The Young and the Restless star, Eric Braeden, reveals a pivotal moment in his portrayal of Genoa City’s best bad guy Victor Newman ahead of his 40th anniversary on the number one rated CBS Daytime drama.
Braeden brings The Mustache to life, having portrayed the character for nearly 40 years. During that time, Braeden and Victor have arguably been the face of the whole soap. The actor sat down with CBS Soaps In Depth recently to discuss his time on the show. He revealed his adjustment to daytime wasn’t easy. He did not like it at first and also disagreed with Victor being a one-note bad guy. Because of that, he asked Y&R co-creator Bill Bell to give Victor an exciting backstory.
“He listened when I said, ‘Kindly give Victor a background that I can work with.’ Bill had a rare genius. He somehow knew how to touch certain emotions in actors. He came up with Victor having grown up in an orphanage. It was an eye-opening story,” Braeden said. “I remember the day that Victor told Nikki about his childhood. I keep coming back to that [episode] because that was truly the moment I decided to stay. Now that Victor was a full-fledged character with an extraordinarily interesting past, I have loved playing him ever since. It’s as simple as that.”
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Braeden credited Bell with creating the blueprint that kept him with the character and the show. The actor relished that over the years, he’s been able to portray so many different emotions and situations. One of his least exciting things to portray is Victor’s poor relationships with his children — Victoria (Amelia Heinle), Nick (Joshua Morrow), Adam (Mark Grossman), and Abby (Melissa Ordway). Braeden admitted that his on-screen alter ego is not the same type of father he is in real life. Of course, soaps are daytime drama, so without the dramatic conflicts, the plots and storylines might not hold the viewers’ interest, which is why Victor has had such angst with his family.
As Braeden approaches his four-decade milestone with the CBS Daytime drama, he admitted that he’s grateful to continue working and portraying Victor. Although Victor is retired, he will remain an active part of the storylines on the show. Right now, Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) is planning a big gala to celebrate Newman Enterprises’ 50th anniversary, an event will also mark Braeden’s 40 years on the daytime soap.