Why William Christian Almost Turned Down A Role In Days Of Our Lives
In the fall of 2021, "Days of Our Lives" turned the Carver family upside down when it was revealed that Abe Carver (James Reynolds) was not Lani Grant's (Sal Stowers) real father after all. In fact, Abe's long-ago lover Tamara Price (Marilyn McCoo) wasn't even her mother. Instead, Tamara's flamboyant heretofore unheard of sister, Paulina Price (Jackee Harry), is Lani's mother and her father is Paulina's abusive ex, a man she ran from not wanting him to know she was pregnant with his child. So, she gave her baby to Tamara to raise, and Tamara later told an adult Lani that Abe Carver, a cop in the fictional town of Salem, was her father.
That's where our story picked up in 2015 when Lani arrived in town for a job on the Salem PD and told Abe she was his daughter. Fans watched them grow close for six years until the rug was pulled out from the audience as well as Lani and Abe (via Soaps In Depth). Now, that abusive ex Paulina wanted to get away from has shown up in Salem and is played by soap opera veteran William Christian, a beloved performer who wasn't even sure he wanted to take the role.
William Christian was one of the soap opera good guys
Diehard soap fans will remember William Christian from all his years playing good guy cop Derek Frye on ABC's "All My Children." From 1990 to 2007, Christian was the man the denizens of Pine Valley turned to when they needed crimes solved and stellar protection.
That soap opera reputation made the actor a little hesitant to take on the role of TR Coates, the Hollywood producer backing Johnny DiMera's (Carson Boatman) movie about his grandmother Marlena's (Deidre Hall) satanic possession, not knowing that Johnny himself is now possessed by the devil. This movie producer also happens to be the man Paulina ran from all those years ago while she was pregnant with his child.
"Who would want to play that?" Christian said to Soap Opera Digest when he described his reaction to being offered this juicy part (via Soaps.com). Thankfully, after discussing the role with those closest to him, he was convinced TR was a character he had to take on. "They said, 'You should do this. It's quintessential daytime.'"
In the end, Christian is glad he listened to that advice because he's having a great time in the "Days of Our Lives" world. "It's been an awesome experience," he said. "I would do it in a heartbeat again and again."