Sonny Kiriakis

Sonny Kiriakis
Days of Our Lives character
Portrayed by Freddie Smith
Duration 2011–15
First appearance June 23, 2011
Last appearance October 22, 2015
Created by Dena Higley[lower-alpha 1]
Introduced by Ken Corday and Gary Tomlin[lower-alpha 1]
Classification Former; recurring (returning)
Profile
Occupation Club owner
Legal aide
Website designer
Residence Paris, France

Jackson "Sonny" Kiriakis is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, played by Freddie Smith. Sonny Kiriakis is the son of supercouple Justin Kiriakis and Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis. Sonny was born off-screen in 1991. Sonny and his brothers returned in 2007, but were never shown. Sonny Kiriakis made history on Days of Our Lives for being the first openly gay main character.

Sonny first appeared on Days of our Lives on June 23, 2011 with his cousin Abby Deveraux. Sonny is a member of the wealthy and powerful, but heavily distrusted, Kiriakis family. Sonny was raised away from the drama of Salem, giving him a more trustworthy and moral personality. This character is currently involved in the show's first same-sex supercouple (commonly referred to by the portmanteau "WilSon") with Will Horton.[1][2] Smith won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series in 2015 for his portrayal of Sonny. In April 2015, Soap Opera Digest confirmed Smith's exit.[3] His last appearance was on August 18, 2015.

In September 2015, it was announced that Smith will briefly reprise his role as Sonny to facilitate the exit of Guy Wilson, airing from October 12 to 22, 2015.[4][5]

In February 2016, Smith was rumored to be back on the set of the show when a picture posted by co-star Vincent Irizarry showed an actor resembling Smith in the background, at the time Irizarry claimed that the person was a stagehand and not Smith.[6] This didn't dispel the rumors of Smith returning and in April 2016, after months of speculation it was revealed that Smith will return as Sonny, airing from July 8.[7]

Storylines

2011–15

Sonny came to town to spend more time with his family. When Sonny told Victor he was gay, Victor wasn't as mad as he thought he was but sad that Sonny would not have all the things that a heterosexual couple could have. Once T started to bully Sonny for being gay, every one stopped hanging out with T and he blamed Sonny for it. Victor caught T bashing Sonny and lightly threatened him by saying no one messes with a Kiriakis.

After creating a sports website for the school, Will, Sonny, and Chad found out that people were illegally using it for gambling. They tried to stop them by shutting down the site, but the people who owned the gambling site kidnapped Melanie and Chad and were going to kill them if they didn't bring the site back up. Sonny and Austin went inside to save the people caught.

Soon Sonny was thrown into the Kiriakis-DiMera feud, and Maggie and Chad were shot. Sonny and Chad orchestrated a meeting with the families to stop the fighting. They also tried to bring peace between EJ DiMera and Brady Black.

After seeing Will kiss a guy, Sonny helped Will become all right with who he is. Sonny helped Will with finding evidence to show that EJ was innocent. Over time Sonny started to develop feelings for Will, and after the disaster, Sonny kissed Will and he and Will got into an argument. Once Will realized he had feelings for Sonny, he went to see him and saw Brian flirting with Sonny. After this Will slept with Gabi and later thought it was a mistake. When T told Will that Sonny still had feelings for him, Will went to see Sonny to clear things up and they started a slow process of dating. Will heard Adrienne say that he wasn't good enough for Sonny and canceled their date. Sonny found out what his mother said, told Will that he was good enough for him and they kissed.

While setting up the coffee shop for Halloween, Sonny got a call and said that the supplier dropped all of the costumes off at his apartment. Sonny and Will went to Sonny's apartment to unpack and sort through the boxes. Will talks about signs that he missed that showed him to be gay. After Will made a comment about dressing up as an N'SYNC member instead of the Elton John-like costume he had originally wanted, a krazy string battle ensued. In the heat of the moment, they started to passionately make out. Sonny asked Will if he was sure, and Will replied, "Yes. Very."

They had stripped down to just their pants when Will's dad, Lucas Horton, arrived to tell Will his great-grandmother is leaving. Afterwards, Will and Lucas had a talk. His father stated his fears that Sonny was pushing him too fast and that he hardly knew anything about his boyfriend. After his disagreement with his dad, Will went back to Sonny's with the intent of having sex. After Will questioned Sonny about his sexual past, the two got into a fight, but they soon talked it out and made love for the first time. Sonny admitted to having the supplier send the boxes to his apartment, but Will rebutted saying "Just for the record, I don't think you can be lured anywhere you already wanna go."

