Post by jag11 on Mar 12, 2008 20:40:49 GMT -5
April 2008 CBS Watch
The man, the myth, and the mustache... a revealing portrait of Y&R's Eric Braeden
Having just turned a hard-to-believe 66, he isn't what one would call young. But actor Eric Braeden surely has the restless thing down pat. "I'm never one to rest on my laurels," he says. "I've never been happy just sitting still."
No kidding. During a rare interview in the inner sanctum that is his sparse Y&R dressing room, Eric Braeden has one eye on the TV flashing the day's stock prices while fielding a series of calls from the casting director of a movie he is starring in and executive producing. All the while, Braeden is also making notes on his Y&R script.
And, still, despite the noise, the distractions and the hundred different things going through his mind, the daytime Emmy-winning Braeden is somehow able to focus. He's always been a thought-provoking, intense and incredibly candid interview, and this particular moment--distractions included--is no exception.
As the Years Go By
It's that kind of intensity and attention to detail that has made him the leading man on the leading soap for 27 years. But to hear him tell it, not only is Braeden not feeling thingyy about his standing as soap's top guy, but also he isn't terribly comfortable thinking of himself that way.
"Any actor who walks around feeling secure is a stupid actor," he says. "Especially in daytime. New producers or writers come in and they might not like your character. No matter how popular you are, or think you are, 'Victor dies' is a possibility... 'Victor leaves town' is always a possibility. You don't become an actor for security. I can always leave in a moment's notice if I have to. I can be told 'We want you to leave.' It's one reason I don't decorate [my dressing room]."
Although Braeden isn't terribly preoccupied with his surroundings, he does acknowledge (after a little gentle prodding) that, like a fine wine, he is actually better looking now than when he started on the soap nearly three decades ago. At 66? Really? "You can put that I just turned 45," he laughs heartily.
He concedes that when he started years ago he looked a little too lean and mean. "I was working out way too much then," he says. "I was playing soccer and boxing. Two of the most physically grueling things one can do--and I was doing both at the same time. That tore me down. I still work out (twice a day, for the record) but nothing that's so hard on my cardiovascular system. I've allowed my face to fill out a little more."
Almost on cue, he reaches for a small piece of chocolate to chase a sticky bun he's taken down in a couple of bites. "And I allow myself the occasional treat."
From Daytime to Silver Screen
Braeden keeps a busy schedule. To provide five weeks off to star in and executive produce the movie The Man Who Came Back, Y&R doubled-up his schedule for a couple of weeks with pretapes so that the audience wouldn't know Victor was really gone. Braeden plays the powerful billionaire Victor Newman, who is integral to most plots. And the movie will be no different. "I'm pretty much in every scene," he says.
The movie was shot on location in the small town of Bracketville, Texas--not the place you'd likely hope to find daytime's leading man. But he has a habit of showing up in unlikely places. Born Hans Gudegast, he showed up on the '60s-era hit Rat Patrol, playing a German soldier, and as the star of the sci-fi series Colossus: The Forbin Project.
Must Be the Mustache
When you are one of the most popular men in daytime TV, the audience doesn't want to take its eyes off you for too long. And so Braeden counts among his many fans some big stars--including Aretha Franklin, hockey great Wayne Gretzky and former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, who agreed to appear on Y&R in a cameo only as long as he could share screen time with Braeden.
Those familiar with the history of Y&R know that when he was first introduced in 1980, Braeden wasn't even supposed to stick around for more than a few months. Victor was evil incarnate--he kept his wife's lover hostage in the basement (and fed him a steady diet of rats, no less).
He really wasn't, and still isn't, the guy you root for. He is ruthless, and he takes no prisoners when it comes to business. Victor came by his billions the old-fashioned way--he earned them.
Then executive producer and head writer, the late Bill Bell, saw something in Eric Braeden that said he could be a leading man. Braeden is still charming the ladies--from 9 to 99, on-and off-camera.
