Billy Flynn is speaking to his decision to leave Days of Our Lives.
Earlier on Wednesday (March 12), the 39-year-old actor confirmed he would be leaving the soap opera series after a decade, and joining The Young & The Restless in a still-unannounced role.
In a new interview, Billy addresses his decision to leave the role of Chad DiMera behind.
Keep reading to find out more…
During an exit interview with Variety, Billy called DOOL “the little engine that could,” and noted the production differences between the Peacock series and the CBS show he’s joining.
“We do the best work we can despite the obstacles that we’ve faced as a show. Part of that move I’m excited about is [that] they move slower and there’s more time to do stuff. But I was trained like a warrior here,” he said with a laugh, referring to DOOL shooting schedule which is more than nine months ahead of air.
“There’s a different pace [here], but it’s made me the actor and the person I am today.”
His reason for that actors love acting but, sometimes they just have to try something new.
“I love acting, and I love stories, and I never imagined I would just tell one story for the rest of my life,” he explained.
“The fact that I’ve been here 10 years and it’s gone by in the blink of an eye is amazing to me. I wasn’t a baby when I started here; I was 30. I didn’t start acting until I was 26. So it’s gone by really fast. I think with this character, I’ve done everything I can with it. I’m looking forward to doing something new. I’m about to start a new journey and tell another story. It really is just that simple.”
“I’ve got to play this entire revolution. I don’t know what else to do with him. He’s been as much of me as I think I probably will ever put into another part. There were some times when I was going through some really hard things in my life, and it just so happened that Chad was going through similar things: losing his wife, and I had lost somebody close to me. Things have all lined up with the character that made it [so] I put more of Billy into Chad than I probably would’ve otherwise. There were moments in it that became like a love letter to my own kind of life. It’s special in that way,” he said while reflecting on the role, calling the move “bittersweet.”
“Since I took the job, I’ve gotten married, I’ve had two kids, I’ve bought a house. I mean, it’s changed my life. The people that I work with here are close friends — I’ve experienced all sorts of ups and downs since I’ve started this job, and they’ve experienced them with me,” Billy reminisced.
“The outpouring of well wishes and love since this came out has been humbling. It’s been incredibly moving to me, and I’m gonna take that with me. I hope [fans] continue to watch Days and support Days and support whoever might come in and play Chad, if there ever is that case. I hope they do that and give somebody the same love they gave me. And I hope that they come with me on this journey that I’m on and support me doing that too.”
Billy will continue to appear as Chad through 2026, and he’ll have made his debut on The Young & The Restless by then.
“In a perfect world, that wouldn’t be the case,” he admitted.
“Only because you want people to suspend disbelief…it makes my job a little harder.”
Find out what the DOOL EP said about him leaving, and whether it was amicable.
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