Photo Credit: JPI Studios Days of Our Lives’ Hank Northrop says the role feels like a full-circle moment, honoring his father’s memory and continuing the family legacy.

In Salem, second chances have a way of finding people — even the ones who don’t think they deserve them. That’s what makes Liam such an interesting new addition to Days of our Lives: a young man with a messy past, now under the wing of Abe, trying to make peace with the version of himself he used to be. Offscreen, his portrayer, Hank Northrop, is carrying his own legacy — one that stretches straight through daytime history. The son of DAYS icon Wayne Northrop and General Hospital’s Lynn Herring, Hank’s debut feels less like a beginning and more like a continuation of something sacred.

Key Takeaways

• Hank Northrop’s DAYS debut comes with deep family ties, being the son of daytime veterans Wayne Northrop and Lynn Herring.
• The role arrived at a profoundly emotional time, just weeks after his father’s passing.
• Northrop learned he’d booked DAYS on his birthday and called the moment “cosmic,” saying it felt like a gift from his dad.
• His first scenes were with James Reynolds, who’d worked closely with Wayne Northrop years earlier.
• Lynn Herring has been cheering her son on, offering support and advice as he continues his father’s legacy in Salem.

A Cosmic Kind of Timing

Northrop told TV Insider that the opportunity to join DAYS arrived at a time when acting was the last thing on his mind. His father had just passed away, and the audition fell in the middle of it all. “I did the audition and I felt good about it, but my focus was on my father,” he said. The callback came weeks later — and then, silence — until one call changed everything. On his birthday, he got the call that he had the part, stating that in that moment, “I just immediately broke down in tears.”

That timing hit him hard. “It was so cosmic,” he said. “It was almost like my dad had given me a birthday present, the first birthday after his passing.” What could have been another job suddenly became something far more personal. Northrop described it as a full-circle moment — one that gave him a way to process his loss through the very world his father helped build.

When he arrived on set, the emotion caught up with him. Walking into the studio where his dad had spent so many years wasn’t just nostalgic; it was grounding. He thanked the team that made it happen — Executive Producer Ken Corday, Co-Executive Producer Janet Spellman-Drucker, and Casting Director Marnie Saitta — but it was that quiet drive home afterward that stayed with him. Sitting behind the wheel, still in disbelief, he whispered a simple, “Thank you, Dad.”

Learning the Ropes With a Familiar Face

His first scenes came opposite DAYS legend James Reynolds (Abe), the same actor who’d once shared the stage with his father. Northrop hadn’t been told they’d be working together, and when Reynolds saw him for the first time, it stopped them both in their tracks. “He and my dad had such a great working relationship,” Northrop said. “They didn’t tell him I was coming on to work with him, so when I saw him for the first time, he just lit up.”

It was the kind of reunion that pulled the air right out of the room. Northrop remembered what his father used to say about Reynolds — that his laugh could light up a soundstage — and now he was hearing it for himself. Their joyous embracing actually held up the production for a short time. He felt that it wasn’t quite the passing of the torch; it was a reminder that the ties his father made on this set didn’t end when he left.

As for his mother, Lynn Herring, she couldn’t be prouder. After decades in the genre herself, she offered tips, advice, and more enthusiasm than he could handle. Northrop said her excitement has been “through the roof,” and that sharing this moment with her made the whole thing even more meaningful. “I’m just so honored now to get to honor my own father on the show that he loved so much,” he said. “It’s just so special.”