To mark the occasion, she looked back at some of her favorite moments from nine incredible seasons.

He has finally come out to his to parents (those scenes are in a separate post) and the drama is rich and powerful.

Last week, I attended a special evening with some of the cast of Days of Our Lives at The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills hosted by Allison Sweeney who plays Will’s mom, Samantha (Sami). Among those on the panel were Will Horton himself, Chandler Massey, as well as Deidre Hall who plays his maternal grandmother Marlena, Bryan Dattilo who plays his father Lucas, Lauren Koslow who plays his maternal grandmother Kate and Galen Gering who plays his stepfather Rafe.

Other cast members present were Lisa Rinna (Billie), Arianne Zuker (Nicole), and Kristian Alfonso (Hope).

Kristian told me before the panel began how impressed she has been with Will’s story.

“I think it is being handled beautifully. It’s life. Why shouldn’t we have gay characters? I was really really thrilled that we opened up. They have done a beautiful job writing it, Chandler has done an amazing job – everyone involved in that storyline has really stepped up to the plate. I wish I had been involved in it!”

The evening wasn’t all about Will, of course, but there was plenty of discussion about the storyline and high praise for Massey who had received his second consecutive Emmy nomination earlier that day.

“When I got the job, I watched all the stuff I could find on Will,” Massey said during the panel discussion. “I was able to come in and play a character who had some rich family history and so many family ties. … It made it easier for me to find out who he is.”

His castmates were full of praise for the young actor’s performance. Sweeney said to her TV son during the panel: “You do an amazing job. … You read the scenes and you just bring them to life. The scenes just flow when I’m working with you and it really is a privilege.

Said Hall, who returned last year after two years off of the show: “I knew before I came back to the show that I would be close to Will. … I was so pleased that [his coming out] became a multi-generational experience.”

Hall praised the writers for telling the story with “incredible sensitivity.”

“A lot of what we do in daytime is teach,” she said. “The part that I add to our scenes is sort of a dialogue for people that are going through it who get to see that this is one way to handle it and it worked for us. It’s been so beautifully done.”

Massey remained humble throughout the evening: “When you have a story that you’re telling that is so amazing and you have the amazing cast that you work with, the credit doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to the writing and the talent and the relationships they’ve built with Will. My contribution is a small part of something that I think is really important.”

Look for my interview with Bryan Dattilo later today!

Just as it is about to be revealed that her character on the CBS soap The Bold and the Beautiful is a lesbian, actress Joanna Johnson confirmed in an interview published Monday that it is a case of art imitating life: she is a lesbian too.

‘It feels weird and wrong to play this revelation about Karen’s life and not talk about my own,’ she tells TV Guide. ‘I used to hang out with Ellen Degeneres, k.d. lang and Melissa Etheridge back in the day and thought it was so beautiful they were out, even though I didn’t have the nerve. When I realized I was gay in my early twenties we didn’t have role models like Ellen. I’m not anywhere near as famous as those ladies, but I guess it’s my turn to do my little part. It’s time to live a fully authentic life.’

To read more about this, go to Gay Star News.

I spoke with Chandler this morning after he received the news.

“I feel great, it was good news,” he said. “It’s such an honor to be nominated and it is much appreciated.”

It’s the second consecutive nomination for Chandler in the category of Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series.

His competitors are Eddie Alderson who played Matthew Buchanan on ABC’s now-canceled One Life To Live, Chad Duell who plays Michael Corinthos on ABC’s General Hospital and also from that show, Nathan Parsons who plays Ethan Lovett.

While the Will Horton storyline has been filled with dramatic moments this year with Will coming to terms with being gay, the nomination is not for any of those because the performances have to have aired in 2011.

Chandler’s nominated episode aired on Sept. 30 and included scenes with Deidre Hall who plays his grandmother Marlena and Freddie Smith who plays Sonny.

So how much does he want to win?

“I think just being nominated is nice,” he insists. “The work is already done. At the end of the day, I’m proud of the work.”

The Daytime Emmys will take place on Saturday, June 23 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Chandler took his mother to last year’s ceremony.

‘This year I will not be taking my mom,” he said. “I will be taking a hot woman – I just have to find one.”

Brant Daugherty is shooting some episodes of Days of Our Lives as part of the Will and Sonny storyline, according to AfterElton.com.

It’s a short-term role and he should begin appearing on screen late July to early August.

Brant is best known for his role as Noel Kahn on the series Pretty Little Liars.

Brant was until quite recently working behind the scenes as a production assistant on such shows as Pushing Daisies and also wrote, directed and produced the short film The World’s  Smartest Man.

