Days Of Our Lives' Peter Reckell & Kristian Alfonso Name The Role That Almost Went To Tom Cruise

The long-awaited reunion of Bo Brady (Peter Reckell) and Hope Williams (Kristian Alfonso) on "Days of Our Lives" in April 2023 was all too brief. Fans were obviously incredibly excited for their return, and especially thrilled as Bo attempted to break free from the mind control of the diabolical Megan DiMera (Miranda Wilson). When he finally remembered his "fancy face," it was too late as his son, Shawn Brady (Brandon Beemer), thought Bo was going to kill his mom, Hope, and shot his father, landing Bo in a coma. 

Now, Bo has been convalescing abroad with Hope by his side, and we haven't seen them since, dashing any possibility of a happily ever after for the super couple. Fans are still holding out hope (pun intended) that they'll return to Salem and resume their bad guy-thwarting deeds, though. Reckell and Alfonso appeared on the October 16 episode of the "Hey Dude ... The 90s Called!" podcast and, when asked about how they got on the show, Alfonso mentioned that her first role was in the TV movie "The Star Maker" with legendary actor Rock Hudson. 

She went on to share that, after hiring her, "Days" wanted Alfonso to do test scenes with several potential candidates for Bo, but she avoided them due to feeling inadequate as a performer at the time. When Alfonso then mentioned that one of the actors who tested for Bo was international superstar Tom Cruise, the hosts were astounded. But Reckell claimed not to remember that fact. 

After "Days of Our Lives" star Kristian Alfonso's big reveal, she tried to jog co-star Peter Reckell's memory, asking if he remembered when Frances Reid — who played Alice Horton from 1965 to 2007 — was on a plane with Tom Cruise. "They started talking and she said she worked on 'Days of Our Lives,'" Alfonso explained. "And he was like, 'Oh, I tested for the role of Bo.'" Reckell then hilariously quipped, "Man, I could have been using that for the last 40 years." 

The beloved soap star also admitted that he had lied to the producers when they asked him to shave his beard off, claiming, "I'm keeping it for something else I'm up for." Concerned they'd lose Reckell, they gave him the part. The actor then recalled that the first time he and Alfonso met was for rehearsals on their first day of shooting. Thankfully, his prior experience on "As the World Turns" helped to guide them both through the soap acting process. 

Regarding the two becoming a soap opera super couple, they noted that the powers that be would put actors together to see whether they had any chemistry, to which Reckell remarked, "I admire the writers and producers for doing that. And they see what you can do, and then they take stories in that direction." Cruise, on the other hand, also notably missed out on the lead role in "Edward Scissorhands," per Dazed Digital, but he did pretty well for himself regardless.