Derek Yates talks about ‘Days of Our Lives’ on Peacock

Derek Yates. Photo Courtesy of Derek Yates.

Actor Derek Yates chatted about being a part of the soap opera “Days of Our Lives” on Peacock, where he plays Kerry.

‘Days of Our Lives’

On being a part of the Peacock daytime drama “Days of Our Lives,” Yates said, “It was great! Everyone was always so generous and all about trying to put out a really good product. All of the actors offered to run lines with me, and that was great.”

Working with Greg Rikaart

“Working with Greg Rikaart was great,” Yates exclaimed. “Greg was my first experience on that set when I filmed the first two episodes that I did. Greg took me under his wing, and he was generous enough to run lines with me. Greg was always there for me, we went to lunch, and he was very sweet.”

“Right now, I have two episodes that are already out at the moment, for my re-introduction,” he noted.

“My character is with Javi (played by Al Calderon), who is Leo’s ex boyfriend,” Yates said. “Our characters are now dating, so that will be a fun little love triangle. We will see where the story takes us.”

“Then, I have a few more episodes coming,” he teased.

The digital age

On being a part of the digital age, Yates said, “The digital age is a whole other beast. Streaming takes away opportunities for as many residuals as you can get as an actor, so that’s one downfall because they do less episodes and you also make less money.”

“The digital age has its pros and cons to it for sure, so we will see where things go moving forward with the current state of the industry changing and evolving… and the next steps with AI,” he elaborated.

“It is going to be a mess for a little bit longer and then, hopefully, it will even itself out,” he added.

Advice for young and emerging actors

For young and aspiring actors, Yates said, “Obviously, you have to start, and you definitely have to work at it. In this day and age, with everything going digital, it is so different now.”

“Being an actor is so weird now because a social influencer can be randomly discovered and all of a sudden, they may be asked if they want to act, and they can become an actor even though he or she may have never acted in their lives previously vs. the people that went to acting school for it,” he elaborated.

“If you are just starting out, making sure you have a killer headshot, and do as many independent and student projects as you possibly can to build your resume and to get footage. If you are good enough to make your own content, go that route as well,” he explained.

“Get into acting classes or get with an acting coach you feel confident with that can actually take you to the next level of your work, and most importantly, don’t give up because it takes a while, sometimes, to get things going,” he added.

‘How I Met Your Father’

On being a part of “How I Met Your Father,” Yates said, “It was fun! I got to be on set with Hilary Duff and Francia Raisa for that one scene, and that was my first time on a set with a modesty pouch.”

“My character walks out naked in front of Hilary and Francia’s character and they put an emoji over my face and my private areas. The joke of it was that Hilary’s character remembers my abs but does not remember me for some reason, and that’s the joke in the story,” he elaborated.

“It was fun because it was my first time on a sitcom set and it was interesting to watch the process of it being made. It was interesting to see how that worked from the inside. It was a good time, and I learned a lot,” he recalled.

Stage of his life

On the title of the current chapter of his life, Yates said, “My expansion era.”

“I am writing so I am expanding in my creativity area of entertainment, and I am trying to expand in fitness and other areas, so I am leveling up,” he said.

Superpower of choice

If he were to have any superpowers, it would be “telepathy” or “telekinetic powers.”

Career-defining moment

Ironically enough, he listed the “pandemic” as a career-defining moment since it gave him “a chance to stop and rest.”

“Oddly enough, my acting career took off during the pandemic,” Yates said. “I feel that was my turning point.”

Success

Regarding his definition of the word success, Yates said, “I’ve always wanted to have other things going on outside of acting, but success, for me, means being a fulltime actor without having to need anything else or focus on anything else.”

Message for the fans

For his fans and supporters, Yates concluded, “A really big ‘thank you’ to the ‘Days of Our Lives’ fans because even though I haven’t had that many episodes, so far, they ‘ve been enjoying my character.”

To learn more about Derek Yates, follow him on Instagram, and check out his IMDb page.