A few years ago, he played the role of “hottest guy on campus” Thomas Pearson, in Teen.com’s PRIVATE!

What makes me like Brant all the more because of his very public support of same-sex marriage including this Tweet:

brantdaugherty Brant Daugherty: well done, New York! another step forward today #equality

24 Jun

It’s always been a little ridiculous that the CBS soap The Bold and the Beautiful is set in the fashion business and in 25 years on the air, never had a gay storyline.

That will finally change next month when a lesbian romance between the character of Karen Spencer (played by returning cast member Joanna Johnson) and Danielle who will be played by soap opera veteran Crystal Chappell.

B&B is strong in the ratings and has win the Outstanding Daytime Drama Emmy for the past three years. It seems like a show in an excellent position to try something they have never tried before!

Executive producer and head writer Bradley Bell shares some of the details with TV Guide:

“Karen and Danielle are a modern married couple. … We plan to discuss the real issues, present some prejudices, and try to get people to move forward in their thinking, instead of backward. I want to do this story because I listen to all the political debates on the subject of same-sex marriage and can’t believe I share the same country with people who think so differently about human rights. I want to put my hat in the ring and, hopefully, help change some thoughts and opinions on the issue.”

V Guide Magazine: Tell us about your decision to reveal this secret side of Karen.
Bell: Once we decided to bring Karen’s daughter, Caroline, onto the show, the question naturally arose, “Who is the father? Why doesn’t she seem to have one?” I started thinking about all the story possibilities and decided, “Why not give her two mothers?” Everyone on the show has a mother and father and that’s getting a little dull. So I talked to Joanna Johnson and asked if she’d be okay with this story and she was very excited. When it came to casting Karen’s partner, I thought immediately of Crystal Chappell. She was at the top of my list. I called her, she was interested, so here we are. She’s a great actress and such a good kisser.

TV Guide Magazine: And you know she’s a good kisser because…
Bell: Because I’m a big fan of her web series Venice.

TV Guide Magazine: Does this mean we’ll actually see some lesbian lip locks on CBS Daytime?
Bell: Oh, sure! Absolutely.

Will Horton, played so superbly by Chandler Massey, has a most wonderful confidant in his grandmother Marlena who has helped her grandson come to terms with being gay.

But his relationship with his mother, the self-absorbed Sami, is not as close or as trusting.

Sami will find out about her son’s sexuality soon and the actress who plays her, Allison Sweeney, talked to MichaelFairmanSoaps about how it all goes down.

Here is an excerpt (and for heaven’s sake stop reading NOW if you don’t want to know!):

Says Sweeney: “Sami does not say anything, and she runs away.  What I love about Sami is that she loves her son so much, but she always seems to say the wrong thing.  She always puts her foot in her mouth, and if it’s possible to mess up a situation, Sami knows how to make that happen.  I think this is one of those times.”

“She knows how important it is, and it is so fun for me, because I love working with Chandler so much and we have such a fun dynamic.   It was such an open and vulnerable moment when Will tells Sami, and Sami goes, “I got to go,” and fled the scene.”

“I think she goes through those Sami things, that are probably very common, in other ways too.  But for Sami it’s very normal.  She thinks it all because of her, and what did she do? Chandler described all of Sami’s flaws when he described how his character is affected by her past,  and she is not wrong to wonder how she played a role in this.   She has to work through all those feelings and talk to all the people in Salem about it.  She ultimately makes it about her.”

“I think in her heart and because she has Lucas, (who is her hero) she will come crawling back to him about how can she make this right with Will.  And of course, that is a whole other beat of the story. There is a fun Sami and Kate scene, too where they are at odds about work, once again, but it’s so great.  There is this awesome moment where Kate looks at Sami and says, “Now, seriously.  Forget about that.  We are going to talk about making things OK for Will.”  And the two of them set aside their cat claws and take care of Will and have that conversation in a very similar Kate and Sami way.  They connected on that, and then at the very end, it’s like, “I am still going to torment you.” So, it was like, “Game on!” Lauren Koslow (Kate) and I love that opportunity to play that.”

“I did feel relief personally,” Chandler said of shooting the touching scene with Deidre Hall who plays his grandmother, Marlena.

“Will has been had so much angst and conflict for so long. Once we finally filmed those scenes  where Will comes out and is okay with it, for some reason, I felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders as well. It was a lot of fun.”

It was perfect that his scene partner would be Miss Hall since she and Chandler clearly have an on-screen chemistry that appears so natural and real.

“The vast majority of it is Deidre,” he says modestly. “She’s amazing. I just hope to keep up with her in the scenes.”

But they do work together as a team to make the Will-Marlena scenes memorable.

