The Young and the Restless’ iconic Eric Braeden (Victor Newman) received his first Lead Actor Daytime Emmy nomination in 20 years, when NATAS and the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards revealed who would be going for gold at the upcoming ceremony on June 7th live on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

The iconic Braeden is a past Lead Actor recipient having won back in 1998. However, the last time Eric was nominated in the category was 2004. Throughout his enduring run on the top-rated CBS soap opera, he has now received a total of 9 Lead Actor nominations and a 10th, when back in 2002, along with Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki), they were nominated in the now defunct and then special fan voted category for “America’s Favorite Couple.”

This year, Eric’s nominated reel features scenes between Victor and Adam (Mark Grossman) where they discuss their fractured relationship as father and son, and the struggles and conflicts they have had personally and in business. In addition, Braeden also shares scenes with Melody Thomas Scott’s Nikki, where Victor voices his disappointment that the Newman children seemingly can’t get along and work together within the Newman dynasty. In Eric’s reel, the only characters who make appearances are the aforementioned Adam and Nikki.

Photo: JPI

Michael Fairman visited the set of The Young and the Restless for a special video sit-down with the legendary star exclusively for the Michael Fairman Channel. 

During the conversation, Eric touched upon why he will participate in the Daytime Emmys at this point in his career due to changes in the voting procedures, his most embarrassing Emmy moment, how he feels about his fellow nominees, and that he wilattending this year’s ceremony.

Here are a few excerpts from the interview below, followed by the full video interview in its entirety.

How does it feel to get your first Lead Actor nomination in 20 years?

ERIC: You can’t help but feel very good about it. I had not submitted any stuff for more than 10 years, because I didn’t believe in the voting process. Finally, the academy had the sense to invite outsiders to widen the circle of those who vote for this. You cannot ask for objectivity when you vote from within only your company. That’s nonsense. Then, personalities play a role in who likes who. I’m very happy about the nomination, though.

You had some scenes between father and son on your nominated reel, as Victor and Adam (Mark Grossman) discuss their complex relationship and history. How was working with Mark?

ERIC: Mark Grossman is a wonderful actor. He’s a good actor.

You would up this year in a Lead Actor category that also features: John McCook (Eric, B&B), Thorsten Kaye (Ridge, B&B), Scott Clifton (Liam, B&B), and Eric Martsolf (Brady, DAYS). I think you know some of these gentlemen?

ERIC: Thorsten Kaye is a very good actor. I’ve known John McCook for 150 years, I think 140 years, maybe. And the other gentlemen, I don’t know, but I’m sure they’re all worthy of receiving the same award.

Photos: CBS and JPI

I talked to Eric Martsolf after he received his Daytime Emmy nomination, and he said he’s so honored to be in the category with you, and that his late mother would be so thrilled that he’s in the category with Victor Newman. My late mom felt the same way when she came to the set and met you years ago. For so many people, you are the guy they all want to meet.

ERIC: That’s nice. That’s really very touching to know. This medium in that sense has been wonderful. As I’ve told you before, I joined this reluctantly and signed on for three months, and here I am 44 years later. That’s very nice to know about Eric’s mother, and your mother.

What was your reaction to finding out you were nominated?

ERIC: To be very frank with you, I was very happy. I said “Oh, that’s nice.” Someone had listened because I’d complained for years about the voting system, and it was based on pure laziness as far as I’m concerned. There are 150,000 registered actors in Hollywood. You can’t tell me that you can vote only from within your company. It’s nonsense. It’s not right. You know, let other actors from the outside be judges of what they see.

Photo: Courtesy/NATAS

I believe when you won in 1998, you didn’t go to the Emmy’s, right?

ERIC: I was doing a Shakespeare play that evening, if I recall. However, I’ve got to tell you about the most embarrassing moment. Aretha Franklin was a big fan of the show and of mine. She had asked me if I would present with her at Radio City Music Hall in New York. These producers when you accept an award, be it the Oscars or whatever it is, they will sit in the booth, and they say, “Move on, move on, move on.” They want you to get on and off stage very quickly. That should not be allowed. When you receive an award, then it should last a little. So, there’s a ticker thing in front of me, and you look at it and kept on saying, “Eric Braeden move on.” I’d hardly been there with Aretha Franklin and I wanted to thank Bill Bell (co-creator and former head writer, Y&R). We owe everything to him. We owe everything to that man’s foundation and his genius. So, I stood there with Aretha and I saw again “Eric Braeden.” So I said, “And I would like to thank Eric Braeden.” The moment I said it, I wanted to sink in to the ground. Fortunately, it was a long time ago, but I had to bring it up again because I’ll never forget it.

