Exclusive Interview: The Young and the Restless Star Donny Boaz

Former The Young and the Restless star Donny Boaz talked with Soap Hub all about life, before he left the show, in this exclusive chat.

Donny Boaz Talks About Life

What do you do with your spare time?
I try and spend about an hour a day writing. Just to be creative. So that’s pretty much my creative outlet right now, writing screenplays. I’ve got about three or four working right now.

You’re not new to writing screenplays or producing?
I’ve produced several projects, but I’ve never had anything produced that I myself have written. A lot of times I’ve found people that have their screenplay. And, they have their funding in place, but they are new to the business, where my producing skills have come in. I think I have about eight producing credits.

What did you learn about yourself during the coronavirus shutdown?
The biggest thing I could say I learned is how non-essential I am! I so wish I was essential. I’ve spent 20 years chasing a job and a dream and a profession that has gone nonstop.

I’m telling you since 1999, I have been literally chasing my tail around the planet, whether it would have been modeling or acting or getting to the next audition. This made me sit still, and not for one second do I regret what I’ve chosen to do with my life. Because it is my dream. It is my passion.

What’s the last gift you’ve bought yourself?
I bought a PS4 right before I left Los Angeles. I think I have every format of TV, whether it be Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Showtime, cable. I spend way too much money on all of that and I don’t have time to ever watch, but all of that, I didn’t have a DVD player and I was like, why am I just going to go buy a DVD player? Let’s go ahead and buy a PS4.

What other electronics do you enjoy?
Alexa! And, I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy that! I like to say ‘Alexa, play country music’ and she just turns it on. And if I don’t like the song, I play the next song. And, so I really enjoyed having that.

I’m big on, if I don’t know something – which is often – I’m big on looking something up. And so now I’ll ask Alexa things and there’s a lot of times that she doesn’t understand. My girlfriend and I will play trivia. We’re like, Alexa, let’s play a trivia game. And so she and I will have challenges through that.

Entertaining Donny Boaz

What television show would people be surprised you never miss?
You know what, I enjoy American Idol! I like it mostly because of the way they package the stories about the singers. America’s Got Talent is good, as well.

What was your favorite television show when you were growing up?
MacGyver was a big one. And, A-Team, and M*A*S*H – these are all shows I watched with my, my grandfather – my papa. He was pretty much [the] closest thing I had to a father figure and we would watch Dukes of Hazard, A-Team, and M*A*S*H every day. And then me and my mom and my sister, every Monday evening, we looked forward to watching our MacGyver – it was everything. So yeah, those are some of my favorites.

What movie do you know all the dialogue?
Probably the movie I would say I know start to finish would be Back to the Future. I’m pretty good at Armageddon. Braveheart, I know very well. That’s one of my favorite movies. And Tombstone is a movie that I can quote for days. I’ll be a Daisy. You ain’t no Huckleberry.

What makes Donny Boaz laugh?
Kevin Hart! And, Kat Williams and Daniel Tosh, too. I’ve got a group of friends here, Adam, Jonathan, and Curtis They are my crew and they all live here in the Dallas area. Anytime we get together, we’ll laugh and tell stories for hours.

Who are your favorite singers?
I am so big on Jason Aldean right now. Yeah, I’ve been singing a lot of Jason Aldean. My father is a semi-professional country music man. He still plays in New Mexico. My biological father lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico and he’s opened up concerts for Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, John Michael Montgomery. And at Thanksgiving, it’s hard to find my dad without a guitar and a Heineken in his hand. We play a lot of George Jones and Merle Haggard.

What’s Cooking?

Are you a good cook?
I have been cooking a ton lately. Thanks to HelloFresh. I made tacos last night. I made beef tacos, pork tacos, and quesadillas, cause I never know what the kids are going to eat. I think I ended up eating seven tacos myself. I made my girlfriend sauté duck the other night with an arugula salad and some mashed potatoes. So, yes, I’ve been doing a lot of cooking lately.

Did you get your cooking skills from your mom?
My mother is a good cook at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Growing up, mom was always busy. I grew up in a single [parent] home. It was just my mom, my sister, and I, and my mom worked from like 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on so many days. So, I feel like my childhood was a lot of hotdogs and chili and chicken pot pies.

Mom didn’t cook so much growing up. She always had a chicken and rice dish that I just absolutely love. But, at Thanksgiving and Christmas, my must is my mom’s green bean casserole and her sweet potato casserole. She puts corn flakes and pecans on the sweet potato casserole. I’m not a big fan of the marshmallows – so she never puts marshmallows. I wish it was Thanksgiving and Christmas right now so I could have some sweet potato casserole.

The Sporting Life

What’s your favorite sport?
Football. I really hope that we have a football season coming up. Growing up, I did everything. I went from cross country, football, basketball, baseball, track, tennis. I had to make good grades so I could play sports and that was probably why I was a good kid. And now, I love watching my Texas Longhorns, love watching the Dallas Cowboys – one time I was doing a film and I made sure that they had a television on set so I could catch the Cowboys game.

What was your first car?
My stepdad gave me a red 1988 Buick Riviera – and I was shocked. We were driving to school one day and he goes, ‘Hey, I’m going to give you this car.’ I don’t know if it even hit me, but when I walked into homeroom, and I told everybody ‘my stepdad just gave me his car.’ And everybody’s like, ‘why he gave you a car? That’s so cool.’ It was my friend’s reactions that I remember, more than my own.

And finally, what’s your favorite – pie, cake, or ice cream?
It would probably not be any of those. I am a cookie monster! I will open up a bag of Chips A’hoy chunk cookies – it’s the brown bag, never the red bag and never the blue bags, it’s gotta be the brown bag – and I’ll get some Biscotti peanut butter. I’ll mix it or slide that on the cookie. Dip that in my milk. Next thing I know the whole bag of cookies is gone. I’m in my late 30s, and I will still clean out a bag of cookies.