“We do get along very well off set as well, we have the same relationship off screen,” Chandler says. “She really helps me. She’s a pro and I’m  new to [the soap opera] genre, and that relationship carries over in our scenes. We also do work a lot on our stuff – I work with her off-screen on our scenes more than with any other actors.”

While Will continues to come out to various family members in the coming weeks and months, it is not the only focus of his life. His job as assistant to former stepdad EJ will also take center stage.

“The next few months is a lot about Will and his relationship with EJ and how it evolves,” Chandler says, “It’s him learning basically how to run a business and how to blackmail people. [The gay plotline] is still interwoven but not at the forefront. But it’s still there, it’s who Will is.”

Since Will is going to be involved a lot with EJ (played by James Scott), I did have to ask Chandler about what appears to be a bit of a sexual undercurrent between the two characters.

“Some of it is in the writing,” he explains. “The relationship between Will and EJ is mentor-mentee and lends itself to those intimate scenes. But really it’s the fact that James Scott is British and everything he says to Will seems to have underlying sexual undertones.”

So what about Will’s love life? He passionately kissed a guy named Neil (played by Jesse Kristofferson) last month and we know that Kristofferson is set to return for at least three more episodes. Will also seemed to share a surprisingly intimate moment with his pal Sonny (Freddie Smith) recently at the coffee house.

Chandler says there will be more kissing for Will in the future but “I wouldn’t say his next kiss will be with Neil.”

Hmmm.

The kiss with Neil, the first time Will had ever kissed a guy, was very aggressive and anything but romantic.

The next one, whoever it is with, will be far different Chandler says.

“The first one was appropriate for that point where Will was in coming to terms with things. Now that he’s out, it’s not so much of a release of all those emotions as a romantic moment.”

He is, of course, Chandler Massey who has just been a revelation as Will in the past four months or so as his character begins to deal with being gay.

We’ve seen plenty of clips of Chandler as Will in the past year but this clip allows us to see Chandler as Chandler.

Enjoy!

There are two gay characters on NBC’s Days of Our Lives and last week, they experienced their first real moment of sexual chemistry.

Well, Advocate.com has just posted this new portrait of the actors who play Will (Chandler Massey) and Sonny (Freddie Smith).

I don’t have any spoilers but could this mean Will and Sonny are set to become the hottest gay couple in daytime since Luke and Reid on As the World Turns?

I’m not sure I’m a big fan of hers now.

But I do think she is coming off more authentic in her recent television appearances than ever before.

I also think Barbara Walters handled Star’s recent return visit to The View horribly [read about that HERE] – so horribly that it made me think a little less of Barbara who has long been a hero of mine for all of her groundbreaking accomplishments in television news – and for all those dishy celebrity specials!

Star waded into friendlier television territory on The Wendy Williams Show this week and took the high road saying that Babs and Co. do not owe her an apology. But she does say she would not want to return to the show as a panelist and is quite happy with her regular gig on The Today Show.

Star’s book, Satan’s Sisters is also going to be made into a television movie. It’s about a group of women who co-host a talk show! Gee, wonder who THAT could be about. She wants Diana Ross to play the Barbara Walters-ish character. It would be fun but she’ll never get her. Ross is a fantastic actress – Oscar nominated for Lady Sings the Blues and Golden Globe nominated for Out of Darkness - but she has not made a film since 1999′s Double Platinum and does not seem in a rush to make another.

But here’s hoping!

Here is video of Star’s appearance with Wendy:

We know that Will has been struggling for some time with his sexuality and has not admitted that he is gay to anyone – even himself.

But these things have a way of bubbling over – especially when there is alcohol involved.

Chandler Massey, the Emmy nominated actor who does a stellar job in the role of Will, gave the scoop to Greg In Hollywood about what to expect tomorrow.

after drinking some beers and spending the evening with a group of gay guys he meets through his gay friend Sonny (Freddie Smith), Will finds himself attracted to a guy who’s been flirting with him and decides to make a move after getting a little drunk on beer during several games of beer pong.

‘Will is definitely the aggressor,’ Chandler says. ‘I want to be clear: it’s not just Will getting drunk and making out with a guy. He’s been wanting to show that part of himself for a long time. Most of the time he is sober and is restraining himself. It’s like a perfect storm. Going out with Sonny and Sonny’s gay friends, Will feels comfortable. Then the beer pong and he lets go for a second.”

And it is not just an innocent little peck on the lips either.

‘It’s definitely passionate,’ Chandler adds. ‘It’s like a makeout session. It spans two scenes in [Thursday's] episode and keeps going into Friday’s. I wanted to sell it 100 percent and make it convincing.’

