Billy Abbott is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network. Created by William J. Bell as the son of John Abbott (Jerry Douglas) and Jill Abbott (Jess Walton), the character is currently portrayed by Jason Thompson. The character is known for being a "spoiled rich boy," a "screw up," and for his gambling addictions and consumption of alcohol.
Billy Abbott was introduced during the July 7, 1993, episode. For the character's first six-year period, he appeared as a minor, portrayed by various child actors. In 1999, David Tom began portraying Billy as a teenager. Tom was acclaimed for his portrayal, winning a Daytime Emmy Award in 2000. In 2002, Tom opted not to renew his deal with the soap and the role was recast with Ryan Brown. Brown only portrayed the role for a year after he was let go in a storyline-dictated departure. In 2006, Scott Seymour began playing the character; however, he too was let go after three months.
Two years later in 2008, Billy Miller took over the role until his exit in 2014. Miller's performance in the role was popular with audiences and critics, and garnered him two wins of the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2010 and 2013, and one a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2014. In 2014, David Tom returned to the role following Miller's exit; his return was short-lived when he was replaced by Burgess Jenkins the same year. In 2015, Jenkins announced his decision to depart the soap. Thompson first appeared in the role on January 13, 2016. Thompson has received critical acclaim for his performances in the role, winning Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2020, and earning another nomination in 2022.
Casting
Billy was introduced in July 1993 and grew up naturally until 1999, when the producers decided to age the character. Up to 1999, the character was portrayed by child actors, first by a set of twins named Katrin and Margret Ingimarsdottir, then by Brett Sherman, Shane Silver, Blake Pontello, Josh Michael Rose and Scotty Leavenworth. When the character was rapidly aged, the character was first portrayed by David Tom, brother of the acclaimed Heather Tom, who first aired on July 23, 1999. "I auditioned five times," said Tom at the time. "Every time, Heather would call and ask, 'How was it? Did you feel good about it?'" When Tom received the role, he said, "She [Heather] was very excited. I probably won't have too many scenes with my sister. But it's great to be on the same show!" Tom went on to receive a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in 2000.The Young and the Restless news (May 19, 2000) – Soapcentral.com, Tom wins an Emmy In 2002, Tom opted not to renew his contract but agreed to stay until that August when Billy was written out,The Young and the Restless news (July 21, 2002) – Soapcentral.com, Tom leaves and was last seen on August 15, 2002. The character was absent from the series from August to December 2002; even though he was supposed to return much sooner, the casting department allegedly had trouble finding a suitable replacement for Tom.The Young and the Restless news (November 14, 2002) – Soapcentral.com, Casting problems
The role was recast with Ryan Brown, who debuted on December 26, 2002. During Brown's portrayal, rumors started circulating about his dismissal, but when Brown was actually fired, the producers said it was storyline dictated.The Young and the Restless news (June 11, 2003) – Soapcentral.com, Cast out He last aired on July 16, 2003. In 2006, it was announced that newcomer Scott Seymour would assume the role,The Young and the Restless news (July 16, 2006) – Soapcentral.com, Seymour takes over debuting on August 15, 2006. However, Seymour was let go after only three months,The Young and the Restless news (October 17, 2006) – Soapcentral.com, Seymour already out and his final airdate was November 9, 2006. In 2008, Billy Miller assumed the role as the fourth actor to do so. He first aired on September 19, 2008. Miller won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor for his portrayal in 2010. In 2011, Miller announced that he would like to leave the series by the end of that summer. However, after months of contract negotiations, Miller agreed to one more year on the series. In November 2013, amidst contract negotiations, Miller opted to leave the soap opera, and it was announced that David Tom, who previously played Billy, would be returning to the role. Miller taped his final scenes on December 19, and last aired on January 30, 2014. Tom taped his first scenes back as Billy on January 7, and returned on February 3, 2014.
On May 23, 2014, Daytime Confidential broke news Tom had been released from the series, with the writers taking Billy in a different direction. Tom last aired on June 19, while Burgess Jenkins took over the role on June 24, 2014. Jenkins announced his casting on social media, revealing: "Thanks so much for the outpouring of warm welcome from all the fans!"
In October 2015, Daytime Confidential announced Jenkins had been fired from the show, and former General Hospital actor Jason Thompson was one of the top choices for recast, following another "plastic surgery arc" storyline. Jenkins last appeared on January 5, 2016.
On December 3, 2015, Entertainment Weekly verified reports Thompson had joined the cast, and began appearing on January 13, 2016.
