by Michael Logan October 05, 2009 01:27 PM EST
Is no one safe in Soapland? Emmy winner Eric Braeden of CBS's The Young and the Restless-the No. 1 star on daytime's No. 1 serial-is out of a job due to a nasty salary dispute with the show's owner, Sony. That's the same corporation that ousted suds superstars Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn from Days of Our Lives last year. Braeden, who plays bad-*** billionaire Victor Newman, says his current three-year deal wasn't due to elapse until November 2010. But Sony took advantage of a sneaky, yet standard, clause in soap contracts that leaves a star's salary prone to renegotiation every 26 weeks. When Sony demanded that Braeden take a major pay cut, the actor chose to walk. He taped what could well be his final scenes as Victor on September 23 and they will air November 2. (Both CBS and Sony declined to comment.) Braeden's longtime screen partner Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki) had similar contract troubles earlier this year and was written off the show for two months. Now she's back. Will there be a similar turnaround for Braeden? Or has Genoa City seen the last of this blisteringly brilliant, insanely popular actor? In an exclusive interview with TV Guide Magazine, Braeden gives us the lowdown.
I only have two words for this situation: Utter insanity. Y&R without Victor Newman ain't Y&R. Somebody's gotta come to their senses here. Your rep tells me you made a counter offer which has so far gone ignored.
That is correct.
So how would you characterize the situation then? You've hit a dead end? Or is there still hope?
It is not a fait accompli but I am seriously thinking about various other career options. As you know, I came to Y&R from film, from nighttime television, from theatre. It's not that one isn't willing to acquiesce to [a lesser salary], but it is the way in which I was approached. I was dealt with in a cold, deeply insulting and unconscionable manner and I'm a defiant *******. I feel a great loyalty to the character and to the show, but that loyalty is not reciprocated. The daytime business has become cutthroat.
You've stayed true to Y&R since the day you arrived. Unlike many other actors in daytime, you never quit to go pursue other roles.
I've never left and I've been on the show for nearly 30 years now. What the soap medium has given me is a chance to play a huge scale of emotions that one rarely has a chance to play in primetime or film, and I have appreciated that enormously. But, as it turns out, the contracts you sign are not worth the paper they're written on thanks to this ridiculous clause where they have a right to change anything or let you go every 26 weeks. It's a joke. Our union ought to be ashamed of itself for having [allowed] this. And for the show to actually invoke that clause after one has served loyally and lovingly for 30 years is unconscionably ungracious.
Word is, the pay cut they want you to take is huge.
It's like being hit with a sledgehammer. What is sad is that they are playing with-and easily disregarding-the contributions made by a lot of the actors who have been on the show for a very long time, and it seemingly makes no difference to them. As a result, there is an enormous feeling of emotional upheaval on the set. And that was the intention, of course. It's all about intimidation. It's all about leaking things to the internet before I even knew I was going to [be asked to] renegotiate. I had no idea! There are obviously leaks coming from the inside, all there to bludgeon you, to intimidate you.
Who are you dealing with at Sony? Who's wielding that sledgehammer?
I don't want to mention names. I'm dealing with some lawyer.
Where does CBS fit into this equation? Why isn't Barbara Bloom, the head of CBS Daytime, doing something to stop it? Where's Les Moonves?
I don't know. I assume all this will have to be played out first [with Sony]. Let me put it this way, I've always had a great respect for Les Moonves, and I think it's mutual. I don't know who has what say and what power, but I would assume CBS has considerable power. And none of this, as I said, is a fait accompli. It's not that I'm not cognizant of these difficult economic times. One has to be stupid not to be aware. I'm also aware of certain decreases in the [Y&R] license fee that took place recently, but now it's sledgehammer time, you know? [And that's wrong] when you put your *** on the line for this show for 30 years, and have done as much publicity as I have. I still sell more [daytime] magazines than anyone in this medium, as you know. And I am very proud of that association.
This is not the first pay cut you've taken at Y&R, correct?
I want to remind you that I was the first one who suggested a cut and led by example. That was two years ago when my current contract went into effect. I said I'd agree to lower my salary, if they did it to everyone else.
Could the tough economy just be a cop-out-an excuse for Sony to cry poor? Let's face it, Y&R is still the No. 1 daytime show. The most recent ratings [September 21-25] show that the program is drawing 5.3 million viewers. Those are still good numbers.
It's a damn good show, and [executive producer/head writer] Maria Bell has done a very, very, very good job. I cannot say enough about that. As far as I am concerned, she has revived Y&R. The actors are enormously disciplined and we all work under very difficult circumstances now. Are we all friends? No. Are we family? No. That "family" thing is bull----. But do I respect t he actors I work with? You bet. [Due to budget cutbacks] we now crank out this show with practically no rehearsal. It's become so impersonalized, so cold. What we do in one day is unheard of anywhere else in the business. We shoot between 80 and 100 pages per day-I myself did 62 pages on the day I said my goodbyes. Very emotionally wrenching stuff. I'm dead serious-62 pages! Take any movie star or primetime star and put them on a daytime soap and they would s--t their pants.
