HOME / Interviews / InSession / InSESSION: ‘DAYS’’ Guy Wilson Discusses Recast Challenges and Bumps In Sonny and Will’s Journey to the Altar!

InSession

InSESSION: ‘DAYS’’ Guy Wilson Discusses Recast Challenges and Bumps In Sonny and Will’s Journey to the Altar!

It’s been one month since Guy Wilson debuted as “Days of our Lives’” Will Horton, and he has quickly ingratiated himself into the town of Salem. In fact, shortly after debuting as Sami’s (Alison Sweeney) son, he’s already found himself on the way to a fictional altar with Sonny (Freddie Smith)! As the onscreen pair prepares to eventually walk down the aisle and become a married couple, Soap Opera Network caught up with Wilson to get his take on why he landed the role, how he was able to bond with Smith so quickly and what kind of obstacles the popular and influential onscreen pairing will face as they prepare for marriage!

HOME / Interviews / InSession / InSESSION: ‘DAYS’’ Guy Wilson Discusses Recast Challenges and Bumps In Sonny and Will’s Journey to the Altar!

InSession

InSESSION: ‘DAYS’’ Guy Wilson Discusses Recast Challenges and Bumps In Sonny and Will’s Journey to the Altar!

It’s been one month since Guy Wilson debuted as “Days of our Lives’” Will Horton, and he has quickly ingratiated himself into the town of Salem. In fact, shortly after debuting as Sami’s (Alison Sweeney) son, he’s already found himself on the way to a fictional altar with Sonny (Freddie Smith)! As the onscreen pair prepares to eventually walk down the aisle and become a married couple, Soap Opera Network caught up with Wilson to get his take on why he landed the role, how he was able to bond with Smith so quickly and what kind of obstacles the popular and influential onscreen pairing will face as they prepare for marriage!

Days of our Lives Mast Head by Soap Opera Network

Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

It’s been a little over a month since Guy Wilson debuted as “Days of our Lives’” Will Horton, and he has quickly ingratiated himself into the town of Salem. In fact, shortly after debuting as Sami’s (Alison Sweeney) son, he’s already found himself on the way to a fictional altar with Sonny (Freddie Smith)! As the onscreen pair prepares to eventually walk down the aisle and become a married couple, Soap Opera Network caught up with Wilson to get his take on why he landed the role, how he was able to bond with Smith so quickly and what kind of obstacles the popular and influential onscreen pairing will face as they prepare for marriage!

Stepping into the shoes of Will Horton, who was previously portrayed by the very popular Emmy-award winning actor Chandler Massey, was a bit of a roller coaster for Wilson. Many fans of the show were very vocal about their discontent with Massey’s decision to leave as well as their steadfast decision to not accept anyone else in the role. But over the past few weeks, the California native has proven that if anyone can successfully take over Massey’s place in the role, it’s him. And that’s because, as viewers have seen, he’s naturally very much like Will. “They say that sometimes when you’re acting, you don’t choose the part, the part chooses you, and I think with Will Horton, and just the nature of his character, I can relate to him on so many parallels,” Wilson explains. “So what that does is it makes a lot of the acting kind of effortless. To a fair extent, I can just sort of be myself, as long as I’m present and connected. [There are] many character traits in Will Horton that the writers and the producers want to see, and I’m just fortunate enough that they feel like they can see them in me.”

And when it comes to fans who may still be having a hard time warming up to him, the actor says it’s not really something he can change. “Through Twitter, I feel like I have my finger on the pulse, but beyond Twitter, I really don’t frequent the discussion forum sites, because I don’t think it would serve me as a human being or as an actor,” he reveals. “I feel people either like what’s happening or they don’t like it for reasons that I can’t control. I’m my own actor; I’m not just going to change my acting because someone wants me to be more like Chandler Massey or something like that. So I think the best thing I can do for the show and for the character is to continue to trust my instincts.”

Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

When it comes to connecting with Smith — whom he had to create instant chemistry with, considering Will and Sonny had already established a close onscreen bond — Wilson says it was a mix of natural chemistry and working closely to make sure they were able to do the pairing justice. “So much of it was absolutely natural, but with the more intimate moments between them, we made it a point to communicate before jumping into this journey, just making sure we were on the same page, which was, ‘Let’s just go for this, let’s not hold back, let’s do this to the greatest level of truth that we can,’” he says. “Everything else just kind of flowed naturally in terms of clicking, but we both made a conscious acknowledgement to one another that we really wanted to push ourselves when it came to portraying affection between the two characters.”

In addition to having some deep discussions about the onscreen duo, Wilson and Smith spent time together off set to get to know each other as human beings. “When I first got the part, the show was on hiatus that week, so there was some time, so we got together and got lunch,” he says. “Freddie had just moved that week, so I got to check out his new digs, and we share some mutual friends as well, so we were able to sort of connect by talking about that. And once you start working together, you see each other almost every day, and it’s kind of hard not to develop a tight friendship.”

As for a possible wedding for Will and Sonny, the actor acknowledges that trips to the altar in the soap opera world never do run smooth. “Oh my God, never!” he enthuses, adding that the couple faces new challenges now that they’re engaged to married. “Whether or not we can get to the altar remains to be seen. We’re hoping so, but the stakes are a lot higher. Everything has greater implication, whether it’s between Sonny and Will or having to do with Sonny’s family or something in Will’s family. Once you’re married, there’s no backing out. It’s either you solve the problem, or the problem gets the best of you. And I think that’s the biggest thing for them going forward.”

Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

Of course, there’s always the possibility of another man swooping in and setting his sights on either character, which Wilson has mixed feelings about. “I’m so overprotective of this relationship,” he says with a laugh. “Certainly, it would make for excellent drama, but neither myself nor Will would take too kindly to anyone trying to disrupt what Will and Sonny have worked so hard to build. But hey, life happens, and this is daytime drama, so I can’t rule anything out!”

Whether or not Will’s path leads him into the role of Sonny’s husband or if outside obstacles will get in the way, Wilson is thankful for the opportunity to play such an important, groundbreaking character. “If I didn’t [have this “DAYS” job], I probably would be putting my nose to the grindstone, because it’s been pilot season in LA, and everyone has been scrambling and trying to get hooked up with a show,” he explains. “So I’d be doing that, and it would probably be pretty stressful. So I have to say, I’m grateful that I’m employed in a job that I love and have security in that. It’s definitely the way I’d like it to be!”


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