Why does this mustachioed 60-something still clang loudly as a sex symbol? "It's not the mustache," he laughs, "if that's what you are asking." But, lip hair aside, in a medium that often favors the squeaky-clean young and bare pecs of male models barely out of acting class, why is Braeden still breaking hearts?
Ask Braeden and you're asking the wrong guy. "I never wanted to analyze why Victor was popular [with women]. I suppose it's because he is powerful."
Two Lives to Live
The same, of course, could be said of Braeden. "Even after all these years," he says, "I take this work very seriously. We don't get a lot of time to make it real, but that's what we have to do every day. I love that I work with people who also care very deeply."
Ah, so it's like a family at Y&R? After 27 years, while it might not feel "secure," he surely feels he has a home in Genoa City, right? "That stuff about TV shows being a family is a crock," he practically spits. "That's crazy. This is no family. It's work. My home is my home. This is not home."
Uh, okay Eric, we believe you. But, to the outside world, Braeden enjoys such inordinate off-the-chart chemistry with his leading lady, Melody Thomas Scott, who plays his long-suffering wife, Nikki, that it's hard to imagine they don't enjoy a great friendship when the cameras are not rolling. "I respect Mel enormously," he says. "We are friends, but to say we are family is Hollywood talk. We are work colleagues."
A Softer Side
For all his tough talk--and he'll hate us for saying this--deep down there is a real softie in Eric Braeden. Ask him how proud he is of his son, screenwriter Christian Gudegast (he wrote A Man Apart), and he becomes mush. You could also see a few tears well up when Braeden got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this summer.
And if you truly want to see him light up, mention his 3-year-old granddaughter. He melts like a chocolate drop when asked if being a grandfather has changed him. "Oh, my," he beams, "you have no idea. If you could see what that little one has me doing, you would be shocked! We have this game--I'm pretending to come into the room and I don't see her and then she scares me and I have to run through the house over and over, pretending to be scared."
And almost on cue, Braeden is called to the set to do some more pretend--but this time it's something millions will get the pleasure of watching.
To The Victor Go The Spoils
by Alan Carter
The man, the myth, and the mustache... a revealing portrait of Y&R's Eric Braeden
Having just turned a hard-to-believe 66, he isn't what one would call young. But actor Eric Braeden surely has the restless thing down pat. "I'm never one to rest on my laurels," he says. "I've never been happy just sitting still."
No kidding. During a rare interview in the inner sanctum that is his sparse Y&R dressing room, Eric Braeden has one eye on the TV flashing the day's stock prices while fielding a series of calls from the casting director of a movie he is starring in and executive producing. All the while, Braeden is also making notes on his Y&R script.
And, still, despite the noise, the distractions and the hundred different things going through his mind, the daytime Emmy-winning Braeden is somehow able to focus. He's always been a thought-provoking, intense and incredibly candid interview, and this particular moment--distractions included--is no exception.
As the Years Go By
It's that kind of intensity and attention to detail that has made him the leading man on the leading soap for 27 years. But to hear him tell it, not only is Braeden not feeling thingyy about his standing as soap's top guy, but also he isn't terribly comfortable thinking of himself that way.
"Any actor who walks around feeling secure is a stupid actor," he says. "Especially in daytime. New producers or writers come in and they might not like your character. No matter how popular you are, or think you are, 'Victor dies' is a possibility... 'Victor leaves town' is always a possibility. You don't become an actor for security. I can always leave in a moment's notice if I have to. I can be told 'We want you to leave.' It's one reason I don't decorate [my dressing room]."
Although Braeden isn't terribly preoccupied with his surroundings, he does acknowledge (after a little gentle prodding) that, like a fine wine, he is actually better looking now than when he started on the soap nearly three decades ago. At 66? Really? "You can put that I just turned 45," he laughs heartily.
He concedes that when he started years ago he looked a little too lean and mean. "I was working out way too much then," he says. "I was playing soccer and boxing. Two of the most physically grueling things one can do--and I was doing both at the same time. That tore me down. I still work out (twice a day, for the record) but nothing that's so hard on my cardiovascular system. I've allowed my face to fill out a little more."
