Theo Carver is a fictional character from Days of Our Lives, an American soap opera on the NBC network. Created under head writer Dena Higley, Theo was born onscreen in 2003. The character was portrayed by two sets of twins and three child actors, Chase and Tyler Johnson (2003–2004), Kavi Faquir (2006–2007), Amyrh Harris (2007), Terrell Ransom Jr. from (2008-2015), Kyler Pettis (2015–2018), Cameron Johnson (2020–2023). Along with several other child characters, Theo was rapidly aged in November 2015 and Pettis stepped into the role. Pettis announced his departure from the series in 2017 and he vacated the role in 2018. After a two-year absence, Theo was recast when Johnson took over the role in 2020; he remained in the role until 2023. The character returned in September 2025, with Tyler Joseph Andrews assuming the role.
Theo is the only child of Salem's mayor Abe Carver (James Reynolds) and Doctor Lexie Carver (Renée Jones). At the time of his birth, Lexie had been having an affair with her stepson Brandon Walker (Matt Cedeño) and his paternity is in question. DNA testing ultimately confirms Abe as Theo's father and he is named after Abe's late brother Theo and Brandon. In 2008, the three-year-old Theo is diagnosed with Autism when the network partners with Autism Speaks. As a teenager, Theo struggles to accept Abe's first attempt at romance after Lexie's 2012 passing with Valerie Grant (Vanessa Williams) and he is romantically linked to his childhood best friend Ciara Brady (Vivian Jovanni) and later her niece Claire (Olivia Rose Keegan). In 2017, the unarmed Theo is shot by rookie police officer JJ Deveraux (Casey Moss) which leaves him paralyzed and leads to him being written out of the series when he relocates to South Africa for treatment.
Theo's autism diagnosis proved to be the character's most significant storyline as well as his close friendship with Ciara Brady. Ransom was beloved by fans and critics and also earned two Young Artist Award nominations for his portrayal of Theo. Pettis also became quite popular with viewers and critics for his portrayal of the autistic character. While the writing for Theo's shooting was polarizing, Pettis won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Theo in 2019.
Casting The role was originated by uncredited child actors on May 29, 2003, until August 26, 2003. The role was then shared by 7 month old twins, Chase and Tyler Johnson. The Johnsons appeared from September 8, 2003, until November 26, 2004. After a two-year absence, Theo was played by Kavi Faquir from April 14, 2006, until June 22, 2007. Amyrh Harris played the role for one episode on December 26, 2007.
Ransom stepped into the role on May 20, 2008. In a 2018 interview, Ransom simply stated "I auditioned for the role of Theo Carver and I booked it." He had recently relocated to Los Angeles with his family to jumpstart his entertainment career. Ransom quickly signed with an agent and landed the role of Theo a few months later. In 2016, Ransom explained that he was only 4 years old and Days of Our Lives was "my first real audition." Ransom also competed against a few other actors for the role. He recalled, "I had to memorize some lines. We went to the audition and I wore pyjamas because the character was wearing them in the script." On his own, Ransom was called in to read for "the writer, producer and casting director. I don’t remember ever being scared or feeling nervous. I acted out my lines for them. It went great!" Ransom later described his time as Theo as "really exciting because it was my first television role. And I basically grew up on the show. […] I always had fun on the set working, especially when I got to work with other kids." In June 2015, it was announced that Ransom's Theo would be written out as the character was SORASed. The actor made his final appearance on July 9, 2015.
In March 2015, the soap released a casting call for the character. On August 12, 2015, it was announced that Pettis, an actor and model, was hired to recast the role. Pettis had recently made a guest appearance on Showtime's Ray Donovan and also appeared in the web series, Old Dogs & New Tricks. Pettis made his debut on November 3, 2015. Some time before he booked Theo, Pettis had auditioned for an under-five role on Days of Our Lives. While he did not book the role, Pettis was invited to audition for Theo thanks to his manager staying in contact with the casting director. He got a little bit of information about the character, specifically Theo's autism to prepare for his screen test opposite Reynolds. While Pettis competed against several other actors for Theo, he had also auditioned for The Bold and the Beautiful. The producers had narrowed it down to Pettis and another actor when he booked Theo.
On October 23, 2020, it was announced that Johnson had been hired to recast the role. A representative for the series said "Cameron is excited to be making his daytime drama debut on NBC’s Days of our Lives stepping into the role of Theo." According to a statement from Ron Carlivati in Soap Opera Digest, Pettis declined to come back to the series which led to a recast. Johnson made his debut on November 6, 2020. In preparation for the role, Johnson "binged the series" to make sure he was up-to-date on current plots and "I went on the fan pages for Theo and found his backstory, so I did all my homework." When he learned of Theo's autism, Johnson explained that he "did a deep dive on autism and tried to do what I could to incorporate that because I didn't want to lose that, obviously." On his first day, Johnson said "I was completely nervous, I was out of my mind."
