Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
Earlier this year, when Poppy told Bill that he was not Luna’s biological father, “I suspected that there was more to the story, for sure,” shares Bill’s portrayer, Don Diamont. And as Bold and Beautiful fans now know, his instincts were correct: On the June 5th episode, a DNA test confirmed that Bill (already the proud father of two surprise sons, Liam and Wyatt), is now a girl dad for the first time.
“I honestly didn’t know exactly how this was going to unfold, and who knows how it’s still going to unfold,” says Diamont, “but I am thrilled! Thrilled for the character, thrilled for me as an actor. I think Bill having a daughter is just wonderful, and may be a way for him to right some wrongs from different points in his life, particularly his, when Bill was introduced to the show as the ultimate playboy and misogynist.”
Bill is equally elated over the life-changing news about his relationship to Luna. “He is absolutely overwhelmed,” the actor notes. “It just touches something in him. As much as he loves his boys, and he does, there is just something about having a daughter [that] really moves him, and he’s pretty overcome with emotion about it. It’s hard for him to wrap his head around having a daughter — and not just having a daughter but having one that he sees, to some extent, as made in his own image. He really sees himself in this child, and he sees how she has been affected, as from her own words, by growing up without a dad.”
As the characters regard one another for the first time as father and daughter, “It’s very emotional,” says Diamont. “It’s very moving. It’s kind of otherworldly. You know, Bill has had these boys show up at his doorstep, and now there’s a daughter. I think this relationship is something that Bill feels like he needs. I keep going back, maybe it’s a way to right some wrongs, to change his perspective, to open up things in him even with his other sons. As much as he loves his sons, this may just open up a part of him that he has kind of shielded. It may touch him in a way the other relationships maybe haven’t, those father-and-child relationships.”
Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
The Girl Is Mine: Diamont with new on-screen daughter Lisa Yamada (Luna).
Diamont looks forward to exploring the new dynamic between Bill and Luna. “Relating to a daughter is different than relating to a son,” he says. “The way that he’s dealt with his sons when issues have arisen over the years, I don’t think he can do the same with a daughter — and he might not really quite be aware of that yet. So I really look forward to that experience. Whether it’s in business, and something where he might lose his temper with his kids, I think navigating that relating to his daughter will be a more challenging experience for him. He might have to be more tactful, and not that the boys weren’t deserving of the same, but I do think Bill just acts differently with his sons than he might with his daughter. And then, whether it’s RJ or anybody else, [Luna] having a boyfriend and Bill having to deal with that, when he looks at some of his own behaviors from his past days, I’m sure that will also present some challenges for him.”
The news about Luna might also shift the dynamic between Bill and Poppy. “He is more grateful to have this child in his life than he is upset about the years gone by,” Diamont muses. “So that does bond him to Poppy, certainly. This woman who he was so enamored with when they first met and spent the night together, now this same woman has given him a daughter. So that certainly does create a bond there for him, beyond being just very enamored with who she is as a person.”
Diamont points out that the expansion of Bill’s list of heirs has ramifications for other characters, as well. “It will be interesting to see how the sibling dynamics now play out,” he says, referring to not only Liam and Wyatt but also Will, Bill’s youngest son, who he shares with Katie. “This is only my supposition, but I would imagine that over time, in business and inheritance and positions in the company and who has how much say over what, that could create some strife, as well He’s got three sons, right? So, let’s see how that plays out and how Bill navigates that. Maybe he’ll try to keep things as balanced and fair and equal as possible; maybe he won’t. Maybe he’ll feel more protective of her, of a daughter, than he does his sons. And his sons have been in his life for so many years now and she hasn’t. So, does that take some priority in a way? Or, vice versa, because the boys have been in his life, does that take priority? Who knows! These dynamics have to play out, but that’s what I so look forward to as an actor. I just think the whole thing really just enriches Bill’s world and his emotional life.
“He has obviously been a very conflicted, emotionally complex person, and he’s more aware of that now than he used to be,” Diamont continues. “That certainly comes with time and experience. So we’ll see, but I think in ways he will just be a softer person with her than we’ve seen. We’ve seen that at various times with his sons, that he certainly has changed. The edges have certainly softened over the years. He’s gone through so much with his boys, and his love for them, he wears that outwardly, while he didn’t initially do that. But with a daughter coming in at this point in his life, I do have to imagine that will create some sibling challenges.”
For now, the actor is just savoring the opportunity to further deepen his on- and off-screen connections to Lisa Yamada (Luna) and Romy Park (Poppy). “Lisa is just wonderful,” Diamont beams. “The more and more I get to know her, [I realize] what a good person and what a talent she is. She’s really a joy to work with, and so is Romy. She’s terrific.”
