William Christian (actor)

William Leonard Christian (born September 30,[2] 1955)[3] is an American stage and television actor.[4] He portrayed Police Chief Derek Frye on the soap opera All My Children from 1990 to 2007, and currently portrays the role of TR Coates on Days of Our Lives.[5]

William Christian
Born
William Leonard Christian[1]

(1955-09-30) September 30, 1955
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Alma materCatholic University of America
American University
OccupationActor
Years active1985–present
Spouse
Gail Samuel
​
(m. 2002)​
Children2

Early life and education

Born in Washington, D.C., Christian attended elementary school at St. Francis De Sales where he was first exposed to acting. He then attended Archbishop Carroll High School where he participated in the theater program.[6] Christian attended at the Catholic University of America, where he learned about theatre and earned his bachelor's degree. He then attended at the American University, where earned his master's degree[2] based on drama.

Career

Christian moved to New York in the early 1980s, for which he was a member of the Actors Information Project, where he performed in stage productions. He appeared in commercials such as American Express and Burger King, among others. Christian performed in the 1989 Off-Broadway revival of the play The Member of the Wedding, appearing with actress Esther Rolle.[7] Christian guest-starred in television programs including The Cosby Show, ER, Malcolm in the Middle, Spin City, Hand of God (four episodes), Matlock,[7] Desperate Housewives and Monk.[3] In 1990, he was cast in the recurring role of Dr. Marshall Redd on Another World.[7] He then went on to portray the role of Derek Frye on All My Children from 1990 to 2007.[5] For this, he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1991.[8][9] In 1995, Christian had spoken out at the Youth Forum Against Violence at the Network Club, making a speech to young people in Springfield, Massachusetts.[10] In 1996, he appeared in the Off-Broadway revival of the play The Boys in the Band.[11]

Christian first appeared on Days of Our Lives in 2018, where he portrayed an uncredited role known as "minion". In 2022, he was cast as TR Coates on Days of Our Lives, first appearing in the January 26, 2022, episode.[12][13] Christian was cast following discussions with co-executive producer Albert Alarr.[14] He presently resides in Boston, Massachusetts with his family, and attributes them for encouraging him to take on the role.[14]

Personal life

In 2002, Christian married Gail Samuel.[1][15] In 2021, Samuel would become the first female president and CEO of Boston Symphony Orchestra.[16] The couple welcomed their first child in the summer of 2005.[17] They have two sons, Samuel and Orlando.[15][18] Christian currently lives in Boston with his wife and sons.[19]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1989 The January Man Tim
2004 Nine Lives Ralph
2009 Three Takes Bradley Short film
Contradictions of the Heart Ross Direct-to-video film
2010 The Au Pairs Mr. Dietrich Short film
2019 Words to Live By Larry Short film
2020 Love & Orgasms Charlie Gray

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1985 The Cosby Show Mr. Robertson Episode: "Vanessa's New Class"
1988 Tattingers Oscar Episode: "Pilot"
1989 Another World Marshall Reed Recurring role
1990 All My Children Derek Frye Series regular (1990–2005)
1997 Law & Order Shawn Taitt Episode: "Blood"
2001 Detective Regan Episode: "Bronx Cheer"
1999 Spin City Man Episode: "Klumageddon (Part 1)"
2003 Malcolm in the Middle Don Episode: "Daycare"
Without a Trace Bernard Episode: "The Bus"
2008 Steve Episode: "Closure"
2008 ER Hayward Episode: "…As the Day She Was Born"
Moonlight Ryan Gold Episode: "Click"
Prison Break Middleton Episode: "Safe & Sound"
Hannah Montana Edward Johnson Episode: "We're All on This Date Together"
Desperate Housewives EMT #1 Episode: "Mirror, Mirror"
2009 Monk Brett Episode: "Mr. Monk Makes the Playoffs"
2011 I'm in the Band Pilot Episode: "Weasels in the House"
2017 Hand of God Manny
Recurring role: 4 Episodes
Episode: "Telling Me Your Dreams"
Episode: "The Last Thing Left"
Episode: "What a Man Can Be"
Episode: "He Must Be"
A Neighbor's Deception Dean O'Brien Television film
2018 Days of Our Lives Manny Under-five
2022 TR Coates Series regular
2020 How to Get Away with Murder DOJ Attorney Episode: "Let's Hurt Him"
Another Mother Detective Cates Television film
The Bay Dr. Marques Abraham Episode: "A Pitched Battle"
2021 Good Girls Store Owner Episode: "The Banker"

References
  1. Di Lauro, Janet (January 26, 2022). "7 Things to Know About William Christian, Days of our Lives' TR Coates". Soap Hub. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  2. The Soap opera book: who's who in daytime drama. West Nyack, New York: Todd Publications. 1992. pp. 56–57 – via Internet Archive.
  3. "William Christian". AllMovie. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  4. "Ebony (Vol. 47, No. 12)". Ebony. Johnson Publishing Company: 50. October 1992. ISSN 0012-9011 – via Google Books.
  5. Bowe, Jilian (January 21, 2022). "All My Children Vet William Christian Joins Days of Our Lives". Daytime Confidential. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  6. Mara Levinsky; Stephanie Sloane (January 28, 2022). "DAYS'S WILLIAM CHRISTIAN GUESTS ON DIGEST'S PODCAST". Soap Opera Digest (Podcast). American Media, Inc. Retrieved January 28, 2022.{{cite podcast}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. "Bill makes William nervous". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. February 18, 1994. p. 85. Retrieved May 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  8. "Daytime Emmy Awards (1991) Winners & Nominees". Soap Opera Digest. Archived from the original on August 18, 2004. Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Wayback Machine.
  9. "Emmy nomination a 'surprise'". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. May 17, 1991. p. 158. Retrieved May 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  10. Stephenson, B.L. (April 30, 1995). "Do the right thing, TV star tells teens - Forum urges student to use minds". The Republican. Springfield, Massachusetts. p. A15. Archived from the original on 2022-05-10. Retrieved May 10, 2022 – via NewsBank.
  11. Hischak, Thomas (March 6, 2017). 100 Greatest American Plays. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 65. ISBN 9781442256064 – via Google Books.
  12. "Who's Coming". Comings and Goings. Soap Opera Digest. Vol. 47, no. 4. United States: American Media, Inc. January 31, 2022. pp. 12–13.
  13. "All My Children Alum William Christian to Debut on Days of our Lives". MichaelFairmanTV. January 22, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  14. "William Christian on Joining Days". Late-breaking News. Soap Opera Digest. Vol. 47, no. 5. United States: American Media, Inc. February 7, 2022. pp. 4–5.
  15. "William Christian". A Noise Within. August 29, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  16. "The Interview: Boston Symphony Orchestra Head Gail Samuel". Boston. Metrocorp, Inc. September 28, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  17. peoplestaff225 (May 16, 2005). "All My Children's William Christian and wife expecting". People. Dotdash Meredith. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  18. Castellanos, Camila (April 4, 2019). "Local Resident Instrumental in Advancing Philharmonic's Diverse Goals – Outlook Newspapers". Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  19. "William Christian on Joining Days". Late-breaking News. Soap Opera Digest. Vol. 47, no. 5. United States: American Media, Inc. February 7, 2022. pp. 4–5.
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