Days of our Lives star Billy Flynn sat down with General Hospital’s Maurice Benard in another riveting episode of Benard’s State of Mind YouTube show. Flynn laid out his struggle with addiction, nearly losing everything, and how he came out on the other side.
Billy Flynn and Maurice Benard — State of Mind
Benard (Sonny) teased the episode on his official Instagram account saying “I knew of Billy but I didn’t really know Billy. When he sat down for State Of Mind it was incredible. It felt like a boxing match. We get deep about his cycle of struggles with alcohol and addiction and how he’s doing now 3 years later.”
The Daytime Emmy award-winning actor and bestselling author started the episode by acknowledging, “I don’t know him very well but I talked to him for like five seconds and I feel like I’ve known him forever.” And there’s a good reason for that — as he saw a lot of himself in the younger actor.
He went on to describe what it was about Flynn, who plays Chad DiMera on the NBC soap, that piqued his interest. “I am very excited to interview this actor from Days of our lives. Let me tell you why. I was watching his acting scenes on YouTube, and I said, ooh, this guy is the real deal. I was impressed, but I was more impressed with his pain that I saw, in the scenes. And I knew that he had demons.”
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Flynn first opened about his battle with addiction on a podcast with fellow DAYS castmate Freddie Smith (Sonny Kiriakis) back in 2019, but it was clear early on in the episode of State of Mind that Flynn and Benard had a connection and understood each other. It didn’t take long for the DAYS star to get real.
“I have always had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol from the very first drink,” the actor revealed. Flynn detailed his struggle and his path to a more spiritual lifestyle. “I woke up with anxiety, fear, resentment… every day. From the moment I was born, probably. I wake up now with a pretty clear head. Not all days. There are days in the process where I am aware, I am having one of those days and I handle it in the spiritual ways that I can handle it.”
The two men bonded about how similar their triggers and motivations were, and how great it is to see it from a healthy perspective. Flynn summed it up nicely, “When they tell you stuff like stay for the miracle, it happens.”
For the full interview, click on this link and if you enjoyed the episode and want more, check out this video with Flynn turning the tables on Benard — asking him the questions.
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