Days of our Lives

Three Cheers For DAYS’ William Christian And His Return To Daytime

Published by

Alina Adams

3 years ago

William Christian, who just joined the cast of Days of our Lives as Terrell Raymond “TR” Coates, ex-love of Paulina Price, biological father of Lani Price Grant, also spent 15 years — 1990 through 2005 — on All My Children playing Derek Fry.

In Appreciation of William Christian

Have a hard time placing him? That’s not your fault. Pine Valley never fully allowed the actor — and character — to show what he was truly capable of.

Cop Rock

Derek started off as a cop on AMC. He looked for a kidnapped Dixie Cooney (Cady McClain), but Tad Martin (Michael E. Knight) got to be the one to rescue her — though Derek was shot for his trouble.

He dated Angie Hubbard (Debi Morgan), and they even got engaged…but Derek could never compete with the memory of long-lost love, Jesse Hubbard (Darnell Williams).

He dated fellow policewoman Mimi Reed. She got pregnant. But was Derek the father? There was more than one candidate. Baby Danielle turned out to be his. Yay! But then Derek had an affair. Mimi left town and took Derek’s daughter with her.

There were some more crimes to solve but no more worthwhile romantic stories. Derek never quite made it to the front-burner but, after five years on the show, he was barely on the stove. AMC took him off-contract. Christian spent the next decade commuting to New York from his home in Los Angeles but eventually decided it wasn’t worth it, and the role was recast.

Chew It Up

Now, however, the actor has a rich, juicy, flashy role on DAYS — not to mention a much nicer wardrobe. Christian is clearly relishing the chance to play a soap-opera bad boy with a messy past, a child he never knew about, and an ex he might still have feelings for.

And we can’t wait to see what TR will get up to, not just as Johnny DiMera’s (Carson Boatman) movie producer, but as Paulina Price’s (Jackée Harry) abusive ex and Lani Price Grant’s (Sal Stowers) allegedly reformed daddy. The confrontation between him and Abe Carver (James Reynolds) is bound to be epic and well deserved for both actors!

Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Salem, check out all the latest that’s been posted on DAYS spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.