Timon Kyle Durrett of Beyond the Gates spilled the tea to Soap Opera News about whether or not his alter ego, Bill Hamilton, knows Hayley is playing him, how he sees Bill and Dani’s relationship evolving, and what’s ahead for Bill as we get into Fall 2026.
Suit up and show up, because The Fixer of Fairmont Crest, otherwise known as lawyer Bill Hamilton, recently held court to make his case to Beyond the Gates fans everywhere.
Key Takeaways
- Timon Kyle Durrett talks role on Beyond the Gates.
- He reacts to his Emmy nomination
- Timon teases what’s to come.
Timon Kyle Durrett (and that’s “TIM-in,” not “tim-OAN” as one might assume) graciously made time from his hotel room in Los Angeles (ahead of returning to Atlanta to begin filming Season 3 on September 21) to speak with Adam-Michael James from Soap Opera News about what’s coming in Bill’s life — including the level-up he’d like to see happen between Bill and Andre, the role Dani might play in Bill’s future, and how aware Bill is of Hayley’s schemes against him.
SON: Coming to us all the way from the 202 – or the 771, if you like overlays – is the DMV’s dapper daddy of devilishness. You’ve seen him in the film Cheaper by the Dozen and in seven seasons of The Oprah Winfrey Network’s Queen Sugar – on which he co-starred with Greg Vaughan AKA Kial Rollins; small world! Of course, we soap fans know him from a year and half of playing The Fixer, the lascivious but lovable Bill Hamilton (can you tell I like alliteration) – right up in here is none other than Timon Kyle Durrett.
Read on to see what happened when we spoke to Timon!
I’ve been watching Beyond the Gates since Day 1 and recapped almost of all episodes – I just want to say that it’s so important in this social climate we’re living in to have a soap with a predominantly Black cast, especially since the last and only one, Generations, went off 35 years ago. It was high time, and the fact that we’re in Season 2 but you guys are already guaranteed through Season 4 just speaks to how well-received the show is and the fact that it’s caught on. I know I am always wanting to know what happens next with the Duprees, Richardsons, Hamiltons, Hawthornes, et cetera. Congratulations on a terrific soap!
Timon Kyle Durrett: Thank you. Appreciate it. Daytime TV was not on my radar. Coming on the heels of COVID, then we had the writers’ strike, then the actors’ strike….[There] wasn’t a lot of work. I was ready to get back at it, and my agent called and said, ‘Hey, would you be interested in daytime?’
She told me about the character that they were interested in. I said, you know what? I can do that.
So I got in there, and it’s different than primetime. It’s a lot. It’s the pacing difference. A lot more material. I will say that it has enhanced my ability to learn material.
I think [the show] is a good look. It goes, and it digs into the other layers of predominantly Black environments and how they move and shake, and how they work. You have these affluent and influential and powerful people, [but] they’re still people, and they have people issues. A lot of different things that many other people would think that well-to-do people don’t endure or deal with. Pulls back the layers, man.
The show has certainly taught me a lot about Black culture – things that most of us [white people] don’t get to learn, so that’s been very cool. What do you most enjoy about playing Bill?
I like that he’s not just one-dimensional. You see, he’s this big, burly, aggressive shark of a man when it comes to certain people, but he can be this teddy bear when it comes to his daughters. You can see his vulnerability when it comes to Dani and the Duprees. Especially Vernon.
Despite all of the vitriol and the anger, and, I guess, the would-be betrayal, Bill still wants Vernon’s approval, as you know. [Vernon] did it right — he’s got a beautiful wife, he’s got two beautiful daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. He’s still a pillar in society. And Bill, you know, there’s a part of him that wants that. He just has a very non-traditional way of going about [it].
I know the fans have been in a bit of an uproar with Hayley seeming to pull the wool over Bill’s eyes over and over. You’re a few months ahead of viewers script-wise, but from where we sit, do you think Bill knows he’s being poisoned? After so many red flags and collapses, there are plenty who are certain that Hayley is playing Bill for a fool.
I don’t want to give away too much, but it’s one of those situations where sometimes people can’t see something because they don’t want to. They want to be right more than they can accept being wrong. Everybody’s like, ‘Hey, man, you got to watch [her]. Be careful.’ And I think Bill just doesn’t want to see it because he made a choice, and he wants to be the one that’s right.
Even though there’s something in him that [makes him] suspicious. He’s not quite there yet when it comes to having a full understanding. He wants to be right about Hayley; he wants everyone else to be wrong so badly that it’s blinding him to what’s really going on.
And I guess that would be part of his ego, too.
Yeah. Big time. Bill doesn’t want to be proven wrong when it comes to this. You know, the choices he made — he cheated on Dani, he betrayed his daughter, he betrayed the Duprees for a younger woman who’s now trying to kill [him]? ‘No, that can’t be the case — I couldn’t have been fooled and duped like that.’ And I think a lot of the fans are saying, ‘Come on, Bill, open your eyes.’ I think his eyes are open — he’s just looking in another direction.
