Dimitri Marick

Dimitri also had a popular romance with Alexandra Devane (Finola Hughes)[9][10] and a loving yet antagonistic relationship with his half-brother, Edmund Grey (John Callahan).

The following year, the actor's arrest brought him and the character to the center of a large fan campaign organized by a group called the Loyalists, as well as a highly publicized lawsuit catching the attention of People and Entertainment Tonight, among other media outlets.

So after we made the decision to go ahead with that game plan, this offer (Dimitri) came on the table and when we worked out all the figures moneywise it was a great opportunity.

[20] To partially appease them, the show's executive producer, Jean Dadario Burke, offered Nader his job back on a recurring basis.

Nader said he wanted to create a deeper layer in the character instead of focusing solely on the love triangle between Dimitri, Alex, and Edmund.

[24] All My Children released an official statement saying, "If Mr. Nader gets the help that he needs and addresses his problem, and it makes sense for the show, we would be prepared to speak with Michael in the future.

"[26] Soap Opera Digest considered him an odd choice for a Dimitri recast since Addabbo usually portrayed "all-American good guys" such as Generations Jason Craig and Guiding Light's Jim LeMay.

The controversy forced the writers to lessen Dimitri's role on the show until July 2001 when Addabbo was let go "for storyline reasons", according to ABC's official statement.

[27] During an interview, Nader told Soap Opera Digest that in late September 2001, ABC called a meeting with him to inform him that, though he resolved his personal problems, they had no intention of ever bringing him or the character back due to lack of story.

He is very slow to let other people in- except Natalie, with whom he feels a special and unique bond, because he rescued her and because he fell in love with her very quickly, which we hope will be part of the mystery.

[5]Nixon and Broderick also crafted the character as a darkly brooding and mysterious man in the same vein as gothic literary heroes such as Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, Edward Rochester from Jane Eyre, and Maxim de Winter from Rebecca.

[32] Dimitri Marick first appears in Pine Valley in 1991 when he rescues Natalie Marlowe from the well her sister, Janet Green, trapped her in on the Wildwind estate.

Edmund Grey, the son of a Marick family maid and gardener, returns to town to see Angelique, his close childhood friend.

Dimitri revealed that he and Alex had divorced, and that he had not bothered remaining in touch with his family and had reverted to his reclusive ways, but that Europe was beginning to bore him and her timing couldn't have been better.

Brooke explained that after its last occupant, Caleb Cortlandt, had moved out, Sam and Maddie, Edmund's children, had not bothered to rent the mansion out again.

Dimitri told Brooke that, while at Wildwind, he stopped by the mausoleum and made amends to Edmund, who had died in a fire 8 years earlier.

In February 2021, Dimitri (with only his hands being seen) mails a letter containing Alex's last will and testament, as well as a USB thumb drive to Peter August (Wes Ramsey).

"[6] The character and his portrayer, Michael Nader, were credited with lifting the Nielsen ratings as well as saving the Natalie, Trevor, and Janet storyline.

[4][2] In Soap Opera Weekly, Marlena De Lacroix said, "Dimitri was the saving grace of the storyline I'd earlier called an artistic disaster: the Janet and Natalie body switch.

[9] Soap Opera Digest compared them to the real life couple Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton because of their tumultuous nature.

[39] The Dimitri character took a darker turn in 1997, in what Soap Opera Digest considered an effort to make Erica more sympathetic after her role in the kidnapping of the baby Maddie Grey (then known as Sonya).

"[41] At the conclusion of the storyline Soap Opera Digest again named him Performer of the Week for "unleashing the sort of go-for-broke fury and fray that actors are usually reluctant to release unless they're certain their character is about to be killed off.

[43] Soap Opera Digest named them Best Brothers of 1994, saying, "In Michael Nader (Dimitri) and John Callahan (Edmund), AMC has charismatic performers with chemistry, and they're making the most of it.

"[48] In what Soap Opera Digest named the year's Dumbest Male Axing in 1999, Nader was fired from the role of Dimitri and the character was killed off.

They "bombarded" All My Children with letters centering on three major complaints concerning Nader's dismissal, as summarized in Soap Opera Digest: "1) They have waited two years for a Dimitri/Erica reunion, which they won't get now that he's leaving.

"[51] In response to the last complaint, an All My Children spokesperson pointed out the storylines planned for characters over thirty years old such as Tad, Dixie, Erica, David, Edmund, and Alex.

'"[22] At a fan luncheon, the Loyalists confronted All My Children's executive producer Jean Dadario Burke with a petition asking for Nader's return.

Though the majority of the viewers did not take to him, Addabbo gained an amount of support from fans who wanted him to continue in the role or portray a different character once Nader returned.

[53] Soap Opera Digest criticized the casting of Addabbo because the actor usually portrayed "all-American good guys", the opposite of the Dimitri Marick role.

[15] The firing and lawsuit caught the attention of non-soap opera medias such as TV Guide, Inside Edition, People, Celebrity Justice, Extra, Entertainment Tonight, and Larry King Live.