No one can ever accuse Dr. Olivia Winters of being a slacker. After all, the savvy M.D. has been the go-to person for every major Genoa City health crisis — from Raul’s diabetes scare to the injuries Ashley sustained after her car crash. Yet for all that, Tonya Lee Williams could still put her alter ego to shame when it comes to squeezing every moment out of her day.
Indeed, when the actress isn’t working on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS, she’s often jetting off to her native Canada to run her own production company and PR/entertainment firm, which includes creating and producing the Reelworld Film Festival in Toronto. And if that wasn’t enough, she recently added to her juggling act by agreeing to host a one-hour variety show, GOSPEL JUBILEE, which airs this February, as well as directing the documentary The Kamil Azan Story.
While such a hectic schedule would leave anyone a little breathless, Williams says she has never been more energized by her ventures and remains passionately committed to all her projects. "I’m getting used to spending most of my time in the air, flying back and forth between here [the Y&R studio in Los Angeles] and Toronto," she chuckles. "Aside from airport security, I love it!"
Taking Care Of Business
When people in showbiz moonlight, they often move into the more artistic areas like writing, singing or directing. Yet Williams insists the business side of the industry can be creative, too.
"It all ties in. My company in Canada is about creating a stronger entertainment industry in Canada," she shares. "Whether it’s the [film] festival or the PR company, whether it’s my production company that’s trying to produce the kind of projects I want to see… People are always asking, ‘How can you do all these different things?’ But I don’t see them as different. They’re still my one passion — they’re just extensions."
A Creative Equation
In fact, Williams maintains that being creative really is all a matter of one’s outlook on life. "I think Einstein was one of the greatest artists ever. You may not think of him in that light, but the way he looked at numbers, the universe… it was like a dance. It was a very artistic way he saw life," she maintains. "There are many actors who aren’t artists, and many painters who aren’t artists, and yet there are mathematicians who are artists.
"For me, all my businesses are about the creative side," Williams continues. "I don’t attack them in a way that, ‘Oh, this is a money-making business.’ I have friends that way, and I admire them. They’re like, ‘Here’s the business plan, and we’re going to make this much money, we’re going to do this…’"
Williams says that sort of bottom-line way of thinking is definitely not how she views business — or herself when she’s wearing her business hat. "I’m like, ‘If it has anything to do with the arts, let’s do it,’" she says. "It’s about giving people — actors, directors, casting agents — the opportunity to succeed creatively."
Tonya Lee Williams