I love that Beyond the Gates doesn’t rush stories like some other soaps do, but Hayley’s been poisoning Bill for 11 months now. Do you think it’s time for this arc to wrap up, and how would you like to see it wrap up?
I know how it wraps up — but I would like to see what a lot of the fans would like to see: an exposure, and then an action based on the exposure. Because when you think about that kind of betrayal, you know, [Bill]’s trying to give [Hayley] the world — new house, a house in St. Bart’s, black card access, all of this stuff. And then to find out that she’s doing this…nothing hurts some people more than learning that they’ve been so massively betrayed and deceived…[and] denial is the only thing that they have.
I think Bill and the fans want to see some sort of redemption, some retribution, some revenge — you know, payback. Bill’s not a bad guy. He just did some bad things. And now I think the chickens have come home to roost.
Here’s a story suggestion – and tell Michele Val Jean she can use it, free of charge – I would love for Hayley, or Val, to be arrested finally for trying to off Bill…but also to see Leslie arrested for trying to kill Laura at the same time. And they have to share a cell. Because you gotta admit – Leslie and Hayley together behind bars would be the most must-see of must-see-TVs.
I would have to say between the two actors, Marquita Goings (Hayley) and Trisha Mann-Grant (Leslie), with their energy and what they’re capable of doing…sometimes people don’t get to see what [they] can do because of the storyline. But knowing those two wonderful talents, I think that would be very interesting TV just to see those two in a jail cell going back and forth. It’d be amazing.
Yeah, that’s what made me think of it — whenever they have scenes together, you can just tell there’s so much potential there for both drama and a lot of comedy.
Yeah. Definitely comedy.
Let’s dig into Bill’s past a bit. More than once, he’s mentioned that his dad is a poor excuse for a human being — which is why Bill looks to Vernon as a father figure. What do you think the story with this elder Hamilton is, and do you think we’ll ever get a chance to meet him?
I hope so. The story tells that Bill’s mother is no longer alive and he doesn’t have a great relationship with his father. He comes from meager beginnings. And I think that he wants to put his relationship and his history with his father in the rearview mirror. But I do think that it would be a very interesting storyline for Bill’s father to show back up and to see where Bill gets his stuff from. Like, this is another thing that makes Bill tick.
He wants Vernon’s approval so much because he didn’t get it from his dad. I would love to see a scene where Vernon and Bill and Bill’s father are all there together. And to see how Bill plays back and forth between his real father and the father figure that helped mold him and get him to where he is.
That would be awesome. I mean, something definitely happened there with Bill. And like, you said, he’s not a bad guy, but he makes a lot of bad decisions, and obviously that comes from somewhere. I will be boiled in oil by our readers if I don’t ask this — secrets never stay secrets for long on soaps, so…what do you predict will happen when Bill and Dani’s tornado-fueled romp in the country club elevator comes out? And, as Bill’s portrayer, what do you think should happen?
I guess if one person knows, then all of Fairmont Crest is more than likely going to know.
Vanessa knows.
Yeah. Bill and Dani, they still have this connection [even though] Bill is married to Hayley and Dani’s married to Andre. I mean, clearly, Hayley doesn’t really care about Bill. Andre cares about Dani, but all the Duprees, Bill’s daughters, even Ted…you know, the ‘I told you so, man,’ ‘What are you doing,’ and ‘How could you’ will come from so many different places.
I think Bill and Dani would, to some degree, defend themselves. I can just imagine if Vernon and Anita found out about that, and then Naomi and Chelsea found out, and how they’ll be at Bill — they probably wouldn’t go after their mother as much — [but they’d say], dude, how many times do you want to screw up? You cheated on mom with your mistress; now you’re cheating on your wife, who was your mistress, with mom. Make up your mind! I think that it would be a bit of a bluster, if you will, for [Bill and Dani] to navigate through that exposure.
I know this is on viewers’ minds, too — do you see a Bill/Dani reunion happening eventually, or are they better off as the tentative friends they are now?
I think that there’s going to be some sort of reunion. I don’t know what that’s going to look like, but clearly there is this magnetism between Bill and Dani that they can’t deny. They’ve been trying to fight it, and it’s just there. I don’t know what the writers will do. But I think that some sort of reconvening, if you will, is going to happen. Even with the fans, a lot of people are saying, I don’t want to see Bill with Dani — [yet] others are heavily saying they want to see Bill and Dani together.
Working with Karla Mosley (Dani)…I’d work with her on anything. That would be a dynamic that we both can sink our teeth into and give the audience something that’s really juicy, proper steak that they can bite into.
I’ve got to say, I’ve been looking forward to a bit more angst between Bill and Andre. [They always have to] be reserved.
The tension is always so thick.
Yep. There’s so much tension. But Bill has to hold back. Andre has to hold back. And I think it would be great to see what would happen if they could say, okay, here it is. All the gloves are off. And, you know, the fact that Andre is not telling Dani about The Impaler.
It’s just all this stuff is this crazy amalgam of emotions and betrayal and vengeance and lust and love and history. I think it leaves room for a lot of good soap TV.
Well, you talk about the gloves coming off — that will happen when that secret comes out one way or the other. It’ll be interesting to see whether [Bill and Andre have] even more of a rivalry or if they end up having sort of a gentleman’s agreement about everything.
