William Flynn (born May 29, 1985) is an American actor and producer. He is known for portraying Chad DiMera on the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
soap opera
A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...
''.
Early life
Flynn was born in St. Francis, Minnesota. He graduated from St. Cloud State University in 2007, majoring in finance and minoring in economics. In the same year Flynn did an internship and worked at Accenture as a
financial analyst
A financial analyst is a professional undertaking financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core feature of the job.
Warner Bros. Studios, where he worked for four years.
Career
Flynn is managed by PCM International. He moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
to pursue an acting career. Before making his acting debut, Flynn worked with director Jake Scott in 2013, by appearing in a
Taco Bell
Taco Bell Corp. is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired ...
commercial. In the same year he made his acting debut as Liret in the short movie ''80 in 10''. He did a campaign of "Silk" for photographer Bryony Shearmur.
In February 2014 Flynn had a guest role on the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
television series '' Hawaii Five-0'', in the episode "Hoku Welowelo". Flynn played Nick Spitz, opposite
Melanie Griffith
Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. Born in Manhattan to actress Tippi Hedren, she was raised mainly in Los Angeles, where she graduated from the Hollywood Professional School at age 16. In 1975, 17-year-old ...
. Flynn also co-produced a short movie, ''Solely''. In August of the same year, it was announced he had joined the cast of ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...
'' as a recast of Chad DiMera; he made his first episodic appearance on September 12, 2014. In October 2016 ''
Deadline Hollywood
''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...
'' confirmed that Flynn had booked a role in the thriller movie ''D.O.A. Blood River''.
In March 2025, Flynn announced he would depart ''Days of Our Lives'' and had joined the cast of ''
The Young and the Restless
''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...
''. He made his first episodic debut on June 19, in the role of Aristotle Dumas—the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
of
Cane Ashby
Cane Ashby is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. He is portrayed by Australian actor Daniel Goddard, who had auditioned for Brad Snyder on ''As the World Turns'' but was recommended for a ro ...
. Due to the former's advanced taping schedule, he will continue to be seen as Chad until 2026.
Personal life
Flynn became engaged to Gina Comparetto on May 29, 2015, his 30th birthday. He and Comparetto married on October 1, 2016. Together, they have two children. In a 2021 episode of
Maurice Benard
Maurice Benard (born March 1, 1963) is an American actor. He played Nico Kelly in the ABC daytime soap opera ''All My Children'' from 1987 to 1990 and in 1991 portrayed Desi Arnaz in the biographical television film '' Lucy & Desi: Before the La ...
's program ''State of Mind'', Flynn acknowledged battling substance addiction.