Photo: CBS

You’ve done so much for this industry, so much for Y&R, and the soaps. You’re an icon in it. It must be nice to get recognized by your peers, at this point in your career.

ERIC: It felt wonderful, no question. I even sent the nominating announcement to my brothers in German. I’m very happy about it, very proud of it, you know.

So, will you be rooting for Eric come Emmy night to take home his first Lead Actor Emmy in 20 years? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

The Bold and the Beautiful received 12 Daytime Emmy nominations for the upcoming 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards tied with The Young and the Restless for the most of any show. Of those 12 nods, 7 were acting nominations for its cast. One of the names who made the Lead Actor race was a very familiar face to Emmy voters, and a three-time winner, Scott Clifton (Liam).

For the first-time in the shows 37-year history, three leading actors from the soap made the grade and find themselves up against each other on Emmy night: Clifton, Thorsten Kaye (Ridge) and John McCook (Eric). While Kaye won the 2023 gold statuette in the category and McCook won in 2022, the last time Clifton won in this category was 2017.

Scott also holds the Daytime Emmy record for the only actor to win in all three acting categories: ‘Younger’ in 2011, ‘Supporting’ in 2013 and then the aforementioned ‘Lead’ category. This year, also marks Clifton’s 10th Daytime Emmy nomination, having also picked up nods early in his career for his work as Dillon Quartermaine on General Hospital and as Schuyler Joplin on One Life to Live.

Photo: MFTV Inc

On Friday, April 26th, The Bold and the Beautiful held an on set celebration to honor this year’s nominated cast, crew and creatives. When B&B executive producer and head writer, Brad Bell introduced Scott Clifton, as one of the three actors from the series being recognized at Emmy time, Clifton addressed those in attendance.

Scott expressed, “I’m grateful to you, Brad Bell, and this family you created. I know at the end of my life, I’m not going to remember winning Emmys. I’m going to remember that I was nominated alongside John McCook and Thorsten Kaye. That’s what I’m going to remember, and that’s still blowing my mind, on the shoulders of giants doesn’t do it justice. So thank you, for that one.”

Photo: JPI

Following the acknowledgements, Michael Fairman TV caught up with Scott to gain some insight into what scenes he submitted on his Emmy reel, how he feels being back in the Emmy competition an, and more. Here’s what he shared below.

What scenes did you submit that landed you this Lead Actor nomination?

SCOTT: When Hope (Annika Noelle) and Liam come back home from Rome. It’s just two episodes in a row. That’s all it was, which was new for me. I’ve never really submitted a reel like that. But, it’s where Liam confronts Hope about kissing Thomas (Matthew Atkinson). It’s a side of Liam I don’t think, at least any Emmy voters have seen before where he’s just an asshole. Of course, he’s hurt and he is angry and he feels betrayed. But, he is sort of toying with Hope, almost. And then it turns into this somewhat cruel interrogation scene. Annika was incredible. It wouldn’t have worked without her performance.

Photo: JPI

It was the scene where Liam is pushing Hope to admit she kissed Thomas, going “C’mon, say it, Hope! Say it with me?”

SCOTT: Correct. Liam’s going, “I want you to say it. You say it.” That’s somewhat in the middle of the reel, and there was just sort of this lead up to that. It ends with Hope kind of pleading and begging to Liam, saying, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I still love you.” Liam’s still emotional, but he is saying, “I don’t know how that could be true.” That’s just kind of where it ends. I hadn’t planned on submitting anything. It wasn’t like I was submitting because I thought I had a good year going,”Now, which scenes do I find?” I had multiple people here that I trust, Eva Basler (VP Communications and Talent Relations, B&B) and Rachel Herman (Associate Producer, B&B), come up to me and say, “Just submit those scenes, please.”, I said, “okay.” And I did, and then this happened, which blew me away.

Did you think that, perhaps, would never receive a nomination again in your role as Liam?

SCOTT: I kind of thought the whole ‘Emmy nominations’ were over for me. They gave me three already.

Photo: NATAS

And, you hold the record for the only actor win in the Younger, Supporting and Lead categories.

SCOTT: I know, and now one of those categories doesn’t exist anymore, and that’s a bummer. And then, after that third one, I didn’t get nominated for like five years or something like that.

But in those five years, did you still submit yourself, though?

SCOTT: I fought hard not to because I wanted to give everybody a break and disappear for a while. And that comes from a place of like support and encouragement, but the show really wanted me to submit every year, even when I didn’t feel like I had anything. My argument was, this is a mistake. Emmy voter time is valuable and they don’t want to see something that you’re not totally proud of, and I don’t want to create resentment about me or the show. I would wager to say I was right. Then finally, the last two years, the show said, “OK, fine, you don’t want to submit, you don’t have to submit”. And then this year, the Emmy voters gave me the nomination. I feel good about that.

