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Interview!

ICYMI: Billy Flynn And Thaao Penghlis Interview

"Days of our Lives" Set
Thaao Penghlis, Billy Flynn "Days of our Lives" Set NBC Studios Burbank 11/03/16 © XJjohnson/jpistudios.com 310-657-9661 Credit: JPI

Brotherly Love: How Billy Flynn And Thaao Penghlish Developed Their Sibling Dynamic On DAYS

Soap Opera Digest: How did you first develop a bond?

Billy Flynn: Take this one, Thaao.

Thaao Penghlis: I think we like each other. There’s a love there, and you can’t always get that with such an immediate family. I think that the atmosphere allows for that at DAYS. I think there’s wonderful chemistry among the actors. I suppose I’ve seen the difference, but I think we have a great place there; we’re able to bring some humor. I think in a way, both of us have embraced each other and we enjoy each other and we do have fun with each other. It’s not like you dread the day where you’re working with this guy. He’s a pleasure to work with. He can be obstinate at times, but that’s a part of the challenge. I can’t say everything has gone smoothly but —

Flynn: Yes, it has.

Penghlis: Are you interrupting?

Flynn: Oh, sorry, I just get nervous when you talk too long.

Penghlis: I’m waiting for you to come up with something lovely to say, being I was complimentary to you, but no.

Flynn: I’m going to if you give me a moment to talk.

Penghlis: Already, there isn’t even a script and we’re arguing. Why don’t you be profound?

Flynn: What I wanted to say is that we very much have a relationship of two brothers in the sense that I love to pretend that I have all of this wisdom, or think that I do, and he believes that I’m the naive little brother that I am, and it works because it’s true [laughs]. There’s a generational gap that two brothers would have, and I think you see everything the way we are, because we’re both very truthful. I don’t try to be anything that I’m not with Thaao and vice-versa, and what you see is two people who are very different but also have the same common interest in telling good stories for the audience.

Digest: Thaao, what do you recall about working with Billy in the beginning?

Penghlis: I think when we started, it was kind of a bit rough. I remember turning him around [in a scene] and he said, “Don’t touch me.” At the time, I said to myself, “God, in all the years, I’ve never worked with somebody who said, ‘Don’t touch me’ in a scene,” but he did, and so he kind of put his foot down about who he was, and what he was willing to take or not take. But slowly, that kind of defense stripped away and what started coming through is who Billy is, and he showed his heart. He doesn’t reveal a lot quickly. As a matter of fact, he still is an enigma, so I think the dance between us is complex and unpredictable. I think he’s a certain kind of guy who owns his space, and boy, does he remind you if you take it for granted. I look forward to working with him. He is much more available, and maybe I was not as available in the beginning, either, so it’s a matter of trying to find which door opens and which one closes. He’s not a person to beat around the bush. He’ll tell you how he feels, which is good. I think also the fact now that he’s married, he’s kind of softened a bit.

Flynn: You’re making me sound like a brash son of a bitch. I don’t want it to seem that there isn’t a respect. I respect him tremendously; it just comes
in different ways.

Penghlis: You just have to wait for it.

Flynn: I mean, a lot of what he said about me is true. I don’t really give a lot away, but I think in a lot of cases it works for the characters, so I think I held onto it a little harder than I usually would, thinking, “Maybe this will work.” But Thaao comes from a very specific background. He’s got a lot of experience, and I’m trying to find myself and develop. When I came in, there weren’t really any mentors around me because James [Scott, ex-EJ] was leaving, Ali [Sweeney, ex-Sami] was leaving, so much like the street kid that I am, I was forced to sort of develop myself. And then Thaao came in and he kind of had advice and I would be like, “No, no, no, beat it, I’m fine. I don’t need your help.” But it’s also an insecurity thing of, “Why is he telling me this? Is he judging my work or something?” I think it worked perfectly for us to play two brothers who hypothetically didn’t know each other, and it was two people who were discovering each other.

Penghlis: I don’t give all the goods away in the beginning, but with Billy, in many ways, I’m very considerate, and that’s part of me growing up in my atmosphere. I’m much more sensitive to other actors, especially having gone through the experience a number of times with other actors who tried to make me as uncomfortable as possible. I have my knowledge of things that I’ve accumulated over the years and he’s in his beginning of his prime. There’s considerations there and I want the best for him, and that’s what I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by him, was that he married a lovely, lovely girl [Gina Comparetto], and I see a difference because of that. He may not admit it, it’s not that he’s softened, it’s just that I think in a sense, it’s settled him down as far as he’s got his platform now, he’s standing on something.

Digest: How do you prepare for your scenes? Do you rehearse a lot or do you just sort of let it happen while you’re shooting on set?

Penghlis: I think it depends on how complex the scenes are. If there’s a lot of dialogue, Billy and I always get together and we run the lines. I don’t say to him, “Can I suggest something?” I just let the actor play what he needs to play and what he understands and I do it the same way and it connects.

Digest: Do either of you ever do anything in the scenes to shake each other up while you’re shooting?

Penghlis: Do you want to answer that, Billy?

Flynn: Yeah, we definitely have. I think the idea is you move so fast and you have so much dialogue that sometimes you have to try very hard to find moments to be spontaneous, but we find them. Little things where he’ll have a drink and he’ll give it to me as if I’m going to take his drink away.

Thaao Penghlis, Billy Flynn "Days of our Lives" Set NBC Studios Burbank 01/13/16 © Howard Wise/jpistudios.com 310-657-9661 Episode # 12878 U.S.Airdate 07/04/16

JPI

Digest: Now, who started the Twitter teasing?

Penghlis: He did, and I’ll tell you why. He was in Canada and he put himself on film and he was saying things to me in a very funny but serious way, and something about the character. So I put my first group of pictures up, which was Andre was the crocodile, and then I put pictures of Chad and his experiences in life. So he started to throw it back at me, and then I threw it back. I have to tell you, the followers on Twitter loved that whole exchange, and it gave the characters another dimension. Suddenly, they’re getting us and the fact that we were playing with each other. It’s another way of showing other colors of these characters on social media.

Digest: Billy, has Thaao cooked for you yet?

Flynn: He has not tried to seduce me with his cooking, no.

Penghlis: See what I mean? He just takes things out of context.

Flynn: No, we’ve talked about it. He’s been gracious about definitely trying to find some time to work out with me and my new wife, but it just hasn’t worked out yet.

Digest: What would be your dream story for Andre and Chad?

Penghlis: You want to answer that one, Billy, and reveal yourself?

Flynn: One of my big things during the last writers’ change was that I personally wanted to see Chad and Andre written as having more heart together and see more of a relationship. I would just like to see that go further. As far as a storyline, I don’t know. It would be interesting to see them have to live together a bit more. I know they write a lot of stuff where it appears that they’re working together, but I would like to actually see more of that where he’s kind of helping Chad a bit more.

Penghlis: I like scenes that have mystery to them. I agree with Billy that it would be nice for them to be in sync with a dilemma that they need to resolve, come together, and match their
experiences.

Thaao Penghlis, Billy Flynn "Days of our Lives" Set NBC Studios Burbank 11/03/16 © XJjohnson/jpistudios.com 310-657-9661

JPI

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