Stefano DiMera began terrorizing Salem back in 1982. Since then, he's cheated death eight times, all the while fiercely protecting his ever-expanding family. Joseph Mascolo explains why (and how) the Phoenix always rises on Days of Our Lives.
Stefano arrived in Salem as Lee Dumonde's European friend. Lee confided to Marlena that Renee was her daughter by Stefano. This news soured the burgeoning relationship between Renee and Stefano's son, Tony. In his first year in Salem, Stefano had Evan Whyland killed, kidnapped Mickey Horton and forced Anna to discredit his sworn enemy, Roman Brady.
Stefano and Roman were at war. "It started out as a competition between two highly individual people", explains Mascolo. Stefano kidnapped Marlena and Liz Curtis, was eventually captured, had a stoke in prison and died. "I had come from the theater, so I said to the director, 'I', just going to give a quick glance at Renee, and dramatically, you're not going to know if he really died.' He said, 'No.' I said, "Fine, then I'm not going to fall.' He relented. It was so subtle, but the audience saw it, and then we had the aura of Stefano lingering. A year later, they called me and said the audience wants this character back. And that's how it started."
Stefano, alive and well and using the code name Phoenix, masterminded a series of killings in town, pinning the blame on Roman. To further torture Brady, Stefano ordered a hit on Marlena, and planted a bomb at a charity benefit she was attending. Marlena survived; Stefano escaped in a limo, which plunged into the icy waters of the Salem River. "I thought that was one of the greatest escapes. He was with his driver in his Mercedes and went over into the river. As the car was going under, the audience caught it that in the distance, you heard the sound of a chopper. It was all a setup." Later that year, Stefano needed three crystal prisms to heal a lingering brain tumor. Bo, Hope, Stefano's daughter, Megan, and others all got caught up in the adventure, which started in New Orleans and culminated on a remote island. Stefano and Roman faced off and struggled on a cliff. Roman fell and died, but his body was never recovered. Stefano eventually found all the prisms. Was the tumor cured? "It goes around and around my head", Mascolo laughs. "They use it when they need it."
Stefano blamed the Bradys for Megan's death (she was trying to kill Hope to get Bo for herself). Stefano vowed revenge on Marlena and kidnapped her twins, Eric and Samantha. Bo recovered the kids while Marlena fought with Stefano on a catwalk at an ice rink. She shot him; he fell and "died". "Fire, ocean, water - he's never dead," shrugs Mascolo. "If he was dead, it would really be bizarre."
Stefano returned, still bent on destroying the Brady clan. (In DiMera's absence, Roman had come back and Marlena was presumed dead). DiMera kidnapped Carrie and lured Shane Donovan and other Bradys to an island. When Stefano found out that he had a son, Benjy, who was deaf, he blamed Roman. He put Roman in a trance and ordered him to kill his family. The plan failed; Stefano escaped via helicopter. "It bothers me a bit that every child has been mentioned but Benjy, " reflects Mascolo. "That child was a beautiful child; the actor was really deaf. That was tough, having to learn the sign language and having him laugh at me."
After a five-year absence, (although we saw Stefano, played by another actor, for a few short scenes in Mexico in 1991) Stefano returned with adoptive kids Peter and Kristen. "I've said he's like a walking sperm bank," chuckles Mascolo. "Every time he leaves, he comes back with another child. The audience always says,'We never see you do it.' And I say, 'The guy's got to have a little class!'" The Phoenix was weaker this time: wheelchair-bound, he was unable to talk due to a stroke. When he was kidnapped by Curtis Reed, Kristen jeopardized her relationship with John to get her father back. Stefano slowly recovered and manipulated Kristen into marrying Tony.
Stefano found out that Belle was fathered by John, not Roman, and forced Marlena to reveal it at Belle's christening. Roman left town and divorced Marlena. John and Stefano fought on Kristen's wedding day. Stefano took off; John shot at his car, which exploded in a fireball. Stefano eventually resurfaced at Maison Blanche in Louisiana, where he imprisoned John in the dugeon. He also tricked Marlena into coming there. An unsuspecting Kristen (who thought her father was dead) invited all her Salem pals to the house. Stefano certainly had a houseful - another guest, Gina, was the presumed-dead Hope. "I kept asking, 'What the hell happened to you> How did I find you? I know I can find anything, but where did you come from?' " Celeste (Stefano's sidekick) torched the mansion; Stefano escaped and eventually revealed himself in Salem. (After being presumed dead in the water while trying to escape with Gina.) Eventually, Stefano fell in love (for real) with Marlena, and manipulated it so that he could visit her through the armoire in her bedroom. "He is possessed by that woman," explains Mascolo.
