Last year was a turbulent one for The Bold and the Beautiful's Paris Buckingham, who walked away from the perfectly suitable match of Zende (Delon de Metz) to be with Carter (Lawrence Saint-Victor), only to later be left at the altar when Carter decided he'd rather be with newly freed from her marriage Quinn (Rena Sofer)!
Paris' life has been pretty quiet since that roller-coaster storyline, leaving a lot of fans hungry for the next chapter in the character's life. But what exactly do the writers have in store for the character now that we're firmly into 2023? Soap Central caught up with Diamond White to find out, and she teased that it's quite possible that Paris will shed her sweet side and follow a bit more in the steps of her parents...
Meanwhile, White was also super excited to talk about her new project, Disney and Marvel's animated series, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, based on the 2015 comic book of the same name. White voices the title character, Moon Girl (a.k.a. Lunella Lafayette), who is Marvel's first Black teen superhero and whose superpower is super intelligence. The series, executive produced by Hollywood legend Laurence Fishburne, premieres on Disney Channel on Friday, February 10, and on Disney+ on Wednesday, February 15. Check out the trailer below and keep reading for our fun interview with Diamond White.
Soap Central: Diamond, you must be so excited about Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: it's Disney, it's Marvel, it's with Laurence Fishburne. I mean, what a dream!
Diamond White: I'm very excited, you have no idea.
Soap Central: How do you feel about the final product?
White: I feel incredible about it, and I'm so happy that the show is finally coming out. A lot of people don't know this, but from the audition process to now has been a long time, so finally getting to see it come to life and seeing it at all these places like D23 [The Official Disney Fan Club] and VidCon has been literally insane, and I still can't believe I'm voicing this iconic character.
Soap Central: What made you decide to get involved with this project?
White: When I found out it was going to be Marvel's first African American teenage superhero, I thought, "This is going to be important. This shows representation." And, of course, I want to be a part of a product like this because growing up, I wanted to see someone that looked like me. Even though she's animated, she's a dark-skinned girl and she has poofy hair, and that was me growing up, and I didn't get to see that a lot, so that's what really drew me in and connected me to the character.
Soap Central: How do you think it would have affected your life had a show like this existed when you were a kid?
White: I would have loved school way more, and I would have loved being the smartest Black kid in my school! I would have loved quantum physics, you know? [Laughs] It definitely would have made a difference in me. But now that I get to do it myself, I am so excited to see all of the little Black girls today go, "Yay, let me go to school and get smart and learn about quantum physics!" That's what I'm excited for.
Soap Central: It's definitely inspiring, and I think it's interesting that Moon Girl's superpower is intelligence, which is very different. What do you think about that?
White: It's a realistic superpower. Her superpower is her brain -- she's one of the smartest superheroes in the Marvel universe, and at the same time, she's a little African American girl. I think that's so incredible and so beautiful.
Soap Central: What superpower would you want to have if you could have one?
White: I would time travel! I want to go to when I'm about 65 years old, and I'll hopefully be somewhere great like London or Tokyo, traveling the world. I think it would be fun to see myself at 65, where I can just relax in life and not deal with the struggles of being a 20-year-old! [Laughs]
Soap Central: Is there a superpower that you'd give your B&B character, Paris, if you could bestow a superpower to her?
White: I would make her invisible because she loves to get into everybody's business. And if she was just in the room invisibly watching, that would be way easier than her standing outside the door and going, "Ooohhh, sorry, did I interrupt?! Oh, my God, I didn't mean to interrupt!" [Laughs]
Soap Central: Have you felt like you've used any of your voice talents on B&B? I know that Paris is a regular person and not an animation, but have you been asked to stretch things with your voice talents that you can think of?
White: There were a couple of episodes where they asked me to sing, and they asked me to sing one of my original songs called "Pretty Brown Skin." So, that was fun. But they have me dibbling and dabbling in all kinds of stuff. I'm not sure what they have lined up for Paris, but there's always something going on, which is usually the case with shows like that. They even had me at the Dodgers game! I sang at a Dodgers game, and they put it on the show, and that was a stretch for me. I was so nervous! [Laughs]
Soap Central: You're right in that you've done a lot of fun stuff on B&B, but is there a soap opera storyline that you haven't played yet that you'd love to?
White: I would love for Paris to end up being evil. We all know the story with Wayne Brady, who plays my dad -- Reese stole a baby and is in prison. And we all know the story with Cassandra Creech, who plays my mom -- Grace is a little off her rocker, off the hinges. So, I'd love for there to be a moment where Paris turns against her good-loving and kind nature. Maybe Sheila [Kimberlin Brown] gets in her ear, and they have a whole thing. I just like the idea of Paris being a little bit evil, of her diving into that, because you never fall too far from the tree! [Laughs]
Soap Central: Are you able to give a tease as to what might actually be ahead for Paris this year on B&B? She's sort of been between storylines lately...
White: She's at a crossroads right now, as you said, but I think she's super set on being the loving, listening person that's always there for anyone with problems or anyone who needs an ear. But like I said, I'd be excited if she took a turn for the worse.
Soap Central: How would you feel if they re-explored the Paris/Zende relationship? He's obviously not her first choice, but he's always there for her.
