One of my favorite actors is bringing back one of my favorite characters. Formerly Rex on "One Life to Live," John-Paul Lavoisier is the latest big name to be tapped by "Days." He will portray Philip Kiriakis.

Lavoisier, who always loved living in Manhattan, moved to Los Angeles at the urging of then girlfriend Farah Fath, whom he met when she played Gigi on "One Life to Live." Fath and Lavoisier ended up splitting in 2012. (Earlier this year, Fath married professional poker player Phil Galfond, who has earned over two million dollars at the gaming table.)

Lavoisier's "Days" character, Philip, was previously played by Jay Kenneth Johnson and Kyle Brandt. Lavoisier has already started filming and his episodes will start airing in early December.

About the character of Philip Kiriakis:

Philip is the biological son of Victor Kiriakis (John Aniston) and his fiancee, Kate Roberts, and the surrogate son of Vivian Alamain (Louise Sorel). He attended Salem High School before joining the military and marrying Belle Black. Later, he lost part of his left leg and has since worn a prosthetic. Philip and Belle separated when it was discovered that Claire Brady was not his biological daughter, but they eventually reunited and tried to conceive their own child through in vitro fertilization. Philip's sperm was switched with Shawn-Douglas Brady's, resulting in Philip having a son, Tyler, with Mimi Lockhart in 2007.

Belle left Philip for Shawn, and Tyler was later given up for adoption. Philip began dating Stephanie Johnson and took a more active role in running Titan Industries with his father. Victor saw Philip as a disappointment, so Philip instead went into business with Tony DiMera. One night, while they were having an argument on the pier, Tony fell onto a sharp plank. He later died at the hospital.

Nicole Walker witnessed the scene and said it was an accident, clearing Philip of any wrongdoing. Tony's father, Stefano, became consumed by grief and anger over Tony's death. He threatened revenge against Philip. Later, while on a romantic trip with Stephanie, Philip was shot and almost died and everyone immediately suspected that Stefano ordered the hit as revenge for Tony's death.

In 2010, Philip had a one-night stand with Chloe Lane when he was married to Melanie Layton. On November 11, 2010, Chloe gave birth to a boy, Parker Jonas, whom Chloe named after Daniel Jonas' mother's maiden name, wanting to uphold the idea that Daniel was the father.

Chloe and Philip later believed that Philip was actually Parker's father, since Caroline Brady announced that she had switched the paternity test results.

Melanie suffered a miscarriage caused by stress. Philip left Salem for Chicago with Parker on April 20, 2011. On January 2, 2013, Chloe revealed that Daniel was actually Parker's biological father — someone else had switched the paternity tests before Caroline unknowingly switched them back.

In other "Days" news, the character of Belle is headed back to Salem. Her daughter Claire, now a teenager, is also slated to be back. The mother and daughter duo will be seen on air in December, along with Shawn Douglas. Claire is now a teen — a troubled one, of course. Is there any other kind on a soap opera?

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.