On September 5, 2025, it was announced Tyler Joseph Andrews was recast in the role; he made his first appear as Theo on September 9.
Development Characterization and portrayal The 2015 casting call for Theo described as a "gorgeous African-American male" who is a "high-functioning" autistic teen. Pettis later said Theo has "relatable likeness to him" that would make viewers want to know him. Though Theo definitely has a mind of his own, "I don't think Theo is much of a manipulator" Pettis said of the character. "Theo's moral compass is pretty high" the actor stated. Pettis later described Theo as the "White knight" of Salem. While his actions may not always reflect it, Theo is "always coming from a loving place." He continued that "Theo is a fully rounded character I could see a lot of myself in." Pettis said he can sympathize with Theo's "social discomfort." Similar to Lexie, Theo has a very "caring nature."
By the time Pettis stepped into the role, Theo has been living with autism for more than half his life. While Pettis keeps Theo's condition in mind, he made an effort to see "Theo as a person first" instead of some "autistic kid." This allowed Pettis portray Theo with "more humanity." Pettis described stepping into the role as a bit intimidating. "It was a scary process when I started filming because you can totally play this character so over-the-top, and get backlash for it." He further explained, "I didn’t look at Theo that way. I approached his story line, and got an understanding of autism as a social awkwardness and the social not connecting. I get that way in my day-to-day life so I make sure to pay attention, and figure out if Theo would feel that way, and play more onto that." The actor also did his own research to prepare for the role -- "I talked to people who interacted with autistic people", specifically Higley. He stated "It was challenging to step into, but it's something I look forward to as an actor and it's fun." Longtime scriptwriter and former head-writer Ryan Quan took special care in crafting dialogue for Theo. In 2016 he said "Theo is the biggest challenge because there is a great responsibility to portray his autism as honestly as honestly and accurately as possible."
Autism
In June 2008, Days of Our Lives announced a partnership with Autism Speaks for a storyline in which young Theo—aged 3 -- is diagnosed with Autism. The actor's mother, Katrina Ransom explained that she wasn't aware that her son would portray an autistic character until after Terrell was hired. The plot was actually the network's idea. Executives were pitching potential storylines ideas and when the subject of autism came up, head writer Dena Higley discussed her personal experiences with her son Connor, then aged 20, who like Theo, was also diagnosed at an age 3. The network bosses were immediately sold. "I never would have pushed the story uninvited" Higley admitted of how painful it would be for her family to discuss. NBC's senior vice president Bruce Evans praised the decision and said "We are hopeful that this storyline will serve as a resource for our viewers." Alison Singer, executive vice president of communications and awareness for Autism Speaks, said the story "realistically portrays the emotional trauma every family faces when a child is diagnosed with autism." Singer also praised the show for its commitment to raising awareness about the "autism crisis." The plan was to have the story play out long term, with viewers seeing Theo and his parents deal with his condition throughout his life. To help with craft the story, the producers brought in a researcher from UCLA to help out on set. Days would become only the second soap to address the issue of autism after ABC Daytime's All My Children which introduced the character of Lily Montgomery (Leven Rambin) in 1993. However, it was the first time a soap had featured a diagnosis and the effects of said diagnosis.
Higley said "We're telling the profound and life-altering story of a child with autism from his parents' point of view." The story focuses on Abe and Lexie's struggle to accept Theo's diagnoses "and ultimately, their ability to find life-affirming hope in the midst of learning how to live day to day with this disability." In an interview on NBC's Today, Higley revealed that she used dialogue from her real conversations with her husband Mark about their son. Renée Jones (Lexie), admitted she didn't know much about the condition or "the emotional toll that it takes on a family." James Reynolds (Abe), welcomed the story seeing it as chance to "showcase" what so many families go through. Jones said it also gives those viewers who have personal experience with autism the chance "to have what they're going through validated in some way."
The producers wanted to tell the story from the diagnosis, to the reaction, and how Theo could eventually live a normal life. In story, Abe and Lexie notice Theo's lack of verbal communication and small vocabulary. Reynolds later explained, "Theo had 30 or 40 words in his vocabulary, where a child at that age should have 500 words or so." The parents also notice Theo doesn't make eye contact with them and doesn't interact with other children. The very outgoing Ransom loved to smile and interact with his cast mates, something that the character would have to keep to a minimum. However, the young actor was able to take direction very well.