Chandler Massey

Chandler Massey (born September 10, 1990) is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Will Horton on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives.
Massey received the 2012 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first actor ever to receive a Daytime Emmy Award for playing a gay character. He won his second and third consecutive Emmy awards in the category in 2013 and 2014.

Massey was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the son of Lewis A. Massey, former Secretary of State of Georgia, and Amy Reichard Massey. He has two younger siblings, Cameryn and Christian.

He graduated from Norcross High School in May 2009. While there, he was active in its drama club and took part in many of the school productions, including playing the lead roles in Little Shop of Horrors, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

Later that year, he moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and pursue an acting career. While attending UCLA, Massey was on the Ultimate Frisbee team and earned the nickname "Bamm Bamm." He is roommates with his former Days co-star, Casey Deidrick.

Days of Our Lives

In December 2009, after completing his first quarter at UCLA, Massey successfully auditioned for the role of Will Horton on NBC’s daytime drama Days of Our Lives, joining the cast in 2010. He previously auditioned for Will, however Dylan Patton was cast. For his role, in 2012, Massey became the first actor in history to win a Daytime Emmy for portraying a gay character, winning in the Outstanding Younger Actor category. He had been nominated in the same category the previous year. In 2013, Massey won his second consecutive Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actor. In February 2013, Massey's younger brother, Christian, appeared as a young Will Horton on Days of Our Lives in a flashback.

It was revealed in June 2013 that Massey intended to return to school instead of renewing his contract, which was set to expire in December 2013. It had been stated that his character would not be recast, and that the door would be open in case Massey decided to return. Despite the statement, Massey expressed that he would support a recast. On August 23, 2013, it was announced that Massey had taped his final episode that day, and that a recast had already been made. Massey was let out of his contract early, to which he thanked Days and NBC. He continued to appear on the show through December as the show films approximately four months in advance.

On June 22, 2014, Massey won his third consecutive Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series.

Other work

Massey has made guest appearances in several drama series, including One Tree Hill and Army Wives, as well as appearing in the HBO comedy series, Eastbound & Down. In 2010, he starred in his first feature film,16-Love, in which he portrayed Farrell Gambles. Following its release in January 2012, the film topped iTunes' Sports Movies chart for several weeks.

Massey is also a musician, serving as the keyboardist and one of the two clean vocalists in the metal band And Still I Rise.

Chandler Massey has made Daytime Emmys history with three consecutive win in the Younger Actor category. He's only the second actor to win the category three times – following Jonathan Jackson, who won for General Hospital in 1995, 1998, and 1999 – and the first to do so in consecutive years. The only two actresses who have won three awards in a row both did so in the Younger Actress race: Jennifer Finnigan (The Bold and the Beautiful, 2002–2004) and Jennifer Landon (As the World Turns, 2006–2008). Even more impressive, Massey is the first actor from "Days of Our Lives" ever to win three Emmys, consecutive or otherwise.