Javi on Days of Our Lives is returning to Salem this summer, following his breakup with Leo and after learning of his father's heart attack.
But fans will notice right away that Javi will look different from last season, as out gay stage actor Jacob Martinez takes over one of the soap opera world's most prominent LGBTQ+ storylines from the gay actor who originated the role on the Peacock show, Al Calderon.
"Hey, I'm Jacob Martinez and I'm taking over the role of Javi Hernández on Days of Our Lives and I'll be popping up on your screens June 30th," Martinez announced in an Instagram post Thursday. "So, I hope we all have a really, really fun summer in store for us."
Previously, Martinez starred in the musical In Pieces at the Public Theater in New York City. Singer and songwriter Joey Contreras handpicked the actor to play the role of Grey in the show, according to Deadline, an experience that Martinez described to Out as "truly a dream come true." In that production, Martinez costarred alongside Stephanie Torns of Waitress and Wicked fame, Antonio Cipriano of Jagged Little Pill and Off Campus, and Nathan Levy from & Juliet and Dear Evan Hansen.
Martinez also felt that sense of family in joining Days of Our Lives, a show with a legacy of breaking ground in LGBTQ+ representation, notably when its characters Will Horton and Sonny Kiriakis became the first male same-sex couple to wed on daytime TV.
"Being in a space where you feel like everyone in the room has your best interest at heart is truly a gift," Martinez told Out in an email interview. "It didn’t take long for me to realize how lucky I am to be working with such a supportive team. While it can feel overwhelming at times, I’m blessed to have friends who lift me up when I feel low — and a mother who has believed in me my entire life (love you, Jean!)."
Recasting "Javi"
According to Deadline, which was first to report the casting change on April 30, Calderon left the Peacock show in July 2025 to join NBC’s Brilliant Minds as Nurse Scotty Silva alongside the series star, out gay actor Zachary Quinto. (Brilliant Minds was recently canceled after two seasons.)
As the Caledonian Record reported in January, when Calderon left Days of Our Lives last year, his character, Javier "Javi" Hernández, was leaving Salem with a broken heart, having lost both the man he loved as well as the baby that he had grown to love as his own.
Fans will recall Javi's partner, Leo, played by out actor Greg Rikaart, revealed he still had feelings for another character, Dimitri, who is played by out actor Peter Porte of Notes of Autumn. But that wasn’t the main reason Javi fled Salem for Texas: His father, Gabriel, had suffered a heart attack. Up until all this, it had seemed as if Javi would finally settle down into happily married life with Leo in Salem, where the couple could fuss over their godchild Trey. What's not clear is how the show's writers will bring Javi back to Salem for the 61st season, and how his return will impact Leo and Dimitri and address Gabriel's medical emergency. How will Trey figure into all this?
It's a lot of drama to parse — but Martinez was prepared to dive in.
"Being Hispanic, gay, and an emergency medical technician definitely helped me draw from real-life experiences when I got the role. But after reading the first few scripts, it became clear to me what truly drives this character: his heart," Martinez said. "Javi is the type of person who constantly puts others before himself — not only on the job, but in his personal life as well."
Close-up portrait of Jacob MartinezAlyssa Matusiak (@alyssamatusiak)
And for Martinez, the representation he is helping bringing into the world through Javi is important — and a little daunting.
"The truth is, Javi is the kind of character I wish I could have looked up to on television as a kid. Getting the chance to hopefully be that inspiration for another kid somewhere in a small town makes it all worthwhile," Martinez said. "This is definitely the biggest show I have ever worked on, so 'nervous' is an understatement. Although I may not remember my first few scenes because I essentially blacked out from nerves, there is one thing I do remember from that first day on set: the overwhelming feeling that I belonged."
Moving from Nebraska to NYC and out of the closet
Martinez, who graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in 2018, didn't have the easiest time growing up in Nebraska.
"You can probably imagine what it was like growing up as a closeted, gay, Christian boy in a conservative red state, with a preacher for a grandfather and a dash of Hispanic intolerance," Martinez recalled. "Needless to say — not ideal. I tried very hard to play the role of the perfect child, but anxiety has a way of slipping through the cracks. I experienced panic attacks, stomach problems, and sleep apnea — all because I was hiding one of the most beautiful parts of who I am."
He didn’t publicly come out until I was 22, while living in New York. And it was a spiritual experience
"That decision came after a very intimate conversation with God," he shared. "It felt like He said to me, 'Jacob, stop denying the parts of yourself that I am ready to embrace and love.' I used to think that being gay and loving God couldn’t coexist, but since coming out, my faith and my joy for life have only grown, allowing me to feel freer than ever before."
Here's Johnny!
The actor said his inspiration to go into show business as a teenager came from another Nebraskan, a famous name whose path to stardom he has followed all the way to California.
"Johnny Carson and I both come from the same small town in Nebraska called Norfolk," he said. "I was lucky enough to grow up performing in the Johnny Carson Theatre in high school. I will never forget my first role as a freshman, playing the T-Bird 'Doody' in Grease. All the upperclassmen in that production made the theatre feel like home, which inspired me to continue performing on that stage in more ways than just theatre. Choir, show choir, and one-acts became major outlets for me in that space."
One thing Martinez didn't expect was just how closely he would follow in Carson's footsteps: Leaving Nebraska and hosting The Tonight Show in New York from 1962 to 1972, before his big move to L.A.
"You see, the Johnny Carson show was filmed on the Burbank studio lot, which is exactly where Days of Our Lives films!" he marveled. "I used to pass by his mural every time I took the stage in Norfolk, and now I pass by his mural every day on my way to set. I always make sure to give him a wink as I walk by and say, 'Thanks, Johnny.'"
What's next?
Martinez's credits also include the short film Memory Swim and the play Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, where he played CB.
But his ultimate role, Martinez said, is still to come.
"I think I tell every single person I meet this — my dream is to star in a movie musical. That’s what makes working on an actual television studio lot so exciting. I have the chance to grow as an on-camera actor and, hopefully one day, combine that with my musical theatre background to fulfill that dream," he said.
The first episode of Days of Our Lives to feature Martinez in the role of Javi will stream on Peacock on June 30.
Jacob Martinez in a studio portrait wearing jeans.Julian Dahl
