The Young and the Restless: Is Nikki and Victor’s relationship real? Eric Braden gives his definitive answer

A true icon of the small screen thanks to his iconic role as Victor Newman in The Young and the Restless (series broadcast Monday to Friday at 11am on TF1), Eric Braden gives an interview to AlloCiné in which he candidly reminisces and reminisces. His humorous journey in the cult series…

AlloCiné: The Young and the Restless series celebrates its fiftieth anniversary in 2023. What does this mean to you as a star of the series since 1980?

Eric Braden: Honestly, I’m just thankful that I got to be on the show this long. And we are still number one! I’m also very grateful that I can go and do my job every day. Many of the actors I knew when I was working in television in the 1960s and 1970s are no longer working or dead!

You recently fought and beat cancer. Did this illness affect your work in the series?

Fortunately, this did not affect my work. Maybe a few days, but generally, not at all.

So you’ve been playing Victor for over four decades. How would you describe him: as a loving patriarch who would do anything for his family, or as a manipulative and vengeful man against his wife and children?

All of this! I like to play him when he is good and evil. It really depends on who he’s facing.

How do you prefer Victor to play with Nikki (Melody by Thomas Scott), his true love: as a solid, married couple or as mortal, divorced enemies?

(laughs) No, no, no. I prefer them in love, of course! I find their relationship realistic and I like to play what is realistic.

Which story has been your favorite to interpret over the years?

I have to tell you something: I don’t think much about The Young and the Restless when I’m done for the day… so I don’t remember everything I played, but I did a lot! Alas, when the scene is over, I don’t think about it anymore. It’s crazy…

That said, one of my favorite moments was when Victor was with his mother Cora. When he came into her life and she thought he was a liar, then when she found out that he was really her father…

William J. Bell wrote the scene where he talked about the hole in Victor’s sweater. The latter then remembered the day when he left her in the orphanage as a child… It was a crucial element of his story, I don’t know why.

Finally, my other favorite scene was between Victor and his father Albert, played by George F. Kennedy, years later. That’s all.

Victor is arguably the only character in the world to have had a vasectomy, but despite everything, the ability to have children remains… Don’t you think “The Young and the Restless” is sometimes going too far?

(Laughs) Victor had a vasectomy, so what?

He had three…

Well, why not?! (Laughs) There was a leak, that’s all…

Do you know how many times Viktor was married?

I don `t remember. (laughs)

And how many times was he presumed dead?

no one. But it happened several times! (laughs)

Have you ever suggested to screenwriters to write a story that you like as an actor?

I did it once and it totally messed me up… I’ve never done it again. Writing is hard work, I think it’s the hardest job in our industry. That said, I often think Ashley and Victor’s story could have been more meaningful…

Aside from Nikki and Ashley, what other woman could be “the one” for Victor?

There was Sabrina, played by Raya Medini in 2008-2009. He was a great actor, very intelligent and charming.

Who do you think is Victor’s worst enemy: Jack (Peter Bergman), Adam (Mark Grossman) or maybe himself?

Jack, of course!

In the past, you almost left the series forever. For what ?

It was always just a matter of contract negotiation. Nothing more.

Did you have any doubt at the time that joining The Young and Restless would change your life?

I had no idea. Nothing indicated. At first I didn’t like the series at all! It took me a year and a half when certain plots started… just like when William J. Belle had a brilliant idea to say that Victor grew up in an orphanage.

My interest arose because I managed to find an emotional potential here. He was an interesting character. So when I played those first scenes, with Victor’s mother, and then when he was telling Nikki about his past, I knew I was going to stay. I didn’t like soap opera before.

Do you regret your trip?

Interesting question, but I’m not one for regrets. The past is the past and I’m moving on. I am an optimist. The only thing I can regret is the fact that William J. Bell died too soon…