Going Deep

Jason Thompson weighs in on a very special episode of Y&R.

- Devin Owens

Soap Opera Digest: Jason, how did you find out about this special episode?

Jason Thompson: I didn’t really know that this episode was going to be somewhat of a standalone episode with Billy and his moment of crisis, in a way, until I saw the script, to be honest. And then I looked through it and was like, “Wait a second, I’m doing that show over one or two or three days,” or whatever mixed in with other stuff. I then pieced together kind of what Josh Griffith, our head writer, told me was going to happen. To be honest, it’s not like I knew what this episode was going to be about until I saw the script and the breakdown.

Digest: What was your reaction?

Thompson: I wouldn’t say mixed, but like, “Okay, this is going to be really fun and cool and it’s a great opportunity.” That’s the moment that I remember. I get excitement out of wanting to do some interesting, newer work. And I’m thankful that they would even think about doing something like this just because it’s something new and a challenge for us in the genre. I haven’t really done anything like this where it’s just one episode of heavy scenes. It was exciting to bite into it.

Digest: It must be flattering to know they trusted you with this kind of material.

Thompson: Yeah. I mean, it’s definitely a certain sense of responsibility and gratefulness that they would attempt something like this and follow through with it. When they do give you an opportunity like this, you want to reward that with good focus and hard work.

Digest: Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki), Eric Braeden (Victor), Doug Davidson (Paul) and Christian LeBlanc (Michael) had their own such episodes. Did you talk to any of them about that?