Landing the pivotal role of Eli Grant on DAYS, the love child who the late David Banning never even knew he had, can be summed up in one word by Lamon Archey. “Destiny,” he declares. “That out of all the characters DAYS has written for black males, it would be this one that I would get. It hits pretty close to home.”

That’s an understatement. Raised by his grandparents, Archey’s mother was around while he was growing up, but he barely knew or saw his father. “He died when I was 20 or 21,” recounts Archey. “I hadn’t seen him in years. Then, I received a call that he had passed and ended up flying out to St. Louis for his funeral. When I got there, I was faced with this whole family, this whole bunch of people who I had never met. They were all very loving and very comforting, but it was a lot for me to take in. Seeing my dad in a casket after not seeing him in years was definitely hard, too, and something I’ll never forget. It was a very tough time and something that still messes with me to this day.”

Fast-forward to the actor’s Salem debut, when Eli suddenly surfaced to attend the funeral of the father he never knew, and Archey was reliving all of it. “Just reading the script brought me to tears,” recalls Archey. “I was definitely able to relate to a lot of whatEli was going through. I was able to draw from my experience, and it really helped.”

Déjà vu initiation over, Archey was ready to delve into his second soap role. His first had been a less-than-memorable stint as Mason Wilder on Y&R, a businessman-turned-model who skipped town after stealing Devon’s credit cards. Of his short run, Archey admits with a laugh, “I learned that I didn’t know what I was doing, that I didn’t know what was going on. Looking back, I can’t tell you how great of a lesson that was.”

Archey, after all, had truly stumbled into the acting profession. He was happily employed as a model when his future manager, Michael Bruno, spotted his photo on a wall at his San Francisco agency. “He asked who I was and said he’d like to meet me, so they put me in touch with him,” explains the actor, noting that he and Bruno soon got together in Los Angeles for a chat. “He told me that if I got into class and focused on acting, he believed I could not only be on a soap, but also do nighttime TV and movies. I just had to put my head in the game and get some acting ability.”

Trusting Bruno’s years in the business and faith in him, Archey decided to give it a go, “even though I had zero — and I mean zero — acting experience,” he emphasizes. “But I thought it would be fun. I’m a very quiet person. I keep to myself. So it was a good way to break out of my shell.”

Archey enrolled in acting class, where early reviews weren’t great. In fact, he usually heard, “You need work,” he recalls. “But I was horrible. I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. It was a long road before I even had a grasp on anything. I didn’t really learn how to act, honestly, until maybe a year or so after I left Y&R.”

The turning point was joining Beverly Hills Playhouse. “That was a school that taught me how to delve into a character, break down a script, and really take everything line by line,” says Archey. “A light bulb went off, and I was like, ‘Ahhhh. Now I get it.’ ”

So when the front-burner role of Eli came around, Archey knew he was up for the task. “I definitely felt ready. I knew I was at a point where I could take a character, make him my own, and give him some life.”

Eli was also a great fit. “He’s a good guy; strong and confident, which I like,” notes Archey. Plus, playing an FBI agent is every man’s dream. “Any time I get to walk around with a gun or point a gun, that’s always fun. I’m waiting for that scene where I get to jump over a table, take down some bad guy, throw him up against the wall and arrest him. All that fun stuff.”

In the interim, Eli is surrounded by women. Three of them, to be exact: estranged mama Valerie; newfound grandmother Julie; and potential love interest Gabi. “Vanessa [Williams, Valerie] is like a mom to me. If I have any questions, I know I can always go to her,” he shares. “Susan [Seaforth Hayes, Julie] is so sweet and nice. She’s been on the show for years and is definitely in the position where she can give me pointers. And Camila [Banus, Gabi] is so funny and free-spirited. I always have a good time working with her. She’s like a big goofball and always makes me laugh.”

Off-screen, Archey has a special lady in his life, too. He’s engaged to model/actress Mercedes Cornett. The couple, who met at a fashion show 14 years ago, shares two children: son Caden, 7, and daughter Gaia, 4. (Archey also has a son, Machiah, 14, from a previous relationship.) “For me, it was love at first sight,” confesses Archey. “I remember thinking, ‘This is someone I could definitely see myself with.’ It was the feeling that she represented everything I ever wanted in a woman.But she was in a relationship and I was in a relationship, so it didn’t work out at that time. We kept in contact, but didn’t actually date or get together until a couple of years down the line. Now, two kids later….”

The twosome is finally talking marriage. “The timing has been right for a while, wouldn’t you say?” he chuckles. “We’ve been together 11 years. I just don’t think it was a priority with the kids and everything. We had so much going on with work, trying to get our careers right, wanting to get a house…. It was always something we wanted to do, but we never buckled down and said, ‘Let’s do it.’ Now, we’re like, ‘What are we waiting for?’ ” They haven’t begun wedding planning, though. “We’re still trying to map things out,” shares Archey. “We kind of have a month in mind. We’re thinking September, although it’s not set in stone, yet. But it’s going to happen.”

Inked Well

Lamon Archey is a man who loves tattoos. “I have a lot of them … about 11 or 12,” he says, noting that fans won’t ever get to see them all on DAYS, even when his character inevitably takes his shirt off. “Some of them have to get covered because I have my son’s name. I have my dog’s name. I have my middle son’s birthdate. I’ve got my nickname, Mone, too. Everyone calls me Mone back home. It’s short for Lamon.”

Archey’s other tattoos include a native American band and a dragon tattoo. “I’m an Aries, so I have a ram on my back,” he adds. “I have a tribal band around my waist. In my rebel days, I got the earth on fire. It says, ‘Hell on earth,’ on my shoulder. I also have the word ‘nine’ on my shoulder.”

Does the number hold great significance for him? “My fiancée’s birthday is June 9,” says Archey. “My birthday is April 9. My middle son’s birthday is July 9. My daughter’s birthday is May 29, and my oldest son’s birthday is in the ninth month.”

Just The Facts

Birthday: April 9

Hails From: San Mateo, CA

Otherwise Known As: Mason Wilder, Y&R, 2012-14

Salem Past: “My first gig was on DAYS. I played a cop in a scene with Kristian Alfonso [Hope]. About a year after that, I played a young dad on the show.”

A DEAD Head: “I’ve always been into the zombie genre. I love those types of movies and TV shows. I didn’t know much about THE WALKING DEAD the first time I watched it on Netflix. I was like, ‘Oh, it looks like there will be some zombies. Let me check it out.’ I ended up binge-watching six or seven episodes in one day.
I was off from there.”

In the Ring: “I’ve boxed for maybe seven years or so. Of course, I haven’t been able to do it since I started working on the show. I can’t take any chances of getting a black eye or anything like that. As soon as I started training, I developed a love for it. My grandfather was really into boxing and still is. I think that’s where I got it from.”

The Family Jewels: “I have a couple of rings that were given to me by my late uncle Ellis. He died when I was about 5 or 6. I still have them to this day, in a box. They’re both gold rings with diamonds.”

Social Standings: Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @LamonArchey