Eric Brady is a fictional character from Days of Our Lives, an American soap opera on the NBC network. Eric was introduced in the episode of October 16, 1984, together with his twin sister, Sami Brady. Initially played by a series of child actors, Jensen Ackles was cast in the role of Eric when the character was rapidly-aged from a pre-teen to a young adult in July 1997 under the pen of headwriter James E. Reilly. Ackles' Eric appeared for three years until August 2000, when Ackles departed. Actor Greg Vaughan played Eric for nine years from 2012 to 2021; the longest of any prior performer. His portrayal earned him a Daytime Emmy Award in 2018 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Eric and Sami are the children of supercouple Roman Brady and Marlena Evans. The twins Eric and Sami care deeply about each other, but have completely different personalities. Eric's saintly behavior sets him up as the better half to his very troubled and trouble-making sister Sami. A notable storyline for Eric is his passionate, but frustrated, love affair with Nicole Walker (Arianne Zucker). Having once been a priest, Eric is a community-orientated person, briefly running the Horton Center, which helps people in need.