Post by jag11 on Sept 28, 2008 19:33:51 GMT -5
September 30, 2008 Soap Opera Digest
Last week, former AMC bad boy Billy Miller, who played the dastardly Richie, debuted on Y&R, and the actor warns fans to get ready for a whole new Billy Abbott.
"This character has been away for a while and he's coming back with a little bit of an edge," Miller explains. "He's more of a man now than boy, and it's the classic story of the prodigal son trying to find his place in the family. I loved playing Richie Novak; he was a lot of fun, but he was difficult to fit into a storyline. There are more layers with Billy, which makes it a challenge. I'm hoping to do a good job."
Despite Richie being killed off of AMC (then hanging around as a ghost), Miller didn't have any qualms about jumping to another soap. "After I had the meeting at AMC, where they said, 'You're out,' my manager found something was out there for Y&R," Miller recalls. "So I put myself on tape while I was on lunch break on AMC and sent it in to Y&R. I flew in to L.A., did the test and had to fly back so I could work on AMC the next day. I had a lot of fun with the audition and I booked it two hours after the test."
Miller is grateful to a certain Y&R star who participated in his audition. "I definitely owe Peter Bergman [Jack] because he helped me quite a bit with my test," smiles Miller. "After our scene, he told everyone in the room, 'I like this guy.' And I said, 'I definitely like you.' After I got the part, I was still working on AMC for a while and Peter called a couple of times to make sure I was okay. He told me, 'It's going to be great.' And he's right, everybody here has taken good care of me. I've already had scenes with Peter, Eileen Davidson [Ashley], Jess Walton [Jill] and Jeanne Cooper [Katherine] and I'm like, 'My education is starting now.' I'm working with the heavies."
Miller has signed a three-year contract. "I just want to get in the groove," he notes. "There's a heavy responsibility since they've been trying to cast this character for a long time and there was a great actor, David Tom, who had the role before. There's a lot to live up to."
Billy Miller On Y&R Role
Last week, former AMC bad boy Billy Miller, who played the dastardly Richie, debuted on Y&R, and the actor warns fans to get ready for a whole new Billy Abbott.
"This character has been away for a while and he's coming back with a little bit of an edge," Miller explains. "He's more of a man now than boy, and it's the classic story of the prodigal son trying to find his place in the family. I loved playing Richie Novak; he was a lot of fun, but he was difficult to fit into a storyline. There are more layers with Billy, which makes it a challenge. I'm hoping to do a good job."
Despite Richie being killed off of AMC (then hanging around as a ghost), Miller didn't have any qualms about jumping to another soap. "After I had the meeting at AMC, where they said, 'You're out,' my manager found something was out there for Y&R," Miller recalls. "So I put myself on tape while I was on lunch break on AMC and sent it in to Y&R. I flew in to L.A., did the test and had to fly back so I could work on AMC the next day. I had a lot of fun with the audition and I booked it two hours after the test."
Miller is grateful to a certain Y&R star who participated in his audition. "I definitely owe Peter Bergman [Jack] because he helped me quite a bit with my test," smiles Miller. "After our scene, he told everyone in the room, 'I like this guy.' And I said, 'I definitely like you.' After I got the part, I was still working on AMC for a while and Peter called a couple of times to make sure I was okay. He told me, 'It's going to be great.' And he's right, everybody here has taken good care of me. I've already had scenes with Peter, Eileen Davidson [Ashley], Jess Walton [Jill] and Jeanne Cooper [Katherine] and I'm like, 'My education is starting now.' I'm working with the heavies."
Miller has signed a three-year contract. "I just want to get in the groove," he notes. "There's a heavy responsibility since they've been trying to cast this character for a long time and there was a great actor, David Tom, who had the role before. There's a lot to live up to."