the best as he gets his college degree, and for his future career!
