Don Diamont, the beauty of the house

This article is published in issue 34-35 of Vanity Fair ion newsstands until 29 August 2023

I could have lunch with Bill Spencer Jr. But not in the sense of eating a plate of pasta with the TV tuned to Canale 5, to watch the eight thousand seven hundred and counting episode Beautiful: me and Don Diamontwho has been playing the greedy anti-hero since 2009 Dollar bills of the soap most loved by Italians, we had an appointment in Rome. A train strike got in the way, and so we talk to each other from a computer screen. In the hour of digestion.

“Good evening! That’s all I can say», Don welcomes me with a smile very american style, showing off the Italian learned when, in 2015, he went back and forth from Los Angeles for a few months to participate in Dancing with the Stars.

How is it in Rome?
«We are on vacation, we love Italy. We have already visited Sicily many times, my wife’s origins are from Palermo».

What do you like about our country?
“People, I love them. And then the food: I’ll be banal, but it’s fantastic. The thing is, everything here is beautiful. Beautiful!».

What is your favorite dish?
«Bolognese, tomato (Don’s Italian includes the essential, ed)… the pizza: oh, I’ve eaten so much in my life!».

Me too, but I don’t have his physique.
“I train every day just to be able to eat what I want.”

He’s over 60, but looks 20 younger. How does she do?
“You’re a liar, but thank you. I have always played sports, she is an important part of my life. You may not be able to stop it, but it delays the aging process.’

Does the passage of time scare you?
«It’s funny that you ask me, it’s one of the few things that really excite me… well, you see (his voice cracks, ed). I fear the passage of time because I always want to be there for my family. My son Alexander’s wife is pregnant: she will be my first grandchild. I would like to enjoy it as much as possible.”

How do you imagine yourself as a grandfather?
“I’ll do like all grandparents: I’ll take him, I’ll spoil him, and I’ll give him back to his parents”.

How much time a day do you spend taking care of your body?
«24 hours a day, 7 days a week»: the voiceover is that of his wife, Cindy.
“Hand! I train every day, an hour, an hour and a half. Maybe two.”

As for taking care of his mind?
“My wife would tell you zero. The work I do helps a lot: memorizing scripts is great exercise. After all, perhaps, I dedicate more time to my mind than to my body».

And how much, however, to that of his soul?
“Love, my wife, children: all the most beautiful things in my life nourish it deeply”.

Tell the truth: do you like being so fit for yourself, or for the compliments they give you?
“I was already very popular in high school, I was an athlete. I started on TV when I was 21… in short, I’ve never lacked compliments. I could explain it to you like this: I lost my father when I was 24, and my brother not even a year later to a brain tumor. We were very close, both were very proud of me when they read about my successes in the newspapers. But they always told me: “Whether they write good or bad about you, don’t believe it. Only you know who you really are.” Being famous is great, but it doesn’t define me as a person.”

With all these compliments, is your wife jealous?
“No! Ninth!”.

Seems very safe.
“I give you no reason to be.”

I guess she isn’t either.
“I? Of course I am”.

But how, does his wife give her reason to be?
‘Well no… but if someone were being inappropriate towards you, well, I wouldn’t be very patient.’

In 1990 he was elected by People as one of the sexiest men.
«Correction: as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. Only in 2009 as one of the 50 sexiest ».

So over time it has become more sexy than beautiful?
“Already. And believe me, I’m happy about it. Since then, when I have a discussion with my wife, I can tell her: “Do I need to remind you that you married one of the most beautiful and sexy men on the planet?” ».

How do you think you would position yourself in such a ranking today?
«Sexier than ever!»: it is still Cindy who makes herself heard. Don smiles.

Before becoming an actor, he worked as a model.
«At 19 I went to Paris for the fashion shows: I was there for four months, then I went to Milan and… I decided to go home».

How come?
“It was a somewhat squalid life. I was staying in a run-down hotel on the boulevard de Clichy, the red-light area. There were other models, we had a shared bathroom. I understood that he was not for me ».

And so what?
«I went home, met a theatrical agent and after a week my phone rang: it was a proposal for my first job as an actor. Even if at first it didn’t interest me all that much».

40 years have passed since then – was he lucky?
“No doubt. There’s a saying: Luck is preparation meeting opportunity. Here, at the time I was prepared just the bare minimum».

How has it improved?
“I got fired from one of my first jobs and realized I had to take it more seriously.”

I watched every single episode of Beautiful from the first day he arrived in Italy, June 4, 1990. But I stopped in 1999. Did I miss something?
He laughs. “Something actually happened. Ever since my character came on the scene he’s had a relationship with Katie, he’s had a son, Liam, and then another, and another… I’ve got loads of kids everywhere!”

In real life, he has six. But maybe I should say seven: when her sister died, she decided to take care of her nephew as well.
“He had a father but – may he rest in peace – he was a person with limits. We could not and did not want not to take that step».

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I guess it wasn’t easy.
“Not at all: a huge but wonderful responsibility. We were talking the other night, my wife and I, about how much our efforts to raise our children have paid off. They’re good guys.”

They are all males: solidarity with his wife.
“I’m the worst of guys, while she’s extraordinary, a real hero. She is a tireless professional, but also an ever-present mother and wife ».

He believes the tycoon Dollar Bill, his character in Beautifulis a symbol of American capitalism?
“Yes, in a sense.”

What do you think of capitalism?
“That has been the driving force behind my country’s success. As with everything, there is good and evil, yin and yang in the capitalist system. But the best things are born thanks to competition. The world is hard, I myself have accepted many challenges to be successful. Dollar Bill is driven by the desire to prove his worth, and what he has is never enough: there is an unfillable hole in him. He is a three-dimensional character, really complicated ».

He loves money a lot, Bill. What is your relationship with money?
«I like it, but above all I need it to take care of the family».

He’s been working in soaps for 40 years. What is the craziest scene you’ve ever shot?
“In The Young and the Restless I was in a cage for six months. My character had been in a relationship with a woman: when he left her, she went crazy and kidnapped him. Crazy, but if you read the newspapers you’ll find even more absurd true stories».

Besides doing it, do you also watch TV?
“Sure, we love Tand Lasso, Shrinking, 1883».

Would you like to work in one of these series?
“Oh yes, Yellowstone!».

Why do you think soap operas are still so popular after 90 years?
“We are in people’s homes every day. Think about it: in soaps the characters grow with the viewers, they become family, a real bond is created. It doesn’t happen for any other kind of entertainment.

I think about it. It’s true, we grow up together: only we get older, while dear Brooke doesn’t change a bit.

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