So who is the recipient of Will’s affection?

His name is Neil and he’s played by actor Jesse Kristofferson who has a handful of prime-time guest spots to his credit and whose father is singer-actor Kris Kristofferson.

‘We are friends so it wasn’t awkward,’ Chandler says of the kiss. ‘We just said, ‘Let’s do this.”

But don’t expect Will to be marching in any gay pride parades anytime soon.

‘It’s one step forward and two steps back,’ says Chandler. ‘He retreats. But this does mark a turning point because the kiss is witnessed by Sonny. So this is the point of no return.’

While Chandler has had several kissing scenes with Gabi (Camila Banus) on the show, it’s his first same-sex liplock.

‘I’m excited for it and a little nervous about how people will react,’ the actor says. ‘It’s going to be probably more than what people expect. I think it’s overdue.’

Don’t you just love this photo?

It was taken earlier today when Days of Our Lives star Chandler Massey met Kristy McNichol.

They happen to have the same publicist, Jeff Ballard, and he made the introduction.

“She is a wonderful actress and is so warm and down to earth,” Chandler said after meeting McNichol for the first time.

Kristy’s view of Chandler: “What a cutie!  He is so adorable and talented.”

As you know, Kristy earlier this month publicly acknowledged that she is a lesbian and did so because she wants to help LGBT kids who are bullied.

Although Kristy has not acted for more than two decades, the Emmy winner is still well-remembered for her television roles on Family and Empty Nest and such feature films as Little Darlings, Only When I Laugh and The Pirate Movie.

Chandler, meanwhile, is doing an outstanding job as gay teen Will Horton on Days of Our Lives. He’s been so good that the current issue of Soap Opera Digest, which just arrived in my mailbox today, names him as “Performer of the Week.”

“The young actor has had to delicately balance his alter-ego’s fragility, profound hurt and confusion, not to mention his intense anger at [his mother],” the magazine notes. “The material marks the first time Massey has really been pushed to show off all his skills and he has fully embraced the challenge.”

I had written last week that it would air on Jan. 13 and want to make sure we have the correct information out there so you don’t miss Jai on the show!

He portrays the gay character of Mateo, a friend of Sonny’s who may become involved in his latest business venture.

“He hits it off with Will right away and they have an interesting connection,” Rodriquez tells Soaps in Depth. “I think there’s definitely room for Mateo to come back.”

His little stepson went missing and while he was gone, his wife cheated on him with her ex-husband.

Then there’s his moody stepson, Will Horton, who is full of rage as he deals with his mom cheating and his sexuality.

I spoke with Gering on Friday night at the NBC-Universal party in Pasadena.

We talked about the show’s first gay storyline involving his on-screen stepson (played by Chandler Massey).

‘It’s an important story,” Gehring said. “These are issues that people face, people are coming out of the closet, dealing with their sexuality and being comfortable with it. It’s nice to be part of a show that is addressing issues that people face.”

He hopes viewers – gay or straight – will get a lot out of it.

“I’m sure it will probably help people deal with that issue so they might have to go through what [Will] is going through, they might be able to find strength in that storyline,” he said. “Whenever you’re a part of something like that, it’s always good. Above and beyond all of that, I think it’s entertaining. It’s a win-win.”

Gering has been mighty impressed with the work of Massey.

“From an acting standpoint I think he’s done a great job and that always gives the story merit,” he said. “He’s 110 percent committed. He hit the ground running when he got to the show. I’ve been able to see him grow as an actor over this last year and a half. I love the kid, he’s a sweet, cool kid.”

Related Post: Chandler Massey gives Greg In Hollywood first extensive interview about Will Horton coming out as gay on Days of Our Lives

He portrays the gay character of Mateo, a friend of Sonny’s who may become in his latest business venture, according to AfterElton.com’s Langford on Soaps column.

“Mateo has tattoos and is a little more edgy than the Salem boys,” Rodriquez tells Soaps in Depth. “But, he hits it off with Will right away and they have an interesting connection. … I think there’s definitely room for Mateo to come back.”

In a separate interview with Deep Soap, Rodriguez, shared his thoughts on the soap’s handling of the Will Horton storyline so far.

“I think they’re handling the storyline with a lot of sensitivity and being really, really honest… It’s definitely not a cliché.” he said. “The portrayals of young gay people on television are a lot different than they were ten or fifteen years ago. They’re colored with a little more diversity. I think that’s a really good thing.”

Will Horton (played by Chandler Massey) is struggling with coming to terms with things so he heads over to Sonny Kiriakas’s (played by Freddie Smith) house under the guise of returning material from their failed website venture.