Development
Characterization Billy has been known from a young age to be a spoiled rich boy. As he grew up, he became a playboy and a notorious screwup with a penchant for drinking and gambling. When Miller auditioned for The Young and the Restless in 2008, he didn't know that he would be cast as the infamous Billy Abbott. Still, he enjoys playing the resident bad boy: "But this guy definitely has got an edge, and he is a bit of a bad boy. It’s fun, but he is a bad boy you might want to take home, but he is not the kind that will slit your throat before you get there." Miller also sees Peter Bergman's character of older brother Jack Abbott as a father figure to the younger Billy: "Peter is like an older brother, and it’s interesting because Jack is more of a father figure to Billy than a brother. And since John is gone, and Jack is so much older, and the two of them are so much alike, it’s difficult. Billy could be scummy where he could go down the road, but Jack can be really scummy. However, Jack would never do anything to intentionally hurt his family. Billy knows Jack is holding stuff over his head, and he has to help justify it for himself and carry on."
Relationship with Victoria Newman After Victoria Newman's (Amelia Heinle) divorce from J.T., Victoria pursued a relationship with Billy, which her father tried to stop on many occasions, to the point of having them arrested on their wedding day. After being unable to conceive a child, Billy presented Victoria with a baby girl that he adopted illegally, whom they named Lucy. On the storyline, Heinle commented that it was a "good way to conflict and drama to the soap", also stating: "It [storyline] worked, and so they liked it and it spun off from there. So now we are stealing babies together!" When the illegal adoption came to light, Victoria and Billy eventually lost custody of Lucy to Phyllis Newman. Following the loss of the child Victoria adored, their marriage fell apart, and eventually Billy abandoned Victoria and left Genoa City, later revealed to be in Myanmar.
Victoria didn't know what was to come of her marriage and went forward with divorce proceedings, just as Billy's daughter, Delia, was diagnosed with leukemia. Victor had Billy released from a prison in Myanmar where Victor had had him jailed on trumped up charges of drug trafficking and rape, and brought him back to town in hopes of Billy becoming a bone marrow donor for Delia. Eventually, after the pair were officially divorced, Victoria and Billy's mother went searching for him but were unsuccessful, and in a turn of events, she found him in a New York City airport bar, and eventually they reunited, with Victoria cutting her father out of her life after the discovery of his role in Billy's absence. "Victoria is going to be absolutely furious at her dad for what he's done, and understandably so. There is a potential for a huge rift between father and daughter and there will be some consequences for Victor with his relationship with Victoria in light of all that he's done to keep her apart from the man she loves," noted then co-head writer Scott Hamner at the time. He also said that, "The impact of [those] secrets coming to light is going to be very serious in Billy and Victoria's ability to move forward together." Soon after, the pair remarried. However, after returning from their honeymoon, Billy's mistress, a woman named Chelsea Lawson, from Myanmar, arrived on their doorstep, claiming to be pregnant with Billy's child. Her claim was proven true.
Storylines
1993–2006 Jill Foster Abbott (Jess Walton) wanted a baby with her then-husband, John Abbott (Jerry Douglas). After she became pregnant, he urged her to have an abortion because he was too old to become a father, but she refused. Thus, William Foster Abbott was born in 1993. John learned to love Billy, and he fought for him when his marriage to Jill fell apart. Jill paid little attention to her son; John then took Billy to New York City where he attended boarding school. When they returned in 1999, Billy (then played by David Tom) was a teenager. He attended Walnut Grove Academy with his friends and enemies, including Brittany Hodges (Lauren Woodland), J.T. Hellstrom (Thad Luckinbill), Mackenzie Browning (then played by Ashley Bashioum) and Raul Guittierez (David Lago).
To make his place in school, Billy bragged to J.T. and Brittany about partying, and he was invited to a party that resulted in him getting alcohol poisoning, but Raul came to Billy's rescue. Billy had a rocky friendship with Mackenzie, but they began to feel romantic feelings for each other when she kept by his bedside while he recovered. At the Junior Prom, they were crowned Prom King and Queen, and they realized that they had feelings for each other. Billy's mother was not pleased to learn that Billy was hanging out with Katherine Chancellor's (Jeanne Cooper) granddaughter, so Billy and Mackenzie met in secret. Brittany wanted Billy for herself, so she tricked Mackenzie into thinking that she and Billy were having sex by drugging him. Eventually, J.T. spilled that Brittany was lying.
Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) trapped Billy and Mackenzie in an elevator together, and they finally sorted out their feelings. Jill coped with the fact that Mackenzie was better for Billy than Brittany was. At the time, Billy also gave his niece, Colleen Carlton (then played by Lyndsy Fonseca), advice on how to handle her life in Genoa City after she was sent to live with her grandfather there due to her bad behavior in New York City. Mac and Billy stayed together until Billy decided that they should take their relationship to the next level by having sex, but Mac was not ready. They broke up, but they stayed good friends. Billy came to Mac's rescue when her abusive stepfather, Ralph Hunnicutt, tried to molest her. Ralph attacked him, but Larry Warton (David Fralick) saved him.