White: He is always there for her, and I feel so bad for poor Zende! He's just there being all puppy-like, like, "I love you, I love you, I love you." And she's like, "Well... I don't know..." [Laughs] But it would be fun to go back to that. Me and Delon are friends in real life, and we always have a good time on set together.
Soap Central: Have any of your B&B co-stars shown any support for Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur?
White: Yeah, Lawrence Saint-Victor [Carter Walton]. He is super into superheroes and Marvel, and every time I come on set, he's like, "When is the show coming out? What are you doing?" Because he has a son, and I know him and his son are going to be watching every time the show has a new episode, and I'm super excited for him and his kid to see it.
Soap Central: And how cool would it be if his son falls in love with the show? Then, you can do the voice for him, which would be pretty fun.
White: Yeah. I could go to birthday parties dressed up as Moon Girl! [Laughs] That would be fun.
Soap Central: How did you originally get into voice acting? I know you're a singer, and you've been acting for quite some time, so what was your journey into voice acting?
White: Basically I was about ten or twelve, and my first role ever was on Phineas and Ferb. I played one of the Fireside Girls, and I walked into the booth, and I was just like, "Aaaaagggghhhh!" Just screaming and going crazy and wild, and I was like, "Wow, I really like this! I don't have to get ready, I don't have to look cute, I can wear pajamas, and I can just go into a booth and yell for a couple of hours?! And it's fun?!" So, I got into it just by going on a bunch of auditions -- thanks Melissa Berger, who is my agent over at CESD. She sends me out on all these things, and I go and have fun. Fred [Tatasciore], who plays Devil Dinosaur, he played the Hulk. He literally has spent his life sitting in a booth screaming, and what a life, right?! I love that.
Soap Central: You've had a varied career in your life, with singing and acting and voice work. What made you decide to take on a soap opera?
White: This show actually kind of saved my life because most shows weren't shooting during the pandemic, but [The Bold and the Beautiful was]. If I don't have something to do, I kind of just go crazy, and having a two-year break with nothing to do, I don't even know what I would have done. So, the show saved my life, in a sense. I needed something to do, and I saw that they were going to be shooting during the pandemic, and I was like, "Please sign me up, please sign up!" And I booked it and was like, "Yes!" Plus, I grew up with soaps in my house. I grew up watching The Young and the Restless, so I was like, "Of course, I will do a soap. I love this."
Soap Central: Then you must get excited when B&B and Y&R do crossovers. Have you ever 'fangirled' for any of the soap actors?
White: [Laughs] No, because I don't really fangirl. I'm kind of shy, so I will just look at them from afar and go, "Oh, that's that guy!" And then I'll call my mom and tell her who I saw, because she's the fangirl! I'm just the observer.
Soap Cenatral: Then your mom must be freaking out that you get to work on a project with Laurence Fishburne, who is a Hollywood legend!
White: I know! Laurence Fishburne is the executive producer of the show, and he voices the Beyonder.
Soap Central: Have you been able to meet him?
White: I have! I thought he was going to be this very stern man, and I was really nervous, but he is actually so goofy! And I love that about him. You can really tell that he took so much time perfecting the voice of the Beyonder, and watching him do it and hearing the voice is so incredible. I'm so excited for people to see this show.
Soap Central: I read that he goes to comic book stores all the time, and he came across this comic book of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and saw the potential of making it into something current day. Is that true?
White: I think it is true, yeah. He's a big comic book fan, and actually, we were talking about it, because someone asked him, "Do you go to Comic Con? Do you walk around and see all the things?" And he's like, "I'm Laurence Fishburne! I obviously just can't walk around Comic Con." But when we were at Comic Con this year, he had his daughter go and get him all of the comic books and all of the things that he wanted. So, he's still a very big nerd of all the comic books and Marvel universes and worlds and stuff. He just physically can't go out without a disguise, so he has people go out and grab all of his goodies for him.
Soap Central: It's great that he loves the comic book world, because you know that the show is in good hands. And you can tell when you look at it!
White: It's a very colorful Andy Warhol-esque world, and then you put that along with the music made by Raphael Saadiq, and executive produced by him, it's like, come on now! We've got some big hitters.
Soap Central: Is there anything else you'd like to add before I have to let you go?
White: I am just super stunned about how diverse the cast is, and it's meant for teens and tweens and families; there's something in it for everyone, and I'm super excited for people to see it when it finally comes out on February 10.
Soap Central: Do you really think that adults will enjoy the series, as well?
White: Oh, yeah! I tested it out with my mom, and she will tell me in a heartbeat, "Diamond, I'm bored. I don't want to watch this." But she actually sat and had popcorn and was laughing at all the things I was laughing at, and she was very much amazed at the animation. So, if it passed the mom test, it can pass anyone's test! [Laughs]
Soap Central: Would your mom really tell you that something is boring even if you're in it?
White: Oh, yeah! She's a very honest mom, and that's why I always mind my P's and Q's! [Laughs]
What do you think about our interview with Diamond White? What are your thoughts on her new animated series, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur? What would you like to see for B&B's Paris this year? Would you be a fan of a Paris and Zende reunion, or would you like to see something new for the character? How would you feel if Paris showed a dark side? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
