Eric Braeden has a break in between filming scenes for “The Young and The Restless,” and he’s waiting for me in his dressing room.
It’s the third time we’ve spoken over the last two years and the first time we’ve met in person. As a lifelong fan of the CBS daytime drama, I’m excited to finally come face to face with the man who has played business tycoon Victor Newman for the last 45 years.
On “Y&R,” Braeden’s character is known for his ardent family values and ruthless business moves: a rare combination that sometimes puts him in compromising positions.
In person, Braeden certainly has a commanding presence at just over 6 feet tall, but he also possesses a warm, playful nature that has won the hearts of countless fans and colleagues alike.
Case in point? Braeden greets me at the door of his dressing room by pretending to peek outside the door and hide for a second. Then he gives me a big hug.
After talking about my flight to California, Braeden and I chat for a few moments before diving into the matter at hand: a conversation about his 45th anniversary on “Y&R.”
When I ask how he celebrated such a colossal milestone back in February, the 84-year-old has a simple response.
“I personally don’t celebrate much. You just sit back and you allow yourself to say, ‘Whoa, that’s a long time.’ I’m not someone who rests on laurels. I don’t do that,” he explains. “I’m always future oriented. I’m always (asking), ‘What’s next? Let’s go.'”
It’s a mentality that has served Braeden well throughout his decades-long career in Hollywood and one that helped him cope with the loss of his house amid the California wildfires earlier this year.
“I don’t allow myself to think about that too much because I have known people who then get dragged down by it,” he says.
Braeden and his wife of nearly 60 years, Dale Russell Gudegast, have found a “semi-permanent place” to live as they sort out plans to rebuild their home.
For Braeden, having something to look forward to helps keep him motivated.
“The solution lies in action, in doing,” he says.
Braeden, who was born Hans Jörg Gudegast and grew up in Germany, is certainly a doer. At the age of 18, he moved from Germany to the U.S. and worked a variety of jobs before stumbling into the entertainment industry.
Now, his acting credits run the gamut of film, theater and TV, including roles in “Titanic,” “The Rat Patrol,” “Colossus: The Forbin Project” and countless others.
While building his career, Braeden once visited the set of a soap opera but didn’t give the medium much thought again until he later got the opportunity to take on the role of Victor Newman in 1980.
Ironically, the actor was never supposed to stay at “Y&R” very long. But as he settled into the temporary role, fans grew to love Victor, and Braeden was offered a long-term contract.
The only problem? Braeden wasn’t sold on the character. So he spoke to his wife, who encouraged him to look at the role as a challenge. Then, he sat down with Bill Bell, the co-creator of “Y&R.”
“I said, ‘Bill, I’m tired of playing only bad guys. I’ve done that for so many years, on nighttime television, films.’ I said, ‘Can we attribute a background to this character that explains why he is who he is?’ Because we all are formed by it. And he came up with the storyline where I tell Nikki (Newman) that I grew up in an orphanage. I then knew I would stay,” he recalls.
Braeden’s character has been at the center of a plethora of captivating storylines over the years, but he’s particularly fond of one that featured Dorothy McGuire and George Kennedy playing his on-screen mother and father.
“All of that creates the bedrock for what Victor Newman became, and that was the brilliance of Bill Bell, who came up with that storyline,” Braeden says. “Those are by far, hands down, the most seminal scenes I’ve done in the show explaining who Victor Newman is.”
Victor has had many romantic interests over the course of 45 years, but none compare to his epic love story with Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott).
“The reason Mel and I have been doing it so long is because she gets me. Mel knows how to deal with me. … And I with her,” he says while complimenting his “clever” and talented co-star.
As the head of Newman Enterprises, Victor is known as a master manipulator in the world of business. But in real life, Braeden says he doesn’t possess the same penchant for corporate subterfuge.
“Obviously, I don’t do anything that Victor does. I’m not a business guy,” he says, noting that he does have a few things in common with his character.
For instance, Victor never shies away from a fight, and Braeden shares the same signature tenacity.
“When it comes to confrontation, I don’t back down. I don’t give a f— who it is. I don’t back down. And that has been the case with me since I was a young boy,” he says.
Victor is known for meddling in his family’s affairs, especially their romantic escapades. But Braeden takes a more even-keeled approach.
“I love my family and would never dictate to my family,” he says.
Speaking of family, Braeden lights up when I bring up his son, Christian Gudegast, whom he refers to as his “greatest accomplishment” in his book, “I’ll Be Damned.”
In a way, Gudegast has followed in his father’s footsteps, pursuing a career as a writer and director.
“I always sort of wanted him to become an actor. And only about half a year ago, he told me why he didn’t want it. Because he saw me at certain times in my life very upset about not getting this or that role,” he explains.
Braeden sent his son to acting school to give him a solid foundation as a director and has supported his dreams ever since.
Braeden’s passion for his craft is evident as he recounts his iconic career. Although he had many notable acting credits to his name before joining the cast of “Y&R,” he tells me that the soap opera taught him something invaluable about the significance of an actor’s work.
“One of the most profound meanings is to entertain people. I learned that here in this medium and I’m very grateful,” he says. “I’m very grateful to fans for that reason because they taught me what this is about — entertainment,” he says.
While talking about the volume of work he and his colleagues produce on a weekly basis, the soap opera veteran’s pride is evident.
“I think it’s the toughest medium there is in Hollywood. I’ve done it all,” he says. “For writers, this is the hardest job in all of Hollywood, writing for a soap. As an actor, it is equally much the hardest job there is.”
Braeden goes on to describe just how much work goes into filming a soap opera.
“In film, we do two or three pages a day,” he explains.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Braeden says soap operas typically shoot 100 pages of dialogue a day. As a main star of the show, he’s certainly in demand and has a record of shooting 62 pages of dialogue in one day.
I get to witness Braeden in action filming scenes for an upcoming episode, and it’s easy to see why he’s so respected by his colleagues.
The industry veteran handles his lines with ease and also imbues a sense of fun into his work, chatting animatedly with his co-stars and the crew.
While reading Braeden’s autobiography, I was intrigued by a passage where he discusses a quote from playwright and screenwriter Tennessee Williams, who defined happiness as “insensitivity.”
After losing his father at the age of 12 and navigating poverty at a young age, I’m curious to know if Braeden’s worldview was shaped by these formative experiences and how he himself defines happiness.
“There’s no such thing in and of itself. It’s nonsense. It’s b——-. (Happiness is) in the doing, and it’s in the few moments after the doing that you feel, ‘Well, I accomplished something. Great.’ That’s it. A few minutes afterwards, then you’ve got to plan another thing to do. There’s no permanent happiness state,” he explains.
The answer is consistent with the way Braeden has progressed in his career: constantly on the move, consistently challenging himself.
The actor shows no signs of slowing down, and I can’t help but selfishly wonder if he will ever leave “Y&R” to enjoy a proper retirement. Luckily for me and countless other fans, he has no plans of stepping away from his career anytime soon.
“I love doing what I’m doing. I love doing it. I don’t know why, but I do,” he says.
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