Billy Flynn wraps up his run as Days of Our Lives‘ Chad DiMera on Tuesday, February 17, closing out a 12-year run in Salem.
The actor announced his departure in March 2025, then stepped into the role of The Young and the Restless‘ Cane Ashby that June. But because Days films up to 10 months in advance, it’s been a long farewell, something Flynn admits has felt surreal. “I’m just ready for that chapter to be closed,” Flynn says. “It feels like I’m lingering too long, and it’s tough to start a new chapter when you’re still in the other one. It’s just an odd feeling; that’s the only way I can express it. It’s too much of me. Nobody needs that much of me.”
In the story, Chad leaves town with his kids, Thomas DiMera [Cary Christopher] and Charlotte DiMera [Autumn Gendron]. For Flynn, the emotional weight of the scenes mirrored his reality. “The stuff that’s airing now is what I remember fondly because they are genuine goodbyes,” he says. “I had one with Dan [Feuerriegel, EJ DiMera] and Susan Hayes [Julie Williams], and I loved being able to do the story with Missy [Reeves, Jennifer Deveraux] and Matt [Ashford, Jack Deveraux].”
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What happened off camera once everyone knew he was going proved just as meaningful. “It was like getting to witness your own funeral in a weird way; everybody gives you love and admiration,” he explains. “People who you don’t talk to all that often have all this nice stuff to say, and you’re like, ‘Oh, gosh. Why haven’t we had these conversations before?’ Ashley Puzemis [Holly Jonas] gave me a really sweet card. I talked to Leo Howard [Tate Black] and Carson Boatman [Johnny DiMera], and Deidre Hall [Marlena Evans] and James Reynolds [Abe Carver]. People were telling me, ‘It’s not going to be the same without you,’ and that meant a lot.”
Looking back at his decade-plus in Salem, perspective comes easily. “I love Days, and I loved the character of Chad so much,” he says. “It’s just a lot of gratitude. Having a job changed my life, and everything in my life changed so much. I have two children, I got sober on the show, and it gave me a life beyond my wildest dreams, so it’s hard to have anything other than gratitude for all of it.”
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That sense of gratitude stretches all the way back to the very beginning. “I remember in the audition process, Marnie [Saitta, casting director] said they saw, like, over 1,000 people for the job,” he shares. “I don’t know whether that’s an exaggeration, but I remember thinking, ‘Man, this is really big.’ I was in the last wave of people that they saw.”
Once cast, he was quickly thrust into the DiMera spotlight. “When I came on, James Scott was playing EJ [DiMera] and then James was gone in two weeks, and he was basically like, ‘You’re the DiMera now,’” Flynn recalls. “And the story and the writing was so good in the beginning, which is a big reason why I became so close with Josh Griffith [then-Days’ head writer; now Y&R‘s head writer and executive producer] and why I wanted to come to Young and Restless and work with him again.”
Among Flynn’s most defining arcs is the 2015 “Necktie Killer” storyline. “I think it’s the best storyline that the show has told in the 12 years that I was there,” he declares. “Everybody was connected, everything moved forward, there was a big love story in the middle of it, and I just thought it was really well done. So, it took off and then Chad and Abigail took off, and I just remember being, like, ‘Wow.’”
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That the pairing was successful with both actresses who played Abigail — Kate Mansi‘s (Kristina Corinthos, General Hospital) and Marci Miller — is a source of pride for Flynn. “To be a part of a huge couple with two actresses was amazing,” he raves. “It’s chemistry, and it’s a hard thing to do, but I also think the people you bring on makes a big difference. Kate had a say when I came on. Kate picked me, and when Marci came on, that was who I picked. I still think it’s a beautiful love story.”
He also appreciated the meaningful encouragement from executive producer Ken Corday. “I remember after I was there for a period of time, right around the time of maybe the Necktie Killer storyline, he came in one day and he says, ‘What’s up, GB?’” Flynn relays. “And I was like, ‘GB?’ and he goes, ‘Game Ball. You’re the one we can always give the game ball to.’ It meant a lot, and he called me Game Ball until the very end. He’s lovely, and his family is lovely, and what an honor to be a part of that legacy.”
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Flynn feels the lessons he learned in Salem served him well when he crossed over to Y&R. “I think just having all that experience helped,” he notes. “It also helped me to know what to look for, what was important to me, what I was hoping to find in this experience. When I went to Young and the Restless, I was still very nervous. Chad led with his heart, and Cane doesn’t. Cane protects it. So that’s been a learning experience, but I’m not as hard on myself as I was when I was at Days. I’m not so stressed about forcing something to work. I think it will find its way.”
Flynn still keeps in touch with some of his former costars, including Leo Howard, Dan Feuerriegel, Robert Scott Wilson (Alexander Kiriakis), and Conner Floyd, Y&R‘s Chance Chancellor, who will assume the role of Chad in April. “I love all the actors,” Flynn enthuses. “When I run into Conner, Conner’s like, ‘Dude, everybody at this place talks about you all the time,’ which is nice, because when I left there, I genuinely felt I had a good relationship with everyone.”
But he jokes that he’s “feuding” with Greg Rikaart (Leo Stark). “I also still talk to Greg, even though he and I have beef right now because I seem to be at the bottom of his list for this podcast, [Soapy],” muses Flynn. “I told him I’m not even gonna do it anymore, don’t even ask me. We’re beefing. [Laughs]”
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Flynn plans to tune in for Floyd’s debut. “I’m really excited to see what he does with it,” says Flynn. “He’s handsome, and such a sweet gu,y and I think that he was the perfect choice to take over that part. I’m looking forward to April, when he can actually start. I think it’ll be good for everybody and let the character move on.”
As for Flynn, he’s not looking to move anywhere. “I hope I have longevity at Young and the Restless,” he concludes. “When I first started at Young and Restless, if you would have asked me to sign for the next 40 years. I would do that. It’s been such a gift, especially with a family. It kind of feels like you’ve won the lottery in that you have the best of all these worlds, and Young and the Restless is the best case of that.”
Days of our Lives, Weekdays, Peacock
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