Though it’s been many a moon since William de Vry was last on a soap opera, the actor hasn’t wanted for work. In a recent sit down with Michael Fairman, he let loose about a number of irons in the fire and took a look back at his stints on All My Children, The Bold and the Beautiful, and General Hospital.
William de Fry – Life After Daytime
On shifting the paradigm and playing a…wait for it…GOOD guy in Hallmark’s A Whitewater Romance: “It’s almost like, wait! Will is playing good guy? It’s funny because our director, Jason Bourque knows I’ve been playing bad guys for so long…Jason had this idea that I was this really kind of ‘happy-go-lucky’ guy. And by the second day of shooting, he goes, ‘I think maybe Jim is a former military…’ We both laughed because it was a subtle joke, because you know, I can be a little bit serious.”
On tackling the biopic Pocket of Hope: “It’s a heavy-duty role. There’s a lot of responsibility. I’ve prepared my whole life for these kinds of roles. It’s really exciting to play a true life individual, who has a story to tell. I think it’s a great honor for me and for the director/producer David Kohner Zuckerman, as well. David is wanting to do Chad’s [Gains, child abuse survivor, resilience coach, and author of “Who Am I?”] story justice.”
Summarising Colt & McQueen: “[My character] was basically dishonorably discharged for something that he didn’t do. He is going be trying to clear his name of any wrongdoings. However, in order to make a living, he sort of does these unsanctioned assignments for the captain of the LAPD, who is also on his way out. He’s a good guy. Kin Shriner [Scott Baldwin, GH) is in it and he kind of plays a man of the streets who goes by “The Professor.” Rebecca Staab (Elizabeth Barrington, Port Charles, et al and de Vry’s real-life partner) is in it, and she plays the character with the code name “Leather Jacket” within the LAPD system. We go into production on it in July.
Singing the praises of his upcoming romantic comedy Christmas in Bordeau: “It’s a tale of family traditions, renewed passions, for love and life and spiritual and cultural awakenings. Finding value in the time we have left. And of course, a happy ending for all involved.”
On his GH fanbase: “It blows me away how loyal they are, and their passion. I want them to be of aware that. I’m excited to work for myself, and if that doesn’t work out, I am very comfortable going on to do something else with my life…I hope every single fan of Julian Jerome comes along on this journey with me.”
On his dismissal from AMC: “I think with Michael Cambias that All My Children destroyed the character. I sat down with the executive producer at the time, Jean Dadario Burke, and she said, ‘You’ll be here as long as you want. We did a focus group and you’ve got a 96% approval rating. That’s through the roof.’
“Two days later, I was called back into her office as they had fired the head writer. I was told Megan McTavish was coming back and they were going to make my character irredeemable, which as everybody knows, Michael Cambias went on to do horrible things to Erica Kane’s (Susan Lucci) family and then he was off the show.”
On the conclusion of his stint at B&B which wrapped with his alter-ego unaliving himself: “Storm [Logan, his alter-ego] had a lot of potential. When you’re going through such a beautiful, heart-wrenching, horrific story like that, I wanted to give the audience a lot of credit…I allowed it to play out on-screen without any foreshadowing. I think that’s why it worked and that’s why it broke everybody’s heart, and I think that’s why it won a Daytime Emmy for Best Drama Series. Brad Bell [executive producer and head writer, B&B] trusted me with a vehicle that ended up being the Ferrari for that year. I’m eternally grateful to him.”
Will you be tuning into any of de Vry’s upcoming projects? If so, which one strikes your fancy most? Let us know in the comments below.
Catch up with Daily Drama on Social Media!
Subscribe to the Daily Drama Podcast on YouTube!
Follow our main Daily Drama Facebook page.
Check out our Daily Drama Instagram page.
Find us on our Daily Drama Threads
Spend time with Daily Drama on TikTok
Tweet with us on our Daily Drama X account
Exclusively for GH Fans!
Like us on Facebook at General Hospital Daily.
Connect with other fans in our GH Facebook community group.