Quick Take:

The antithesis of his scheming twin sister, Sami, Eric was Roman and Marlena Brady’s pride and joy. Kind and good natured, he always put others ahead of himself. That is, until he fell in love with gold digger Nicole Walker. Their twisted relationship left Eric at odds with his father and nearly destroyed his sweet girlfriend, Greta. Ultimately, he had to leave Salem to get his life together.

Played by:

Rory Beauregard (1984)
Jesse Davis (1985 to 1986)
Edward Palma (1986)
Bradley Hallock (1986 to 1992)
Jensen Ackles (1997 to 2000)
Greg Vaughan (2012 to present)

Brothers and Sisters:

Aside from his twin sister, Sami; Eric has three half-sisters, Carrie, Cassie and Belle, and a half-brother, Rex.

Love Lines:

His first love was Nicole Walker. He also shared a sweet romance with Greta Von Amberg.

A Brand New Brady
 
Eric and his twin sister, Sami, were born to Roman and Marlena Brady back in 1984. (Both characters have since been aged.) Extremely close growing up, the pair were sent off to live with their maternal grandparents in Colorado as children. While Sami resurfaced in Salem as a teenager, Eric didn’t come back to his hometown until he was older.
Troubled Times
 
Upon his return, Eric, who always had a strong connection to Sami, quickly caught onto her amnesiac act. He believed his sister was conveniently faking her memory loss to hold onto Austin. Eric teamed up with Carrie and Mike, and the trio worked together to uncover a secret they were sure Sami was hiding.

They hit pay dirt on the day Austin and Sami were slated to marry: Austin wasn’t the father of Sami’s son, Will, and Sami knew the truth. Carrie ran to Austin and revealed the stunning news. Sami was humiliated, when Austin literally left her at the altar and married Carrie, instead. While Eric felt terribly for causing Sami so much pain, he knew he had done the right thing, and Sami forgave her brother.

Soon, Eric had bigger problems, when he began being followed. He soon realized his stalker was his old schoolmate from Boulder, Jed. It turned out Eric had been accused of date rape back in school, when Jed was really the culprit. A desperate Jed threatened to kill Sami, if Eric didn’t take the blame for the crime. Eric refused and eventually convinced Jed to turn himself in and accept his punishment.