Soap Opera Magazine Michael J. Maloney

Genoa City private eye Paul Williams has been through the emotional wringer over the past year. He delt with his wife still having feelings for her ex-husband, waited for her to decide which man she wanted and, most recently was stunned beyond words todiscover that his presumed dead dad, Carl, was alive. It turns out that William's dad is an amnesiac named Jim, who had begun a new life.

Through it all, Doug Davidson, in his portrayal of Paul, has displayed great emotion and even shed a tear or three on occasion. He has also displayed time and time again an understanding of Y&R's style of successful storytelling. For his role as a suspicious husband, a torn son and a man who openly shares emotion, Soap Opera Magazine bestows on Davidson its Star of the Week honors.

Perhaps Davidson's most powerful moment was Paul's reaction to seeing his dad, alive and well, in Norfolk, Va. This climax was heightened by the fact that Paul had been worried that his wife, Chris, was being unfaithful, when she was actually searching for his father. Paul's utter shock was all the more potent given that he was coming from a place of jealousy.

Interestingly, the notion of Chris being with Danny was the most challenging theory for Davidson to wrap his head around. Understandable, since Chris passed on reuniting with Danny, "Of all the things that Paul would have suspected, I don't know that would have been one of them," offers Davidson. "But the writers gave me a reason to follow Chris, which was very good. And I've got all the tools to trail her."

What also helped impact the magnitude of Paul seeing his presumed dead pappy was Davidson's conscious effort to not socialize with his friend Brett Hadley, who plays the Williams patriarch. "I'd talk to Brett, of course, but I'd keep some distance," notes Davidson. "I knew it would enhance Paul's response."

Paul's reaction contained a myriad of emotions including disbelief and a bit of frustration that his wife had kept her mission a secret. He also wept. "I hope that the events that make (Paul cry) are significant," reflects Davidson. "MOst men don't (cry), but maybe that's because of the situation. I think Paul has been in a lot of significant ones over the years. Our show is based on human feelings. It's about the most fundamental of relationships, involving families."

Davidson is happy that the show has chosen to address his TV dad's whereabouts. "Everywhere I go (people would ask) "where's Carl?,'" says the actor, who kept a quiet faith that the question would be answered. "I assume that the characters have a life offscreen. Just because you don't see them, it doesn't mean that they're not around." Paul's dad is a perfect example. Davidson smiles, "We didn't talk about Carl being gone until he was coming back.