Will soon found out Gabi was pregnant with his baby. She wanted to get an abortion, but was caught by Sami and Rafe before it happened. Nick found out and Will, Gabi, and Nick decided to pass off the baby as his. Will gave the baby up because he didn't want the baby to be like him, going from place to place, and also because he was afraid he would lose Sonny. Sonny soon found out that Gabi was pregnant, but thought the baby was Nick's.

Sonny and Will spent Christmas at the Kiriakis Mansion and Horton Mansion. After Chad decided to tell him what Gabi did to Melanie, Sonny cut all ties with Gabi and advised Will to do the same, but couldn't tell him why due to a confidentiality agreement signed by Chad after he beat up Nick which Nick used as leverage against Chad. On New Year's Eve, Will found out Sonny's New Year's resolution had been to make Will fall in love with him and they had a loving moment. Sonny soon asked Will to move in with him and gave him a key.

At Gabi's and Nick's wedding Will told everyone he's the father of Gabi's baby, and then told Sonny he did not want to lose him over this, but the couple broke up. Will saw Sonny and Brian kissing, and Sonny went back to Brian's apartment but refused to have sex with him stating that it would be just sex. Sonny doesn't do "just sex". Brian went to the pub to imply to Will that he and Sonny had sex. Will received a gift from Sonny on Valentine's Day, but then realized he had sent it before they broke up.

Gabi went into the hospital for a baby emergency and Sonny showed up to be there for Will. Sonny and Will went to the coffee shop where Sonny read Will's letter, and he realized that he couldn't be friends with Will because he still had feelings for him. Sonny and Will got back together and soon made love, only to be interrupted by Nick, who blackmailed Will by threatening to expose that he shot EJ. After Will signed away his parental rights, Sonny explained to Will that Nick wanted him out of his daughter's life because he is gay.

Sonny and Nick got into a fight over him blackmailing Will, and soon Sonny offered his help to EJ to give Will back his parental rights, although he had a moral dilemma because he didn't know if he wanted revenge against Nick or to help Will. Sonny and Sami concocted a scheme to help Will get the flash drive on which Nick saved a private conversation of Will confessing he shot EJ. Sonny and Sami went through Nick and Gabi's room in the Kiriakis mansion to find the drive. After getting the drive and deleting the confession, Sonny snuck back into the house and put the flash drive back.

Rafe soon found out why Nick was blackmailing Will to give up his paternity rights and confronted Nick. That day, Rafe was attacked by a mysterious man and was sent to the hospital. Sonny and Will followed Nick, Gabi, and Jensen after Nick and Gabi looked scared. They found them at a boat house, and while Jensen was gone, they went to help Gabi and Nick.

Sonny helped Gabi give birth to her daughter, Arianna Grace, and is labelled a hero, along with Will, who saved Nick's life. Sonny surprised Will by announcing that he put down a deposit for an apartment across the hall. He then asked if Gabi and Arianna could move in with them. Will liked the idea and they asked Gabi. At first she was reluctant, but then agreed. Later, Sonny got deeply involved in the cover-up of Nick's murder, which Gabi committed.

Sonny agreed to be the godparent of Arianna Grace, along with Abigail. In early 2014, Sonny proposed to Will. While he initially turned him down, the two agreed that they will marry when both are ready. Will would later propose to Sonny on Valentine's Day and they would marry on April 3, 2014, in front of their family and friends at the Kiriakis mansion. Upon his marriage to Will, Sonny also became the stepfather to Will's daughter, Arianna Horton.

Will and Arianna would leave for Hollywood with Sami in October, having Sonny focus on opening his and Chad's new club, deal with Will being to busy to contact him or Gabi, and the return of his former boyfriend, Paul Narita (Christopher Sean), in December. When Will and Arianna returned they would face problems, Sonny using their joined finances to help with the second club, and Will not being around a lot due to the cover story, which featured Paul. He would be offered a recently renovated club by Victor, after he used up all his fund for the second club, however he didn't accept it since he considered it charity, in January 2015.