Are you soap folks maybe in shock? A bit spoiled? Show biz is brutal, yet those in daytime have always worked in a nice, comfortable, cushy cocoon
until now.
It's not that it wasn't sometimes brutal under [Y&R's late creator/executive producer] Bill Bell. Let's not have illusions about that. It was always tough. He was larger than life. He was the boss. But he was also a man you could always go to and deal with directly. Bill Bell worked his *** off to create this extraordinary legacy. Now we're just a cog in an inchoate corporation. You honestly don't know who's who and who does what any more.
To clarify, this clause in the contract is perfectly legal. So you actors agree to it assuming, hoping, trusting that Sony will operate out of loyalty and decency and not invoke it?
What you assume is that you will be talked to in a civilized way. My God, after 30 years. the perfunctory manner with which one is dealt with! I know that other actors were very close to leaving for the same reasons, and it's not that we are unreasonable.
What seems to be missing in this issue is the star factor. Some actors are worth more than others and should be paid accordingly- and if the lesser-paid actors don't like it, too bad. That's the way it works in primetime, in movies, on Broadway. Why is there a new set of rules in soaps? Why is everyone suddenly equal and dispensable?
There is an attempt in daytime to level the playing field to the point where it doesn't make any difference if you've been on the show for one year or 30 years. You are treated the same.
What about loyalty to the viewer? It's a slap in the face to any longtime fan of Y&R to suddenly be told that the show you've supported for decades will no longer pay for the stars you love.
Of course. It's hypocritical.
Isn't it also suicidal? Where the good business sense in this?
You have to ask yourself who's in charge, and what other shows are they in charge of that have gone down the drain.
Do these people want out of the soap game? Is this just one long, slow, drawn-out sayonara?
That is obviously a question that is worth asking, and I'm not going to stick around to find out.
You can't sustain a show on these younger, cheaper newbies. Victor Newman is the hub of Y&R from which all things emanate. Who's supposed to fill that gap? Certainly not this guy who's been playing Victor's son, Adam. This show needs a powerful, ***-kicking son-of-a-***** and no one plays that part like you.
I appreciate what you are saying but that is for you to say it. I won't comment. But I will tell you this: The overall problem in daytime, and with television in general, is this obsession with chasing the young demographic. The supposed power of the young demo is one of the biggest myths in this business. Billions have been misspent by corporations in kowtowing to the young when the money-the true financial power-lies is in the hands of older people. When I go out for public appearances, the people who come to see me span all ages-from 10 years old to 80 and 90. There is an enormous generational following for our show.
How is Victor written out after his heart transplant? He's been painted into such a dark and irredeemable place. Was this done to scare you?
Victor and Nikki go to Europe somewhere, Belgium or whatever, to some rehabilitation clinic. When I watch the show I realize-boy, oh boy-this exit was all calculated! They have now painted Victor Newman so black. He's now killed this Colleen girl. He is responsible for the demise of everything. What he did do is hire that girl [Patty] and give her plastic surgery to get even with Jack Abbott. They've totally forgotten that Adam was gaslighting Ashley-now Victor's held responsible for it. Jack Abbott is totally relieved of any kind of responsibility. It's all Victor! They have forgotten all the backstory in order to make a rush to judgment. What they wanted to do-I'm thoroughly convinced of it-is make Victor look so bad to the public that the public will say, "Let him die." So, yes, this is orchestrated and it happened at a very propitious time when my 26-week cycle was up. This is totally calculated from the top. It infuriates me, the conscious intention behind it. It's a very dramatic story, a very good story, but it certainly has the potential for a permanent departure.
The only upside to having no happy ending here is that it would be fascinating to watch what happens to your career when you're no longer tied to a show, when you're a free agent. If anybody should be playing the villain in a Bond movie, it's you. Thoughts on the future?
I still feel full of piss and vinegar. We shall see that happens. It's been a wonderful ride, and I'm very grateful to have played this role for as long as I have. Whatever happens with me [at Y&R], they should kneel before Maria Bell. We all feel that-all of us actors. Thank God for that woman. She is worth her weight in gold.
will all be back in November!
She's too mean for him.... but then again, not Glo either... I like her almost as much as Phyllis!
Come to think about it, I can't think of anyone that would be "just right" for him, unless it was someone like Lauren. Not that I want her split up from Michael, but just someone like her.
I was walking it over to Stacy Haiduk, but Beth came along and knocked her outta the running! 
OOOOOOKay than. Maybe he has been watching something different than what we have been 
