Billy Flynn Confirms He’s Aristotle Dumas on ‘Y&R’: ‘It’s a Dream Come True’

The long wait is finally over for “The Young and the Restless” fans as Billy Flynn officially confirms he’s playing Aristotle Dumas.

Back in March, the soap actor announced that he had left “Days of Our Lives” after spending over a decade playing Chad DiMera. At the time, Flynn also revealed that he was moving to “Y&R” to portray a character that has yet to be revealed, per Variety.

Now, after much speculation, Flynn confirmed that he is, in fact, playing Aristotle Dumas on the long-running CBS soap. In an interview with Us Weekly, the actor opened up about his big move, which he considered “like a gamble.”

There’s a lot of moving parts that were involved. It was a whirlwind of emotions — mainly excitement, but there was fear involved. I was leaving something that was very comfortable and seemingly secure. It’s never really in this industry, but it felt like a gamble. I have a wife and two kids. But at the same time, it felt like something I needed in my life. It felt like a serendipitous thing, the way the universe put all these different pieces together for it to align where the opportunity came when it did, and how it did.

Billy Flynn Shares His Fears Playing Aristotle Dumas on ‘The Young & the Restless’

Although Flynn brings decades of experience as a soap actor, he admits that stepping into his new role on “The Young and the Restless” has been nerve-wracking, revealing that it didn’t take long for the “fear to kick back in.”

It’s a good thing that Flynn’s “Y&R” cast members have been very welcoming of him, making him feel more comfortable.

“Before I started, I was nervous to work with all these people. I was comfortable where I was and I had earned trust and in the people who knew what I could do,” Flynn explained. “[But] everybody here was so great. I remember watching the monitor the first day, and was so impressed by everybody’s talent that I started to get really nervous [again].”

Flynn Teases What’s Ahead for Dumas

The fact that “The Young and the Restless” has been hyping up Dumas for months adds to the pressure of playing the role. Still, the long wait promises to be worth it, as this new character has plenty to bring to the table.

In the same interview, Flynn teases there’s more to the story, comparing Dumas to “the person behind the Great Gatsby.”

The actor also expressed his gratitude to Executive Producer/Head Writer Josh Griffith for the opportunity to portray the character.

It’s been a dream come true. I’m really grateful to Josh [Griffith] and all the people involved who made that decision and trusted me to come over and see me in this part that on paper, I don’t know if it was me or not, but time will tell.

“The Young and the Restless” airs weekdays on CBS.