**Attention: “Young and the Restless” fans this article includes information about a show that airs Monday, July 17, 2006. Consider this a spoiler alert.** Fans of CBS’ “The Young and the Restless” will be seeing a lot more of Victor Newman in the coming weeks. It’s true, he’s a major character and is often embroiled in a front-burner story line, but come Monday that story line will hit a crescendo when Victor is handed a surprising diagnosis—epilepsy.
After 26 years playing the part of Victor Newman on the top-rated soap opera, Eric Braeden thought he had seen it all. Not just seen it–but dealt with it on TV. From blackouts, hallucinations, affairs, the death of a grandchild, and everything in between, there is scarcely a situation that Genoa City’s most ruthless businessman has not encountered. Now, it will be revealed that what family members believed was a kinder, more sensitive Victor is really a man suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy (brought on by a head injury he sustained in a carjacking several months ago).
“I absolutely love it because it’s uncharted territory,” Braeden said. “It’s so interesting to play something that is childlike and naive and not as calculated and hostile and angry as he usually is.”
The show’s writers completed extensive researched on the neurological condition and assured Braeden that “Victor’s behavior was medically sound.” In addition, Braeden also recorded a public-service announcement in cooperation with the Epilepsy Foundation that will air on the show both Monday and Tuesday. Braeden also confirmed that he did his own research on the condition and said, “People with epilepsy can live very successful and seizure-free lives.”
In coming weeks, viewers will see how Victor deals with his diagnosis and how his family and business associates react to it as well.
At 65, the Daytime Emmy Award-winner says he is up for the challenge. In fact, Braeden says at times he is astounded that in the increasingly youth-driven world of soap operas he remains a key character.
“I am enormously, eternally grateful for having had the opportunity,” he said. “Where else do you get the chance to be vulnerable and to play a tough guy at the same time?”