Almost on cue, he reaches for a small piece of chocolate to chase a sticky bun he's taken down in a couple of bites. "And I allow myself the occasional treat."
From Daytime to Silver Screen
Braeden keeps a busy schedule. To provide five weeks off to star in and executive produce the movie The Man Who Came Back, Y&R doubled-up his schedule for a couple of weeks with pretapes so that the audience wouldn't know Victor was really gone. Braeden plays the powerful billionaire Victor Newman, who is integral to most plots. And the movie will be no different. "I'm pretty much in every scene," he says.
The movie was shot on location in the small town of Bracketville, Texas--not the place you'd likely hope to find daytime's leading man. But he has a habit of showing up in unlikely places. Born Hans Gudegast, he showed up on the '60s-era hit Rat Patrol, playing a German soldier, and as the star of the sci-fi series Colossus: The Forbin Project.
Must Be the Mustache
When you are one of the most popular men in daytime TV, the audience doesn't want to take its eyes off you for too long. And so Braeden counts among his many fans some big stars--including Aretha Franklin, hockey great Wayne Gretzky and former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, who agreed to appear on Y&R in a cameo only as long as he could share screen time with Braeden.
Those familiar with the history of Y&R know that when he was first introduced in 1980, Braeden wasn't even supposed to stick around for more than a few months. Victor was evil incarnate--he kept his wife's lover hostage in the basement (and fed him a steady diet of rats, no less).
He really wasn't, and still isn't, the guy you root for. He is ruthless, and he takes no prisoners when it comes to business. Victor came by his billions the old-fashioned way--he earned them.
Then executive producer and head writer, the late Bill Bell, saw something in Eric Braeden that said he could be a leading man. Braeden is still charming the ladies--from 9 to 99, on-and off-camera.
Why does this mustachioed 60-something still clang loudly as a sex symbol? "It's not the mustache," he laughs, "if that's what you are asking." But, lip hair aside, in a medium that often favors the squeaky-clean young and bare pecs of male models barely out of acting class, why is Braeden still breaking hearts?
Ask Braeden and you're asking the wrong guy. "I never wanted to analyze why Victor was popular [with women]. I suppose it's because he is powerful."
Two Lives to Live
The same, of course, could be said of Braeden. "Even after all these years," he says, "I take this work very seriously. We don't get a lot of time to make it real, but that's what we have to do every day. I love that I work with people who also care very deeply."
Ah, so it's like a family at Y&R? After 27 years, while it might not feel "secure," he surely feels he has a home in Genoa City, right? "That stuff about TV shows being a family is a crock," he practically spits. "That's crazy. This is no family. It's work. My home is my home. This is not home."
Uh, okay Eric, we believe you. But, to the outside world, Braeden enjoys such inordinate off-the-chart chemistry with his leading lady, Melody Thomas Scott, who plays his long-suffering wife, Nikki, that it's hard to imagine they don't enjoy a great friendship when the cameras are not rolling. "I respect Mel enormously," he says. "We are friends, but to say we are family is Hollywood talk. We are work colleagues."
A Softer Side
For all his tough talk--and he'll hate us for saying this--deep down there is a real softie in Eric Braeden. Ask him how proud he is of his son, screenwriter Christian Gudegast (he wrote A Man Apart), and he becomes mush. You could also see a few tears well up when Braeden got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this summer.
And if you truly want to see him light up, mention his 3-year-old granddaughter. He melts like a chocolate drop when asked if being a grandfather has changed him. "Oh, my," he beams, "you have no idea. If you could see what that little one has me doing, you would be shocked! We have this game--I'm pretending to come into the room and I don't see her and then she scares me and I have to run through the house over and over, pretending to be scared."
And almost on cue, Braeden is called to the set to do some more pretend--but this time it's something millions will get the pleasure of watching.