Marci Miller Explains Why She Left DAYS OF OUR LIVES
Fans were stunned when Abigail was killed and wondered why Marci Miller left DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Well, the soap’s headwriter has explained why they chose to kill off the legacy character, and now Miller shares her side of the story.
“I like to do other things,” she admitted to Soap Opera Digest in a recent issue. “I’m not really at a point in my life where I’m ready to say, “Hey, I’m going to play Abby DiMera for 20 years.’ It’s really hard for the show to accommodate that and make space for that. There were a couple of times last year where I was offered a couple of films and unfortunately had to turn them down after I’d worked to get them because the show couldn’t accommodate it.”
“The show wasn’t doing anything wrong,” Miller added. “You sign a contract, they buy your time, and that’s the gig. They’ve got things they need to do, too.”
Unable to continue playing Abby on contract while also pursuing other opportunities, the actress offered to go to recurring status with DAYS, but that ultimately didn’t work out. “We tried to meet in the middle,” Miller revealed. “They tried to give me options but my team and agents didn’t dig it. So it was hard. We couldn’t find a common ground that worked for both of us, unfortunately. We all wanted to.”
Still, she confessed that she was taken aback to learn that Abigail was being murdered. “I mean, I understand why they made the choice they did,” Miller allowed. “I don’t love that they made the choice that they did. She’s a legacy character. I totally expected them to recast.” Miller herself was a recast, taking over for Kate Mansi in 2016.
However, death is rarely a permanent condition in soaps, and especially not in Salem where people come back from the dead constantly. So there is still every possibility that Abigail could one day be resurrected, and with Miller reprising the role. “We’ll see,” the actress mused. “It depends on what’s going on in my life. I never say never, but I’m not planning to come back next year.”
