Fans of NIGHT SHIFT know what GH fans are in for when Billy Dee Williams returns to Port Charles as singer/orderly Toussaint Dubois … the hospital is about to get a whole lot cooler, and we ain’t talking temperature-wise.
Soap Opera Digest: Considering its critical acclaim, were you surprised NIGHT SHIFT wasn’t picked up for a third season?
Billy Dee Williams: I was. I thought it was a very good season, so I was surprised they didn’t pick it up again. But, that’s the nature of things, I guess.
Digest: Can you believe its been a year since then?
Williams: I can’t. Time really moves on.
Digest: What have you been up to since we last spoke?
Williams: I did a couple films. I always continue my painting. I just sold a piece the other day but I haven’t been exhibiting for a while. I’m just looking for a nice gallery but right now, with the way things are with the economy, it doesn’t really make very much sense to do much exhibiting. But I’m looking forward to doing that again.
Digest: We saw your run of commercials for AT&T Advance TV.
Williams: That was very exciting. I did it because I thought, I’m just having a lot of fun at this stage of my life, to tell you the truth. There’s no anxiety, and I thought this was a great idea. It’s nice to know you can relax a little bit.
Digest: You seem to enjoy poking fun at your sexy, swashbuckling image, like your spots on JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! and ROBOT CHICKEN.
Williams [laughs]: Kimmel was a lot of fun for me, and I really enjoy working with Seth Green and those guys [at ROBOT CHICKEN] so whenever they ask me to come in and do something, I will. It’s an opportunity to play around with things, which I haven’t done to any extent in the past, and I love anything that has to do with humor. When I can exercise that part of myself, it’s always something I look forward to doing. I had a good bit of it on the last season of NIGHT SHIFT and I’m hoping to play around with it this time and see how much humor I can bring.
Digest: Not many people know that one of your very first jobs was on GUIDING LIGHT. What did you think when you heard about its cancellation?
Williams: I don’t really remember too much about it, to tell you the truth [laughs]. I wasn’t on for any stretch of time. It’s sad but it’s life. What an amazing run, though. My God.
Digest: Now that you’re a part of soaps again, will we see you at this year’s Daytime Emmy Awards?
Williams: I guess. I don’t know. We’ll see [laughs].
To check out the actor’s paintings, log on to www.bdwworldart.com.
