ZACH TINKER EXITS DAYS

Despite leaving Salem as Sonny Kiriakis, Zach Tinker doesn’t see it as the end of the line.

“What’s nice about soaps is you’re not ever really gone unless they recast you,” he points out. “So it’s nice knowing that at least, for now, I am still Sonny.”

Yet, Tinker admits he’ll miss being a part of the soap he joined back in 2022. “I’ll miss the people most of all,” he notes, citing the crew and behind-the-scenes personnel as well as the actors. “DAYS is a good bunch of people. That was the crappiest part of leaving, leaving my friends.”

Tinker grew close to a number of castmates during his run on DAYS. “I’m going to miss Greg [Rikaart, Leo; Kevin, Y&R] a lot. I’m going to miss Billy [Flynn, Chad] a lot,” he shares. “Those were my two main dudes, when I was there. Greg, coming from Y&R [where Tinker plays Fen], he and I really clicked and have history. That’s always been nice. And Billy and I really connected, too. We had so much work together in the beginning. Rob [Scott Wilson, Alex] and I started to work together at the end. So it was crappy to have to end that, to cut that off midway.”

Tinker, who took over the role of Sonny from Freddie Smith, says he was never worried about being a recast. “That’s what I did with Fen on YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS,” he points out. “So it was not any different for me. Any nerves would be about just doing a good job. I didn’t have any fears regarding a recast. It’s always a great opportunity to step into a new character and get to explore that.”