Dick Van Dyke to guest star on 'Days of Our Lives' at 97
It's hard to imagine there's anything Dick Van Dyke hasn't done in his eight decades in show business, but he's crossing another new experience off the list at 97 years old.
Van Dyke shared that he will make his soap opera debut in an upcoming episode of "Days of Our Lives" on Peacock.
The "Mary Poppins" star told Access Hollywood that he will play a mystery man with amnesia on a soap opera that began airing in 1965, only 11 years after Van Dyke started his legendary TV career.
Van Dyke told Access Hollywood that the role came to fruition when he linked up with "Days of Our Lives" star Drake Hogestyn, who goes to the same gym as Van Dyke.
“I said, ‘Don’t you have any parts for old people? Come on give me one.’ And he took me seriously and got me a part!” Van Dyke said.
He also described taking on the different challenge of the role compared to all his years on sitcoms.
“I have played old men before, but comedy old men," He said. "First time I've ever just played my 97-year-old self.”
Van Dyke tried to get down the rhythms of the show by watching the pros on "Days of Our Lives."
"Some of the people have been doing it for 20 years,” he said. “That’s all the homework I can do, watch one and see how they do it. The other thing, you have to hold, ‘duh duh,’ there’s this thing of music, and we’ve said something exciting.”
He also got some advice from old friend Carol Burnett, 89, who guest-starred on the soap opera "All My Children," most recently in 2011.
"Make sure you know all your lines because they don’t do retakes," Burnett said on Access Hollywood. "If anything goes wrong, you're stuck."
Van Dyke's episodes are scheduled to air on Peacock in the fall. New episodes of "Days of Air Lives" stream weekdays on NBC's streaming service.
This has been a year of saying yes to new things for the television luminary. Van Dyke also was revealed to be a mystery performer on "The Masked Singer" in February.
He can now add his soap opera debut to a career that includes Kennedy Center Honors, five Emmys, a Tony, a Grammy, the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, a spot in the Television Hall of Fame and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