Sonny found out from Derrick, the bellhop at Paul's hotel, that Will had been visiting Paul numerous times and he left Club TDB in search for his husband at Paul's hotel - as Derrick mentioned Will arrived after he left. However, he got stabbed in the back by an unknown person after receiving a text from Will on February 4. The stabber was hinted to be Clyde or one of his men and the substance was revealed to be cocaine at the entry point of his wound. Sonny made a recovery and slowly started to piece together what happened the night he was stabbed. He received a visit from Paul and the truth was revealed that he slept with Will, unknowingly Sonny's husband since Will didn't wear his wedding ring. Paul eventually left at the request of an upset Sonny. Sonny revealed to Will that he knows about his affair with Paul and questioned if he had one in California.

After Sonny was released, he got confirmation from Paul that he and Will slept together just once. He decided to leave Salem in order to think and to do what was best for him in early March. He went to Phoenix, where his brother (Alex) currently resides. Sonny would return to Salem in mid-March after having time to think and would try to talk about what happened with Will, however he assumes that Will has been obsessing over Paul and doesn't want to speak to him.

Sonny would become conflicted for his returning feelings for Paul and trying to work on his marriage in the following months. In order to have space and think again, he would decide to take Victor up on his offer, managing some of Victor's clubs and casinos in Europe, and would leave in August with goodbyes to his family, Paul, Will and Arianna. Sonny came home two months later in October upon learning of Will's untimely death. At the conclusion of Will's funeral Sonny decided he could no longer live in Salem anymore as the memories of Will were always going to be too strong to live with on a daily basis. He said one final goodbye to his family and Arianna and shared an emotional farewell with Paul. He said goodbye to Will for the very last time and with that, he departed Salem forever and went back to run Victor's business interests in Paris.

In November, Gabi and her daughter went to visit him for two days.

Reception

Laurisa Mahlin from Soap Central expressed that "Sonny came into town with a bag of awesome slung over his shoulder" and that she adores Justin and Adrienne's kid.[8] Tony from Soap Central also stated "Sonny has Justin's charm, Adrienne's common sense, and Victor's persuasive streak."[9] The character of Sonny Kiriakis has been received well with critics and the audience. The Will and Sonny romance has also gained a lot of fan support and critical success, TV Guide has said that "While it took 45 years for the show to introduce its first openly gay character (Sonny) and another year and a half to find him a male partner (Will) the wait was well worth it. This steamy, star-crossed saga has had its drama to spare (paranoia, blackmail, impossible parents!), but its success lies in the fresh easy charm of these young men." TV Source Magazine named Will and Sonny best couple of 2012 in the Days of our Lives series, saying "One of the most refreshing things about Will and Sonny's relationship is it's portrayed just as any heterosexual couple. Watching them grow from friends to being in love was one of the highlights of the year for DAYS."

Smith's portrayal of Sonny earned him a nomination for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series at the 40th Daytime Emmy Awards in 2013.[10] He won that award at the 42nd Daytime Emmy Awards in 2015.[11]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 The announcement of Justin and Adrienne's child was shown in 1991, under executive producers Ken Corday and Al Rabin and head writer Gene Palumbo. The character was later developed and introduced under executive producers, Ken Corday and Gary Tomlin and head writers, Dena Higley and Christopher Whitesell.

References

  1. ↑ "Media: Will & Sonny: Days of Our Lives' new supercouple!". E Wall Streeter (American Media, Inc.). March 17, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  2. ↑ "The Daytime TV Power Couple That May (or May Not) Surprise You". July 4, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  3. ↑ SOD (April 3, 2015). "FREDDIE SMITH EXITS DAYS". Soap Opera Digest (United States). American Media. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  4. ↑ Goldberg, Michael (September 16, 2015). "Freddie Smith Returning to 'Days of our Lives'". Serial Scoop. United States: Blogger (Google). Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Freddie Smith's "Emotional" DAYS Comeback". Soap Opera Digest (United States: American Media, Inc.) 40 (42): 5. October 19, 2015.
  6. ↑ Goldberg, Michael (February 3, 2016). "Is Freddie Smith Returning to Days of our Lives?". Serial Scoop. United States: Blogger (Google). Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  7. ↑ Goldberg, Michael (April 13, 2016). "Freddie Smith Returning to Days of our Lives". Serial Scoop. United States: Blogger (Google). Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Friends in low places". Retrieved July 22, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Blame it on the rain". Retrieved July 22, 2013.
  10. ↑ "The 40th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Award Nominations". New York: emmyonline.org and National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. May 1, 2013. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  11. ↑ Nordyke, Kimberly (April 26, 2015). "Daytime Emmy Awards: The Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
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