I think it’d be less than a gentlemanly thing — at first, anyway. Sean Freeman, who plays Andre, we’d like to see more than just tension — a little bit more aggression. To play angry at each other, that’ll be fun because we’re not like that at all.
I know Bill and Kial have been in a few group scenes together, though they tend to travel in different storyline circles. Did you and Greg Vaughan work together much on Queen Sugar, and how is being on the same set together again now different?
Greg and I have been friends since we met in 2016. But on Queen Sugar, we never had any scenes together.
Really? Wow.
Never. We were always hanging out out there, but [that was all]. And then I think we had one scene in Beyond the Gates where we’re at Fairmont Crest [country club], and Nicole introduces Kial, and Bill says, ‘Oh, I remember you. I think it was from WinterFest.’ And that was it.
Yeah, that’s true. Now, don’t sic Tomas on me for asking this — ‘cuz it’s something a junior lawyer would handle — but…without giving anything away that you’re not allowed to, can you give us Fairmont Crest fans any juicy spoilers about what will happen in Bill’s life in the coming weeks and months?
Bill is going to soon have a moment of realization that puts him in a position that he did not want. And it’s far worse than he thought. There are a lot of variables to the equation, and when certain things are revealed, it crushes Bill in a way where…you know, he’s big bad Bill Hamilton, The Fixer, the man — he’s in everyone’s face.
He’s a shark of a man — even if he doesn’t attack you, he’ll let that fin come out of the water, let you know he’ll be right there. And now it’s like his power gets taken from him — the rug is snatched from under his feet, and it’s emotional, it’s physical, it’s social, it’s psychological. He has a moment of realization that crushes his machismo, and he doesn’t like that.
He’s got several things, actually, that are coming that I think the audience — some may not know; others, [they’ll be] expecting [these moments]. I said, “Oh, here it is,” and I was able to really play [it]. I can’t wait for the audience to see.
Finally, do you have any projects outside of Beyond the Gates coming up that you’d like to talk about?
No, I don’t. You know, I’m putting the feelers out there; if there ever is a time when my schedule will allow it — I’m a zombie fanatic. I love zombie stuff. I typically play these well-to-do cheaters, these philandering rich guys. But I want to go do something really gritty and action-packed. I want to have those scenes where the person is walking toward the camera with the slow-motion explosion in the background. I need one of those. Right now I don’t have anything else going, but I’m just putting that out there and making it manifest.
I can see wanting to deviate a little bit because that’s always fun. Although, you know, I mean, best of both worlds: they could have some shoot outside where Bill’s car gets blown up while he’s walking away.
I would love that so much.
Can you just see Tomas blowing up Bill’s car for not getting promoted?
Or I can see, I don’t know, Andre.
Or maybe…well, that might not be Leslie’s style, but still.
Maybe Hayley’s style.
Is there anything you’d like to talk about that we haven’t covered here? Unlike Vernon, don’t choose silence.
No, I’m just, I’m happy to be a part of something so groundbreaking, something historical. And I love the fact that I was able to play in a way that allowed me to be nominated for a Daytime Emmy.
Thank you for mentioning that. I forgot to mention that!
It’s so exciting, man. Three years ago, you couldn’t convince me that I was going to be a soap opera star nominated for an Emmy. I think back to right before I booked this job. I’m an artist; I was working on different art projects, and things like that, and then this fell into my lap, and I got into this whole new world, met all these wonderful people. And it’s high-paced, high-volume work. It’s really helped mold me into understanding more about the industry.
And to be in the Emmy conversation, it blows my mind. I tell anyone: if you have a dream or a goal or an aspiration, something that you want to achieve, keep talking about it. Go after it because it feels good to be on this side of your dreams, man. It does.
Timon, I can’t wait to see what’s next for Bill – and I love that you guys are leaning into the Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure references. It’s been a true excellent adventure for me getting to talk to you – Bill is definitely one of the breakout characters. And I won’t lie: I act, too, and I’m half tempted to send in a headshot – Smitty needs relatives or some ex coming in to make him miserable.
That would be – yes! Yes!
Though I’d be happy just to hand someone some peach cobbler at Orphey Gene’s, okay?
We need you to come in and be Smitty’s older brother and have some sort of seediness to him.
Yeah, that would be fun. Maybe we’ll meet up in Atlanta one of these days. I would love that.
Listen, let’s just say it now. It’s going to happen.
I like it. If Bill the Fixer says it’s going to happen, I know it’s going to be fixed. Thank you so much for footing the bill with us – see what I did there?
[laughs]
Congratulations again on your success and that of the show’s. Here’s to a Season 5 and beyond!
Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
And Timon, may whatever you eat remain poison-free.
Poison-free. Thank you, man. [laughs] Thank you so much.
The Daytime Emmys air October 30 on CBS. So, are you anxious for the day when Bill finally finds out the truth about his not-so-loving wife? Do you want to see Bill and Dani back together? Let us know in the comments.
Photo Credit: CBS Broadcasting Inc.
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