Cane Ashby recently made his big return to The Young and the Restless. However, the character isn’t quite the way fans previously remembered him, since he has been recast with a new actor. Since then, fans have been weighing in on seeing a whole new Cane.
A Mysterious Figure Was Recently Unmasked As Cane Ashby On The Young and the Restless
Cane Ashby was originally introduced on The Young and the Restless back in 2007. At the time, he was cast by actor Daniel Goddard. Reportedly, the character was even rewritten at the time to reflect his actor’s Australian background.
Goddard left the soap around 2019. However, the character would return to the soap in 2025, when he was revealed to be the alter-ego of the mysterious Aristotle Dumas. Adding to the twist, Cane had been recast with a new actor: Billy Flynn of Days of Our Lives fame.
With the recent recast, fans have been wondering what this means for the character. In particular, some fans are wondering just how, or even if, the soap plans on to explain Cane’s change in appearance or accent.
As previously reported, there had been some speculation earlier this year that Goddard would return to the soap as Cane. In 2025, fans saw him join the cast of General Hospital as the recurring Henry Dalton.
Fans Are Wondering How Cane Got Younger (& Lost His Accent)
One issue fans have noticed that Cane suddenly appears noticeably younger since his return to the soap. After all, Goddard was born in 1971, while Flynn was born in 1985.
As one fan wrote on social media, “This is the most egregious case of de-aging a character I’ve ever seen in my life.” They continued, “Cane is SUPPOSED to be Christine and Nina’s age as he was pretending to be the real Phillip Chancellor III when he first came to town. Phillip, Nina and Christine were teenagers in the 80s, they’re all damn near 60.”
“Now Daniel Goddard was already a case of shaving a few years off of the character’s supposed age if he was meant to be a contemporary of Phillip’s but not 20 YEARS. Billy Flynn is only 40! This is so stupid. Why couldn’t he be a brand-new character?”
Quite A Few Fans Liked Billy Flynn, But Felt He Should Have Played Another Character
Even fans who liked Flynn felt it wasn’t a good idea to cast him as Cane, as the storyline might not make sense. As one fan wrote, “Billy Flynn deserves better.” As they explained, however, “I was very disappointed to find out Billy Flynn is playing Cane. How am I supposed to believe Cane became an elusive billionaire in the span of 6 years, and Lilly and his kids knew nothing about it?!”
“This storyline is ridiculous. And now Cane will be obsessed with getting Lily back, and is no longer an eligible bachelor for any of the other women. I am SO pissed.”
Others weighed in on the issue. Some fans felt that age is often relative in the world of soaps and it’s better to have some suspension of disbelief.
Others touched on other issues, like Cane’s accent. There were also fans who liked Flynn, but felt he should be a different character. Some comments included:
- “This reveal has gone over like a lead balloon. At least I won’t have to hear the name Aristotle Dumaaaa anymore.”
- “Daniel Goddard deserves better, too. I’m not sure this recast will ever work. Y&R should have done everything possible to get Daniel Goddard back.”
- “Yeah, it’s not remotely believable that Billy Flynn is Cane. He should have been a new character.”
- “I could have got down with that as well. Tucker having a long lost son would have been more realistic than de-aging and de-accenting Cane.”
What do you think of Billy Flynn as Cane on The Young and the Restless? Make sure you come back to TV Shows Ace for all the latest TV and celebrity news.
John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.