Bill Hamilton has quickly developed into one of Beyond the Gates‘ best love-to-hate characters. His actions have had devastating consequences for his family, and his ex-wife is still trying to pick up the pieces. But he’s forging a new life with his new wife, and he’s determined to enjoy life behind the gates no matter who gets hurt. Plus, Bill is in for a big fight that pits him against his daughter, who resents her father for shattering the family. Soap Hub talked to Timon Kyle Durrett about his love-to-hate character and his upcoming legal battle.
Relishing the Love-to-Hate Label
“My family have asked if I think I’ve been typecast to a degree,” Durrett explains. After all, not only is Bill Hamilton a serial cheater, but his character on OWN’s late great drama, Queen Sugar, was, too. Davis West played hard on and off the court as a professional basketball athlete.
“People ask questions— if Timon Kyle Durrett is actually like Bill Hamilton and Davis West,” the actor continued. “I’m used to that, but with this, it’s different because daytime brings a different audience. This is a bigger stage, and daytime is a different type of television format. But I’ve gotten a lot of love in the form of that they love to hate Bill, and I like that.”
READ THIS: What else you should know about Durrett.
Bill Versus Naomi
Bill faces an attack against his law firm, which comes courtesy of his daughter, Naomi (Arielle Prepetit). She represents three women who were fired from his firm. They leveled accusations of a hostile work environment against his entire practice and sexual harassment charges against one of his partners, Mike Davis (Pierce Lackey).
Obviously, Bill will fight to protect his firm and his reputation, but the fact that he opposes Naomi automatically gives this case a supercharged dynamic. After all, he would like to heal his fractured relationship with his daughters. Also, he is aware of his law partner’s penchant for inappropriate jokes. And so, in this situation, his apprentice, namely Naomi, who followed in his legal eagle footsteps, becomes his adversary.
“He likes the fact that his daughter is capable of challenging him,” Durrett explains. “I showed my baby girl how to come up against me, being the giant that I am in this world. I have to take her seriously even though I see her as my baby coming at me, and she’s formidable now.”
READ THIS: BTG’s Karla Mosley returns to The Price is Right.
Bill’s Strategy
The Chicago native feels like we’ll see Bill tackle this lawsuit and his relationship with Naomi delicately. “He can’t go full steam ahead against his baby girl, and that puts him in a compromising position,” he teases. “And it also puts him in a compromising position with his ex-wife (Karla Mosley’s Dani Dupree) because this is our daughter, bro. You can’t attack her the way you would someone else. You can’t go full warrior on her. So it’s a bit of a tightrope walk.”
READ THIS: BTG’s Marquita Goings talks Bill’s current wife, Hayley Lawson Hamilton.
This will undoubtedly cause Bill to deal with this complicated situation in a way he has never done before. “He has to be a way that he’s not used to being, and it’s a level of pride, but just comfort that makes him have to focus more on his balance and not as much as being Big Bad Bill. He’s in a vulnerable position, and it’s not that he doesn’t like it; it’s his daughter. But it’s unfamiliar territory, and he’s trying to navigate those waters.”
