What Happened to Dr. Rolf on DAYS
Dr. Wilhelm Rolf isn’t one of the best-known characters in the history of Days of Our Lives, but the man has played a very important role for many of Salem’s residents! The doc was played by actor William Utay since the character was first introduced back in 1997, and while Dr. Rolf apparently died in 2003, he returned again for another stint from 2007-2008 and continued to appear here and there in the years that followed. But in July 2022, it was announced that the role was being recast with actor Richard Wharton, who continues to make occasional appearances to this day.
Dr. Rolf first appeared as the man working on a cure for Roman Brady, but it turned out he was also responsible for helping Stefano DiMera turn Hope Brady into Princess Gina! After an adventure in the jungle where he helped cure John and Peter, Rolf journeyed to Salem with Stefano and got mixed up in a crazy scheme to switch Hope’s child with his niece, Marlo’s. Stefano also had the doctor transform Hattie Adams’ appearance to look even more like Marlena Evans’. When news of the evil deeds began to come to light, Rolf detonated bombs all over Salem to cover his tracks!
Rolf helped make Hattie into the woman she is today!Aaron Montgomery/JPI
Wilhelm became a professor at the university to keep an eye on the children of Salem, including the Gemini Twins, Cassie and Rex Brady. He programmed the duo to kill anyone who came near the DiMeras and was later revealed to have been involved in their conception and birth. When Rex confronted Rolf, the doctor was killed when a crate fell on him.
But four years later, Rolf was revealed to be very much alive and serving as personal physician to an ailing Stefano. He had Sami Brady kidnapped so he could use stem cells from her unborn baby to keep Stefano alive, but instead discovered she wasn’t actually carrying EJ DiMera’s child! Andre DIMera stole the liver of Benjy Hawk so Rolf could transplant it into Stefano and save his life.
Rolf brought John back to life but broke his brain!Paul Skipper/jpistudios.com
When John was hit by a car and killed, Rolf revived the guy and brainwashed him to become Stefano’s pawn again. When John became violent, he attempted to kill Rolf, but Stefano managed to stop him. Rolf was arrested along with his boss, and John agreed not to press charges against Rolf if he became his butler and shut down his lab. Marlena requested the doctor’s help in restoring John’s memories, offering to vouch for him if he did the right thing.
Rolf resurfaced in 2017 when it was revealed that he had brought Will Horton back to life and later concocted a serum that would restore the young man’s missing memories. He popped a cyanide capsule to take his own life, but in 2018 it was revealed that he had been brought back to life by Kristen DiMera, and had perfected his serum to restore people to life. It was used on EJ and Vivian Alamain, and it was later revealed he’d also brought Jack Deveraux back from the presumed dead. Like Will, Jack had lost his memories, and his loved ones urged Rolf to recreate the serum that had helped Will remember his past.
Dr. Rolf and Kristen are a dangerous combination!XTArroyo/jpistudios.com
When Kristen wanted to steal Sarah’s embryo and implant it into herself, she naturally went to Dr. Rolf, but he soon discovered that she was somehow already pregnant with Brady’s baby. He also injected Kate Roberts with something which brought her out of her coma and saved her life, knowing it was what Stefano would want. Unfortunately, he had to tell Gabi Hernandez that there was no spark of life left in Stefan DiMera so his formula wouldn’t work on him. He also turned Hope back into Princess Gina and a year later, implanted a chip with Stefano’s essence into Steve Johnson!
Rolf was arrested and sent to prison after he refused to help perform surgery to bring Steve back. When Gabi ran into a guy named Jake Lambert who was a dead ringer for Stefan, she confronted Rolf, who eventually caved and admitted he’d brought Stefan back but like the others, he had amnesia. He offered the serum to restore Stefan’s memories if Gabi would get him out of jail, and she quickly agreed. Of course, that was just a fake, so it didn’t work. But even from behind bars, he’s been working with Gwen, providing her with the drug that has been making Abigail hallucinate!
In October 2020, Rolf managed to escape prison after Orpheus knocked out the power, and quickly headed to the DiMera mansion. Upset to learn that the chip containing Stefano’s essence had been destroyed, Rolf then abducted Kayla to try and use her as a surrogate to birth a new Stefano! Thankfully, Steve rescued her before he could begin. Rolf also supplied an antidote to the mind-altering drug that Kristen had used on Sarah, although initially, Gwen swapped it out and made Sarah’s condition even worse before she was eventually helped.
Li would rather Stefan never woke up at all!XJJohnson/jpistudios.com
After receiving a pardon, the first thing Rolf did upon being released from prison was to steal Jake’s body and transplant his heart into a comatose Stefan, bringing him back to life! Under orders from Kristen (who was pressured by Li Shin), the doc brainwashed Stefan into believing he loved only Chloe Lane, not Gabi. When Orpheus stole a toxin and poisoned Marlena, Kayla, and Kate, Rolf gave Kristen the last remaining orchid that could be used to create the antidote. Confronted by Gabi, Rolf admitted he’d brainwashed Stefan, but then tampered with her memories so she’d forget their encounter! Li arranged for Rolf to flee to Indonesia, but Wendy Shin and Johnny DiMera tracked him down there, hoping to find out what Li was really up to.
Rolf nearly got the upper hand on the young couple but they turned the tables on him and managed to escape. Realizing the memory wipe could be reversed, Rolf tried to warn Li but it was too late and Gabi had recovered her memories. Gabi then recalled Rolf to Salem to reverse Stefan’s brainwashing but he was only able to make him remember his love for Gabi, not forget his feelings for Chloe.
Jada Hunter arrested Rolf but Eric Brady helped get him out of custody with the help of attorney Sloan Petersen because Brady wanted him to work on Stefan again to erase his love for Chloe. Rolf tried, but when the procedure caused Stefan to be electrocuted and Jada arrived to arrest Brady and Eric, the doc beat a hasty retreat. He later resurfaced to aid and abet Megan Hathaway in her abduction of Marlena, Kate, and Kayla, as well as brainwashing Bo Brady into loving her while also developing a fountain of youth serum. Rolf had previously brainwashed Harris Michaels into acting as Megan’s enforcer and Li persuaded him to do it again in an attempt to kill Stefan, but when things went sour, the doctor escaped with Megan.
Dr. Rolf will always help the DiMeras… even Kristen!XJJohnson/jpistudios.com
Stefan brought Rolf back to Salem in November 2023 to help take down Li, and when the doctor slipped away again, he agreed to take Megan’s son, Dimitri Von Leuschner, with him as he was wanted by the cops. Rolf resurfaced again in October 2024 to inform Kristen he had a serum that could regenerate tissue. She wanted him to help Sarah Horton walk again to help save Brady from going to prison.
Stay tuned to DAYS to see what the mad scientist gets up to next!
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