Stefano tried in vain to help Marlena when she was possessed by the devil; his efforts rendered him amnesiac and wheelchair-bound. Marlena helped Stefano recoverin Aremid, Kristen and Peter's childhood hometown. Stefano's memory returned after he was struck by lightning. This was also the year of the Lady in White, aka Rachel Blake. "The walking tablecloth", Mascolo chuckles. "She's a lovely lady, actually. One day in the beginning, she came on the set and she was a little anxious, and I knew she was a little nervous. I said, 'Go back! Look at your makeup!' She went screaming back to the makeup room and I said, 'Stop, you dork, nobody's going to see your face.' "
Lexie learned that her real parents were Stefano and Celeste. "I thought that was a great twist. Very clever, especially because her husband is the chief of police." Back in Salem, Vivian met up with her former lover, Rudolpho, and was surprised to learn that he was really Stefano. "Certainly, Louise and I have a kinship. We would like to be Lord and Lady Macbeth." Later that year, Stefano kidnapped Marlena and brought her to Paris. "I hope to God I never kidnap her again", growls Mascolo. "How many times can you do that?" ( I hear at least once more!! - Shady) John arrived in Paris to save Marlena; Stefano nearly had him beheaded at the guillotine. "I said, 'Hold it. You have seven men who work for Stefano and are obviously mercenaries, there's no way in hell Marlena would get past these people,' '" recalls Mascolo. "For them to get away, that gave me a headache. I didn't know how to make it work. It was very difficult." Stefano "died" when Rachel Blake blew up the tunnels.
A very-much-alive Stefano resurfaced again. He helped Peter fake his death and Kristen to continue her pregnancy scam. "Oh God, poor John. I feel so sorry for him. What an idiot. You got to touch it once and say,'Let me feel it bounce'." In spite of his evil deeds, Mascolo thinks it's DiMera's family values that keep him going strong. "If you fool with the family, you're going to suffer," believes the actor. "You have to see what makes him vulnerable. On that level, it's subtle, but it's so strong."
(Portions from Soap Opera Digest May 1997 via ShadySha)
1991--Stefano reappeared in the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza for just a few scenes. He held the satchel that contained info on John's past. He laughed and threw it in the fire as John watched. The cave began to collapse and Stefano did not seem to make it out, so he was presumed dead.
1996--In the Paris tunnel. John had Just rescued Marlena and had given a gun to Rachel Blake to hold on Stefano. Stefano tried to give Rachel the slip but she followed him. She got ready to shoot when Stefano told her about the gas. He said that if she fired they would both die and she would never she her children Peter and Kristen again. An anguished Rachel decided to shoot but right before she fired she said I love you Kristen and Peter. She fired the gun and a few seconds later there was and explosion. Rachel and Stefano were presumed dead until Stefano showed up a few short weeks later.
Stefano,
the ManStefano DiMera is truly a citizen of the world. He has residences in New Orleans, Paris, an island in the Caribbean, in the rain forest of Central or South America and, of course, in Salem. In fact, now that Stefano has obtained his pardon from jail, he is a permanent resident of this Midwestern metropolis.
Despite his long acquaintance with the Bradys and the Hortons, much about Stefano remains a mystery. It has never been revealed where he came from or why, but what never has been in doubt is the certainty that his immense fortune was amassed illicitly.
Stefano's motivtion is not greed. It is creating a dynasty. His children include now- deceased Tony DiMera and Megan Hathaway, his son Benji (who lives with his maternal grandfather), daughter lexie, adopted kids Peter and Kristen Blake and, the newest addition to the DiMera lineage and his hope for the future, Susan's son Elvis.
No amount of good deeds or charitable donations on the part of Stefano can ever make Marlena Evans forget the crimes he committed against her loved ones, but it appears that this is what Stefano is attempting. The reason he desires a "normal" life in Salem may be the acceptance of his baby son into polite society.
Stefano is an aficionado of fine wine, beautiful women, opera and, most especially, a good game of chess. To Stefano, life is a game. The player who makes all the right moves will achieve his desires. AN intelligent man, he respects a good opponent and enjoys his sparring matches with Roman Brady and John Black.
One thing for sure: Stefano DiMera, like his symbol the Phoenix, will always rise to fight another day.
(From SON)