Will peppers Sonny with questions about his coming out and Sonny doesn’t probe but does seem to be aware that Will is gay, at one point saying the word “us” when referring to gay people before quickly correcting himself.

The groundwork is also laid in this scene for a new business venture that sounds far more promising – and far less tedious – than the computer venture: a coffee house for gays and straights.

This will be the ideal locale for all kinds of drama to unfold!

Here is an earlier episode this week of Will and his grandmother Marlena (Deidre Hall) discussing his disclosure that his mom, Sami, slept with her ex-husband. This is powerful stuff and Miss Hall is first-rate as is Mr. Massey. This relationship between grandmother and grandson is one of the best things any show has going on daytime. It is dynamite and feels very real.

One Life to Live did for a brief, glorious time a few years back with Oliver and Kyle and Nick and As the World Turns gave us Luke, Noah and toward the end, the amazing Reid.

ATWT is now off the air as is All My Children which had the first same-sex wedding on a daytime soap between Bianca and Reese. AMC jettisoned the characters soon after the wedding. OLTL, which ends its run in a few weeks, quickly abandoned its entire gay storyline last year due to outside pressures.

So now we are left with Days of Our Lives. The show did well in introducing the gay character of Sonny (Freddie Smith) as a self-assured young man who has his sexuality figured out. It has done little with him after a promising beginning but more than made up for it with a developing storyline that has the character of Will Horton at the center of it.

Will is just beginning to come to the realization that he is gay and in the coming months, he will be walking a rocky road. We will be watching, riveted, because the young actor who plays Will, Chandler Massey, has done a brilliant job of making us care.

Whether he’s breaking up with his girlfriend, defending gay friend Sonny, confronting his mother or confiding in his grandmother, Will is the one you can’t keep your eyes off of. Massey is showing us so many layers to this character – especially in the past month – and it is a wonderful ride.

That’s why he is the winner of the 2011 Greggy for Soap Star of the Year following in the footsteps of last year’s winner Eric Sheffer Stephens who played Reid on ATWT.

There are so fewer actors playing LGBT roles in what is left of the soaps that there was a danger of this category not being presented this year. But Massey is a deserving winner and if he keeps up this level of acting, he will be the front-runner for next year’s prize as well as an Emmy nomination.

It’s also so nice to know that the actor playing Will is such a thoughtful and articulate young man off-screen. Chandler has shown up to support various LGBT causes and knows the importance of his character to viewers watching at home – especially LGBT kids and their parents.

Before returning to Georgia to spend the holidays with his family, Chandler filmed an anti-bullying Public Service Announcement for the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles:

The long-running ABC soap One Life to Live will go off the air next month – and my little sister is going to have a tough time getting over it!

The soap certainly has its share of hunky men including David A. Gregory who plays the part of Robert Ford.

Robert, 26, was voted best hunk by readers of the website SoapHunks.net which last year voted him hunkiest newcomer.

He’s a hunk with some brains.

In 2008, David graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Music Theatre from Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. Before being cast on OLTL, he endured seven months of unemployment and was considering another line of work besides acting.

David also won the categories of best torso, best pecs, best abs AND best butt.

But, he did not win EVERY category.

Gregory’s former OLTL castmate David Fumero (pictured, far left) won the categories of best arms and best voice, OLTL’s Nick Robuck (pictured left) was the top vote-getter in the best face contest and OLTL’s Andrew Trischitta was voted to have the best hair.

It’s no surprise that OLTL was voted best overall soap but it’s a surprise that the oh-so-hunky Tuc Watkins was not a finalist in any of the categories.

Non-OLTL winners:

Best Smile: Scott Clifton of The Bold and the Beautiful. From the same soap is the beautiful Brandon Beemer (pictured, left) who won in two categories: best eyes and Most Shamefully Clothed (meaning they wear clothes too often!). Brandon was also one of the top five finalists for best abs and best butt.

Best Hunk Over 40: Eric Martsolf of Days of Our Lives; Hunkiest Newcomer: Bren Foster of Days of Our Lives; and Most Missed Soap Hunk: Greg Vaughn of General Hospital.

Our favorite trio from Days of Our Lives didn’t finish in first place in any of the categories but Chandler Massey (Will Horton), Casey Deidrick (Chad DiMera) and Freddie Smith (Sonny Kiriakis) did have several top five finishes.

The adorable Casey was a finalist for best face, best eye, best smile, sweet Chandler was a finalist for best eyes and best smile and Freddie made the final five in the category of Most Shamefully Clothed.

The winning soap actors were determined by online voting by the fans over the past several weeks.