Soap Opera Digest: In 2010, B&B was changed forever when Bill learned he had a surprise son in Liam. What was that like?
Don Diamont: Well, that’s taking me back. It was mind-blowing. This guy I don’t think ever thought he’d have a wife or a sustained relationship with a woman, let alone dealing with a son. It’s enough for him to deal with him [laughs]. So when Liam came along, at first he wasn’t interested. He didn’t want it. He was in utter disbelief. That was his initial response.
Scott Clifton: I had not gotten to watch B&B before I got cast and then I started watching the show live but this was before we had Paramount+ where we could look at the backlog of old episodes. I remember I was in Brad’s [Bell, executive producer/head writer] office, and it was before my first day. I went in for my wardrobe fitting and I was told after that, go up and see the boss. I went into Brad’s office and he was sitting behind his desk and he said, “I don’t know what kind of actor you are. Do you want to know who you really are?” And I said, “Hell, yeah!” And that’s when he told me, “You’re going to turn out to be the son of this character, Bill Spencer, and you’re going to be like oil and water but it’s going to be about the relationship between you two.”
Diamont: That was so long ago! I had to play it like Bill was really not interested in having a kid, and if he’s going to have a kid, he’d want a kid made in his own image and Liam was anything but that, so that created, obviously, quite a bit of conflict at the time. But, Bill became to really respect him, particularly when he prodded him to the point where Liam punched him in the face. That was when he earned a lot of respect from Bill and he thought, “Huh, maybe there is some of me in this kid. Alright [laughs].”
Clifton: My first scenes with Don, it was like he was my dad right away. I hadn’t found out he was my father yet and the way the lines were written, Liam gave Bill a bunch of attitude and Don pulled me aside after one take and said, “You and I have a lot of work to do. We have to earn the audience’s trust. We have to earn them rooting for us as father and son. There is plenty of time for you to give me sass, but right now, I’m your boss and we need to play that so later, those father/son moments are earned.” And I was like, “You’re right!” so we redid the scene where I was scared of him and not giving him attitude and it worked so much better. You know the old saying, “If you start at 10, you have nowhere to go,” so we reset and started at one, and we started a trajectory — and if Don had not given me that advice I don’t know if that whole story when I first came on the show would have worked as well. From the beginning, he always had sage paternal advice for me.
Digest: What is it now to see the dark side of Bill again?
Clifton: Liam has had Bill as a father for 12 years or more now and I think this is one of the first moments in a very long time where Liam is going, “Do I know this man? I thought I knew everything there was to know about this man and maybe I don’t. I feel so on the outside here. It’s stressful.” It feels like betrayal. It also makes Liam wonder if the answer to these questions is that Bill is being manipulated or blackmailed or if his choices are in some ways not actually volitional. If so, that’s really terrifying, too, because who messes with Bill Spencer? Sheila swears along with him that they that this is a totally voluntary romantic entanglement but that just raises way more questions than it answers. I think at this moment, their relationship is terrifying for Liam.
Diamont: I’m enjoying it, and it’s funny because I don’t want to know what’s next. I’m not asking any questions. I just get the script and go with it from there. I honestly don’t know where it’s going, and that’s really fun and exciting.
Clifton: Don has really thought this through. You can tell. When he learned of this potential storyline, he did so much homework, and to hear him talk about what’s going on with Bill and what’s actually motivating him and what this really means for him, his excitement and his depth of thought about it got me really excited. It’s not a storyline about me or Liam but I am really excited to be a character in it, and I get to react to Don’s performance, and let me tell you, Don has done the best work I have ever seen him do. Ever. It’s really a privilege to get to witness it.
Digest: What would you say are Bill and Liam’s closest moments and most egregious moments?
Diamont: Probably the most egregious moment was when Liam was trying to take Bill’s company and then Bill punched him in the face, knocking him cold. The company, as I believe he explained to Liam at some point, is like his firstborn child. He loves his company the way he loves his son, maybe more at the time. The company is everything to him and that was probably the worst point in their lives, along with sleeping with Steffy.
Clifton: I knew Don would say that. It was the storyline where Liam usurps Spencer Publications from Bill, and we talked a lot about it, but the big moment was when Bill punched Liam in the face and knocked him out. That was a big deal and it had to be handled very carefully. A father punching his own son as hard as he can, that had to be choreographed properly. It couldn’t be comical or cartoonish and I’m so proud of how we handled it, and that laid the groundwork for so much story that followed, with Liam taking over the company and Bill sleeping with Steffy, that physical betrayal in Liam’s mind paved the way for a lot of stuff after that and Don really put a lot of care into that moment.
Digest: What about their closest moments?
Diamont: I don’t know … I suppose when he thought Amber tried to kill Liam and he thought he might lose Liam. That certainly made Bill aware how much his son had come to mean to him.
Clifton: Yes! In a positive way, there was a scene early on when Amber’s trailer exploded and Liam was in it. It really sticks in my head. Liam was in a coma and Bill had this monologue, and it was a great soapy monologue but Don had this one line, where he said, “I really like being your dad.” It was just a simple sentence and Don was doing the tough guy thing and when he got to that line, my eyes were closed but I could hear his voice crack and he loses it in the scene and he starts crying, and that was the first moment of the real, genuine emotional closeness — and what’s so funny about it is one of those characters wasn’t even conscious but it was one of the most intimate moments between the two.
Digest: Tell us about the addition of a second surprise son, when Wyatt came into the mix.
Diamont: It’s funny because Darin [Brooks, Wyatt] was initially supposed to be very much like Bill, and that he was more like Bill created conflict between him and Liam. But the way the character developed, he became a really good guy.
Clifton: Don always compares us to BONANZA, which was way before my time and I just make fun of him when he talks like that [laughs]. But yeah, when Darin first came to audition, he knocked it out of the park compared to everybody else and little did I realize it at the time that Darin was brought on to create a love triangle between Liam and Hope and Wyatt. I was so excited, walking around and telling everyone, “Hey, I’m getting a brother. Did you hear? I’m getting a brother. Brad’s giving me a brother,” when he was initially giving me an enemy. They were nemeses for many years but they eventually reconciled and now they are each other’s closest ally. The number one comment I get if someone recognizes me at the supermarket is, “I love Liam and Wyatt,” which fills me with joy because I love Liam and Wyatt, and it shows me that the fun we are having translates.
Digest: The fun does translate. How do you get through a scene without laughing?
Diamont: It’s not easy. Even these Sheila conflict scenes we had to do recently, I’ve got Abbott and Costello walking in and it’s so fun. They’re so quick-witted and they are such bright guys. We all have similar senses of humor. I really relish the scenes that we have together, and I love the things that just come up with and we create on the spot.
Clifton: I couldn’t have said it better.
Digest: What do you like most about working with one another?
Diamont: Whenever I work with Scott, I know it’s going to be a good day.
Clifton: Same. The thing about Don is that he is my dad, in every sense that counts. He always asks me about my health and my family, and he’s also willing to call me out if I need it. He protects my interests. When I go to his dressing room to read lines, before we start reading lines, we spend about 15 minutes where we talk about our lives, and that is seriously the most favorite part of my day, and that is really special.
