Exclusive: Beyond The Gates’s Timon Kyle Durrett & Marquita Goings on ‘Big Bad Bill’

The scandalous pairing of powerful lawyer Bill Hamilton and his No. 1 paralegal, Hayley Lawson, has had the denizens of Beyond The Gates’s Fairmont Crest clutching their pearls since the series’s debut episode in February. But hey, when you replace your wife with your daughter’s best friend, people do tend to talk. (In his ex-wife Dani’s case, they tend to stalk.) In a joint interview with Soap Opera Digest, Bill and Hayley’s portrayers, Timon Kyle Durrett and Marquita Goings, chatted about the show’s fan response, multi-generational appeal, their behind-the-scenes bond and more.

 

Soap Opera Digest: Congratulations on the show! What do you think of the reception so far?

Marquita Goings: I think it’s great that the viewers are really taking to the work and they are very invested in the show, to the point where I’m reading comments like, “Hayley, you sound delusional,” or, “You’re doing this and that.” I love it, I love the investment.

Timon Kyle Durrett: It’s a comfort for me knowing that there are people who are old enough to be my parents who have embraced this new show, you know? In each generation, parents look at their children and say, “What is that? What is that mess? What is all this?” It’s a nostalgic thing. It’s bringing them back to when they were younger. And I like that dynamic. It feels like we’re adding to the glue or the cohesion of a community of people who can look at this show and relate to it. It’s multi-generational, on camera and off camera, and that’s, I think, a good thing.

Digest: It looks like you’re both having a lot of fun.

Goings: Absolutely. Just getting to step outside of myself — and you know, that’s the thing with any show or any project: You want to feel free. It’s been fun working with Timon. Although we see him as Big Bad Bill, he is the opposite [in real life]. In between takes, Timon is cracking jokes and has us laughing. It’s just a fun experience for me, and being able to jump back and forth — having those fun moments, then getting to be delusional Hayley.

Durrett: Working with Marquita, she’s not like Hayley. We laugh, we joke, and she’s got her little funny moments, too. We play on camera and off camera; it’s just a cool dynamic. We get together, we run our scenes, and the more we do that, we get to learn each other’s beats, we get to learn the different things that we can do that add to the realism and to the chemistry of Bill and Hayley. It’s fun to work with people who really want to play. And by play, I mean to convey a believable message to the people who are watching us. It’s just … It’s like having a good meal, you know?

Digest: When it comes to Hayley, who were your inspirations?

Marquita: I have a high regard and respect for so many actresses and just taking a little bit from everyone, but, you know, a little bit of Robin Givens, with how she carries herself. I love a lot of the ’90s movies. That’s why I said I took a little bit from everybody because it wasn’t just one and it wasn’t just acting, it’s like all the mannerisms and how they walked and how they moved. So, I’ll say ’90s African American actresses.

Digest: What’s a random personal fact that would surprise viewers, Timon?

Durrett: I think people would be surprised to know that until recent years, I had a very, very deep-seated fear of butterflies. Even in my 20s and 30s. I could deal with wasps, spiders, and dragonflies, but butterflies, there was something about them. As a child, I was terrified of those things. I did not like them at all. I still don’t like them, I’m just not afraid.

Digest: From the beginning, you guys were part of the biggest story on the show that everybody had to immediately embrace and invest in. Did you feel pressure?

Durrett: I will say pressure, not on set, but just how people would receive it, how we delivered it, did it land. It’s slight pressure, but I like a challenge. To me it feels good because I’m an adrenaline junkie. I like that feeling, that rush.

Digest: So, tell me, if your characters were on a desert island, which character do you think would eat the other one first to survive?

Durrett: I think Hayley would eat Bill up.

Goings: Whaaat?!

Durrett: I say that because I think there’s a vulnerability to Hayley. She can say, “Oh babe, can you just go over there and get that thing?” And she comes behind him and clubs him over the head.

Digest: Yeah, poor Bill.

Goings: Not poor Bill!

Digest: You beg to differ?

Goings: Well, no, you have a point there. I feel like Hayley does know she has Bill wrapped around her finger there.

Digest: What would you like the viewers to know about what’s ahead?

Goings: I just want the viewers to know that it gets better and better. So many twists and turns. It’s like, we did start off with a bang. The stories just get even more complex. Then it’s like, man, right when you thought you knew something, something else just pops up. I’m very excited to see what comes next.