“I am doing pretty well,” he said, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “I’m trying to keep busy. I am working out, I am trying to do some writing here and there. I am watching movies and playing board games with my wife Gina,” he added.
On the success of the Days of Our Lives digital drama series “Chad and Abby in Paris,” he said, “That was a lot of fun. It’s a different type of set-up, and they told us that viewership-wise, it did really well.”
“In the second season of ‘Chad and Abby in Paris,’ Kate [Mansi] directed episode four, and I directed episode five. It was a good time,” he said. “Personally, I would love to do a third season of it. We will see what happens.”
In the meantime, he is stoked to be back in Salem in the NBC daytime drama Days of Our Lives. “It’s good. We are so far ahead and there are new episodes airing since we are seven months in advance,” he said. “It’s always fun to be back and it’s always a different experience. What I love about my character Chad is that he mirrors my life so much. I have changed and evolved just like my character has: I gained weight, I lost weight, my hair got longer, my hair got shorter, I went through some hard times and I went through some great times, and so has my character. It has been a whirlwind. The show has changed my life and it continues to be a big part of my life.”
On being an actor in the digital age, Flynn said, “There are so many digital shows that are coming out these days. ‘Chad and Abby in Paris’ opened up a lot of new doors, but it only aired in the United States for a limited fan-base. There is so much content that can be made and viewed these days. I think the digital age is great for storytellers.”
Flynn was also a part of the thriller, Dead on Arrival, where he played the lead role of Sam Collins. “That was the first film I did as a lead,” he said. “It was an interesting experience and a lot of fun. I met a lot of good people on set.”
He revealed that he is also in the process of working on Willowbrook, as both a screenwriter and actor. “We are working on it. We are exploring the story. We’ve been super close to shooting it,” he said.
On the best advice he was ever given in his career, he said, “Try not to be jealous and try not to worry about the things that you can’t control. Just do your work and do the best that you can.”
He acknowledged that a defining moment in his life was sobriety. “When I became sober, it definitely changed who I was as a person,” he said. “That has been the biggest change I made in my life, and it has shaped the man and the actor that I am today. As a result, I feel I am a better actor today.”
A proud moment was working with Echoes of Hope and sharing his stories with the students at ICEF View Park Prep High School in Los Angeles, California. “It has been a really great thing to be a part of. It was a lot of fun. I am really honored to be a part of it,” he said.
Regarding the title of the current chapter of his life, Flynn said, “The calm before the storm.” “The calm before the storm in a good way,” he clarified. “I hope that there will be a lot of great things happening over the next couple of years and that this is just the beginning.”
When asked which track and field event he would do, he said, “I am pretty competitive. It would be running or sprint, or perhaps a half marathon.” “Also, pole vaulting would be a lot of fun,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind doing an Ironman Triathlon.”
Flynn defined the word success as “being happy.” “Success, for me, is more about quality of life,” he said. “It’s not so much about what success does for me, but what it does for others. If other people are enjoying what I am doing, then that’s a success.”
For his dedicated fans, he concluded, “Stay healthy, stay at home, practice social distancing and wear masks. Find serenity wherever you can.”
To learn more about Billy Flynn, follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
