Although we’ll still see her on-screen for several months due to the show’s heightened tape-to-air schedule, actress Camila Banus recently wrapped her 13-year run as Gabi Hernandez on “Days of our Lives.”
In an exit interview with TheWrap’s Rosemary Rossi, Banus reveals she taped her final scenes in Salem at the Burbank-based studio on Friday, April 28 and that she’s ready to “start the next chapter” in her life.
“There’s definitely been a lot of changes at ‘DAYS’ the last couple of years, one being moving to Peacock. Although it’s been wonderful and we’ve had a super great reception, for me, I felt like that was kind of like the initial start for changes happening in general. And I kind of just saw that as a sign for me to start the next chapter in my life.”
While Banus joined the cast of “Days of our Lives” in October 2010, her first soap role was playing Lola Montez on “One Life to Live” from October 2008 to May 2009. She’s now ready for non-soap work.
“That’s an enormous amount of time, especially in this industry where it’s such an inconsistent employment process that I call it the 99% unemployment industry for everyone,” laughed Banus in an interview with TheWrap, when discussing the length of run on “Days of our Lives.” She added, “You know, you book something and you never know what’s up ahead or what may be the future for that project. So I’ve been very blessed and very lucky to have been representing Latinas and Latinos as Gabi. And I’m just ready to see how I can represent further along in my career, you know, see what the next chapter of representing will be.”
Stating that her decision to exit was “tough” and bittersweet, Banus notes that a month before her contract was up, producers asked what her terms were so they could renegotiate a new deal. One major sticking point for Banus was a schedule adjustment that would allow her to have more time off which was a no go from the show’s perspective, among other matters.
“‘Well, if you can’t meet these demands, then I can’t,” recalls Banus of what she told producers after the time off issue was clearly a no go for them. “I talked to producers and they had a call with me and they were like, ‘Well, what can we do?’ And I honestly [said], ‘I need to slow down. And part of that is, you know, you guys accepting this shooting schedule for me, and you won’t. So, you know, I have to respectfully bow out and say thank you, and that’s all I can do.’”
For more from Banus on her exit from “Days of our Lives” and what plans she has in store for the next chapter in her life, including dreams of being an actress in big budget films, click here.