The star talks Johnny and Chanel being ‘endgame,’ daddy drama and the Day Players
With Days of Our Lives set to finally reveal who really shot EJ DiMera this week, soap opera hunk Carson Boatman sits down with Woman’s World to talk about Johnny DiMera’s drama, making love (stories) with leading lady Raven Bowens and going on the road with his Day Players Band mates Wally Kurth, Brandon Barash and Daytime Emmy nominee Eric Martsolf.
The actor, musician and new(ish) dad also gets candid about how he blurs the line between work and play.
Plus, after that disastrous Days of Our Lives trial—not to mention Johnny learning he’s a product of EJ raping Sami—will this father and son be able to repair their relationship?
‘Days’ Carson Boatman on Johnny’s drama: ‘Dude, I love the work!’
It’s been a rough run of it for Days of Our Lives Johnny, who went from reeling over his own horrific origin story to being put on trial for shooting his father—and Carson Boatman wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It was a lot of work, but dude, I love the work,” he cheers. “I love when you have heavy weeks of a bunch of episodes, because it’s fun to come in and challenge yourself and see everybody. I love everybody here. I’m just so thankful.”
While a storyline involving rape is never “fun,” Boatman was even thrilled to throw himself into that big reveal.
“EJ often ruins things, and then it’s bad and bitter for months,” Boatman says. “But I would say this go round is the most shocking thing that Johnny’s found out about his father—and as an actor, you want to get your hands on something like that, and really go there. You want to see how much you can push it, feel those emotions, and try to create beautiful scenes.”
Can Johnny and EJ get past their latest round of father/son drama?
As if that reveal wasn’t toxic enough, EJ then stepped up to defend Johnny—and having bungled his efforts to clear his son’s name at every turn, he now has Chanel on the stand.
“EJ basically set up Johnny’s wife to take the fall for attempted murder,” Boatman marvels. “That’s a pretty crazy limb to go out on, right?”
As hard as it is to imagine Johnny getting over all this, EJ still has one big card in his pocket.
“No matter how tumultuous the relationship may be, there’s something about a father and a son,” Boatman maintains. “Deep down, you always want that relationship and connection—even if you hate him and can’t forgive him for all the despicable things he’s done.”
Boatman says Johnny and Chanel ‘feel like endgame’
For all the drama he’s gotten into since joining Days of Our Lives four years ago, Boatman reveals the person he’s always happiest to see in his scripts is his leading lady, who plays Chanel.
“I still get excited about seeing Raven,” he says of Bowens. “We have a lot of fun together, and a very high level of respect and comfortability with each other. We also bicker like husband and wife.
“I’m so happy that Johnny and Chanel translate so well to audiences,” he adds. “It feels like they’re endgame to me… but that can change in about 15 seconds! All it takes is one script.”
In case you’re wondering, his real wife, Julana Dizon, is not just okay with that—she’s Team Johnny and Chanel.
“Raven often hangs out my wife and Lindsay Arnold—who played Allie and is Raven’s roommate,” Boatman shares. “They’re in a book club, and Raven’s literally babysat my daughter. It’s all good.”
The girl dad reveals why he was late to work: Play-Doh!
On Days of Our Lives, Johnny and Chanel have hit several roadblocks on the way to parenthood and they may have more in store, but Boatman welcomed his daughter, Ava Rey, in December 2023.
“The fear is crazy,” he says. “It’s like my heart’s walking around out in the world.”
The diligent actor confesses that his daughter is also challenging his morning routine.
“I was 12 minutes late to work today because I just couldn’t leave,” he admits. “I had a later call time, like 8:30, so I got to have some breakfast and hang out. We were playing with Play-Doh and it’s just the hardest thing ever when she’s like, ‘Daddy, play! Daddy, play!’”
He adds that Ava might just be the perfect blend of her parents.
“My wife is a very mild-mannered, very relaxed, very patient, very observant, intelligent human being,” he sets up. “And I’m kind of the opposite. I sort of fly by the seat of my pants and I’m always having fun. Even sitting here, doing this interview, I’m having fun, because I feel like I’m always playing.
“We always joke that if we could each just get a little bit of the other, it’d be great. Well, Ava has that—seemingly, anyway!”
Boatman dishes on his bandmates
When Carson’s not playing Dad or getting into Johnny’s drama, he’s making music with the Day Players Band—which includes him, Wally Kurth, Brandon Barash, and Eric Martsolf. The guys have been touring together for about three years and are currently plotting their winter dates.
“I love those guys,” Boatman raves. “We don’t separate our relationships between work, the Day Players, and socialization. We’re just buddies, you know? We hang out in all sorts of capacities, but I cannot stress enough how much fun we have on the road when we’re together.”
Sometimes, however, their camaraderie can make their day job a bit harder.
“When we have those soap stare downs at the end of the scene—you know, where you’re John Black’ing it as hard as you can— it’s everything I can do not to crack up laughing,” he admits. “Particularly with Eric, because we’re both pretty goofy guys. I was working with him a couple days ago and looking into his eyes… it was tough!”
Boatman teases, ‘Johnny gets thrown right into another scandal’
Once Johnny’s officially cleared of shooting EJ on Days of Our Lives this week, viewers will see him jump right into the action in Salem.
“Though he’s been anxious and worried about whether he’s going to go to prison or not, he’s known he’s innocent the entire time,” Boatman reminds. “He’s had plenty of time to wrap his head around the situation and he’s ready to get back to normal life.”
As for whether Johnny will actually get to catch his breath after all this madness, Boatman reminds Woman’s World that Days of Our Lives is all about the drama.
“Johnny gets thrown right into another scandal,” he promises. “How’s it going to be any fun to watch if characters are having nice lives? You need scandal!”
