Plus, whether or not he would want to tour with his fictional bandmates.
Warning: This article contains spoilers from the season finale ofDaisy Jones & the Six.
Billy Dunne could just be someone Daisy Jones used to know…. What appealed to you about playing him as this guy who does give into these demons?
Sam Claflin as Billy Dunne.Lacey Terrell/Prime Video
SAM CLAFLIN:I beg to differ.
It’s something I feel like every person has lived with to a degree.
Not to the standard that Billy is dealing with; he’s got an addictive personality.
Sam Claflin as Billy Dunne and Riley Keough as Daisy Jones.Lacey Terrell/Prime Video
It’s very hard to fully relate or empathize with someone on that level.
But we’ve all come up against some difficult challenges with temptations in our lives.
And his creative juices start flowing more and more the closer he gets to Daisy.
Camila Morrone as Camila.Lacey Terrell/Prime Video
It’s a very difficult balancing act.
But it is suggested that potentially he has fallen off the wagon at least once since.
It is a problem every day.
The cast of ‘Daisy Jones and The Six’.Lacey Terrell/Prime Video
It is a battle.
Especially in that era when the understanding of addiction was less accepted and talked about.
It felt fair to him.
He needed a reminder to say, “That’s not what I want.”
Why do you think he admits to Camila that he kissed Daisy?
Does he think it will help things?
Something she makes very clear in her own actions is that it’s not about what happens necessarily.
It’s about whether or not he loves her.
Him saying, “I kissed her and then I realized that was bad, so I stopped.
I never went any further than that.”
He feels like he’s doing the right thing.
He’s being noble in confessing that that’s all that happened.
I chose you."
The issue obviously is that he is in love with her as well.
And that is a bigger problem for Camila.
Because if you do, that’s when this ends."
And I think that, to him, is bigger than a kiss.
He has this big confrontation with Eddie.
Do you think his assumption is that something happened with Camila?
Or what is the motivating factor for punching him in the face?
Billy is at the end of his tether that day.
It’s a pretty bad day.
Billy’s in a place where he’s ready to listen, strangely, for the first time.
That pushes him over the edge.
But she plants the seed earlier, saying, “We’ve both done things.”
So for Eddie to say, “Use your imagination” your imagination always goes to the worst place.
He does jump to conclusions.
And do you think he ever does?
Because clearly Eddie doesn’t think he does.
Billy goes to therapy, but he never reaches out to Eddie.
No, and I have a feeling it has something to do with Camila as well.
But Camila’s behavior to Eddie after that moment, just shutting him down, the bond was broken.
And Billy believes that Eddie overstepped because they are meant to be brothers.
“I’ve known him like my whole life.”
There’s that element of it.
Billy has his own set of rules.
He’s bit of a hypocrite in so many ways.
There’s too much water under the bridge.
He believes at that point he’s lost Camila.
For him, it’s all about Daisy.
It’s like, “Well now I can be with her.
Now that’s my option.”
He’s ready almost to give up on Camila and his family and be with Daisy.
And that’s what he believes Daisy wants him to be.
Because Daisy’s always saying, “Be true to who you are.
You are trying to write songs about the person you wish you were and not who you are.”
For him, it’s his reality check ofThis is who I am.
Why shouldn’t I give in?
Why should I keep saying no to this?
That’s the thing that drives him in that moment.
There’s this incredible chemistry between him and Daisy and you and Riley as performers.
What was it like filming this sensual version where he is all over her?
The two of us were trying not to giggle.
She helps work on stage blocking, if you will.
So, in a sense, choreography.
We had a lot of fun with it.
Because I was drunk, I was a little more all over the place.
That’s the whole point.
Everyone’s a bit like, “What’s happening?
Why is he suddenly so all over the place?”
Whereas he’s very reserved normally and he is very together.
It was the dad in me.
I can run on very little energy.
I’d have a coffee at like 2:00 a.m. and by three I was rearing to go.
Who knows whether it would work if they were both dry?
We see Billy when he’s at his worst in episode 2.
The behavior of him at that that time was not great.
Where does he draw the line?
The alcohol and the drugs is something that covers up those bad feelings and hides or numbs the pain.
It’s not like therapy where he continues week by week.
He did the work, fine, but then 10 years pass and so much happens in that time.
Besides Daisy’s permission, what makes him go after Camila?
Is it singing “Aurora” and remembering why he wrote it?
Is there some sense of obligation?
And how does he not understand that Camila does see all of him?
I’ve thought about this moment a lot, and it really resonated with me personally.
There’s no way anyone can really know everything about you.
As much as they have seen you, you do only let people in to certain parts of you.
Even if you’re acting in a specific way, you might be feeling something different.
So many parts of Billy have evolved.
We are constantly growing, right?And we’re constantly changing and evolving.
That’s the truth.
As you said, when he is on stage, he puts up a wall a bit.
That is true of his life, always.
Whereas Daisy penetrates that wall only because she is almost identical.
So, that’s where he’s coming from.
I definitely believe that Cami knows him better overall.
I don’t think Cami is an obligation.
I think she’s his safety.
She’s his safety and his home.
She’s the person who makes him a better person.
Daisy makes him a better musician and artist.
But Cami gives him the safety that he never had from his upbringing.
She gives him that reassurance and that love in a different way.
She does give him this permission in the final moments to go look Daisy up.
What do you imagine their future is?
Making more music together, falling back in love?
It’s hard to say.
I’ve definitely had my ideas.
And then I obviously played in my head what I think is going to happen.
I’ve talked to [author] Taylor Jenkins Reid about what I thought happens.
Maybe the drugs [were] the fuel.
Would you want to and be able toperform as Billy and the Six live again?
The internet really wants to see you guys onSNLor touring.
I would happily do that.
We’ve all been discussing it because it’s something that we would all love to do.
There are still some unanswered questions.
Taylor Jenkins Reid said recently, “Thank you so much for playing Billy.
Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”
I was like, “Right, season 2, write another book.”
That’s the hope.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
