Diamont’s first major acting role was as Carlo Forenza on ‘Days of Our Lives,’ which he joined in 1984

NEED TO KNOW

• Don Diamont reflects on over 40 years in soap operas, including roles on Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless
• He recalls being fired and voted best newcomer in the same week early in his career
• Diamont advises young actors to take their craft seriously and strive to make themselves indispensable

Soap star Don Diamont is recounting his more than 40 years in soap operas, saying it’s gone by “just so fast.”

Diamont, who celebrated 40 years on CBS’ The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful back in 2025, spoke to PEOPLE in a recent exclusive interview.

“I suppose if I really sit and go over the events of my life, if I could possibly remember all the storylines, which I can’t, I mean, if I look at it in those terms, I suppose I can go, ‘Wow, yeah, that’s 40 years,’” the 63-year-old actor says. “Otherwise, like so many things in life, it’s like in the blink of an eye, you know?”

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Diamont’s first major acting role was as Carlo Forenza on Days of Our Lives, which he joined in 1984. He then joined the cast of The Young and the Restless as Brad Carlton in 1985 before he left the show in 1996, and returned two years later, remaining on the cast until his character was killed off in early 2009.

CBS announced that the actor would be joining The Bold and the Beautiful as Bill Spencer Jr. the same year.

“It feels like just so fast. It’s crazy,” Diamont says with a laugh.

The actor also acknowledges his road has been full of ups and downs, telling PEOPLE, “Having been on Days [in 1984] and that lasting nine months, being fired and voted best newcomer in the same week, that was quite an introduction to daytime.”

Diamont has been open about his early days in soaps, explaining in other recent interviews that his overconfidence and inexperience contributed to tensions with producers. But rather than view any firings as setbacks, Diamont says they were opportunities.

When he takes himself back to those early days, Diamont says he’d give a younger version of himself simple advice: “Really just to approach it the way that I did at that time, which was to take it very seriously, to really apply myself…. and to try to make yourself indispensable, try to make your mark, learn everything you can possibly learn, apply it as quickly as you can. Be a professional.”

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Diamont has dealt with a number of personal tragedies, and saw his dad, Albert, and brother, Jack, die within months of one another in 1989 and 1990. His sister, Bette, died in 1998.

The actor notes that his tenaciousness has been beneficial in his line of work, saying, “I never missed a day unless I was hospitalized for something. No matter what was going on in my life personally, I never brought that into work. Just always ready to go.”

A father to six boys who also raised his nephew after the death of his sister, Diamont says it’s an attitude he’s instilled in his children, too: “ I think, every time an opportunity presented itself, I felt like I was that much more ready for it…. You’ve heard the expression, ‘Luck is preparation meeting opportunity,’ and I drive that home with my children as well.”

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