In the scenes you submitted, Liam wasn’t a doofus. He stood up for himself in it, which was good. He wasn’t going to lay down and let Hope just run over him with her betrayal.

SCOTT: We’ve seen kind of the vulnerable Liam, we’ve seen Liam scrambling to be heard, but he was in control throughout all these scenes. That’s a side that I had not played much before, and that the Emmy voters certainly haven’t seen me do.

Photo: JPI

Now, who do you root for yourself, John McCook or Thorsten Kaye since B&B holds three of the five slots in the Lead Actor in a Daytime Drama Series this year?

SCOTT: Oh, God. If any one of us gets it, that would be fantastic. Think about it. In terms of game theory, the value in getting an Emmy nomination is that you have a chance of winning an award for the show, right? The more we can get nominations, the more awards we can win. Those are awards for the show. That helps with ratings, it helps with the contract with the network. It’s all good. It inspires Brad to write more. So, I don’t care, honestly, but we have a three out of five chance of getting the show another Lead Actor Emmy which is huge. So, I’m rooting for any one of us.

Who did you first tell that you were Emmy-nominated?

SCOTT:  I was with my girlfriend, Elle. I was getting out of the shower and I’ve got like a towel barely around me and I got a phone call from Eva Basler. Then, Elle, she just saw the look on my face, and she could only hear my side of it, but she was trying to figure out what was going on. Then, I got off the phone and she went, “Did you just get nominated for Emmy?” And I said, “Yeah, I think I did.”

Make sure to tune-in to the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards live on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ beginning at 8pm ET/ delayed on the west coast.

Now below, check out some of the moments from the scenes that Scott included in his Emmy-nominated where Liam confronts Hope about her betrayal of kissing Thomas in Rome. Then, let us know, will you be rooting for Scott to take home the Lead Actor Emmy this year? What did you think about his nominated performance? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

When the nominees were announced last week for the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards, six women wound up in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category and that included The Bold and the Beautiful’s Annika Noelle (Hope Logan) who had quite the heavy on-screen story.

For months, Hope initially tried to hold her marriage to Liam (Scott Clifton) together, gave into her passion for Thomas (Matthew Atkinson), and became a stronger more independent woman in the process. Noelle was previously nominated in 2020 in the Outstanding Supporting Actress category, but this marks her first-time presence in the highly-coveted Lead Actress race.

On Friday, April 26th, The Bold and the Beautiful celebrated their leading 12 nominations, as well as being the show with the most acting nominations going into the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards set to air live on Friday, June 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

Photo: JPI

During the on set celebration, when B&B’s Emmy-nominated executive producer and head writer, Brad Bell, introduced each of the acting nominees, they took a moment to address their colleagues, and for Annika, her speech was touching and emotional. She expressed, “I’m so grateful to Brad Bell for believing in this dark brunette, and allowing me to be a part of this family. And when we say that we’re a family, it’s not just because we get along. It is really because we are here for the majority of the year with each other. I know for a lot of people, 2023, was a difficult year.  The thing about this beautiful show is that it was my constant, and it’s what I could depend on during a tough year. And there are beautiful days like this when you come in and everything in your life is going amazingly. And then, there are days where your world is falling apart. And the crew, honestly, you guys kept me afloat this year and that’s why this is so meaningful to me.”

Photo: MFTV Inc

Annika added, “I don’t think I could have gotten through this year without the love and support from this family. So, thank you for being there for me on days that I needed the strength and you gave that to me. I’m so grateful to my co-stars and who I get to share these beautiful scenes with. I just wanted to say, I appreciate all of you and thank you so much. You all mean more to me than you will ever know.”

Michael Fairman TV caught up with Annika immediately following the Emmy nominee celebration, to her thoughts on this momentous occasion in her professional life and what it means to her personally, plus what did she choose for her scenes when Hope had such, shall we say, a torrid year of story to choose from. Here’s what she shared below.

Photo: JPI

Dare I say, I called this nomination for you? Back on New Year’s Eve, I revealed My “Best Of” Picks for 2023 and I had you as the Best Overall Performance by an Actress for the year, and alongside your fellow nominee, Cynthia Watros (Nina, GH), to boot!

ANNIKA: Thank you for believing in me that I could do it.

How did you to tackle your Emmy-nominated reel and what you were hoping to showcase?

ANNIKA: I was just so grateful to have the story to be able to pick from, and to really try to show the character growth and the arc of everything that happened to Hope Logan in the past year. For me, I really wanted to take the voters on a journey from her really being heavily influence by everyone’s opinions and everyone else’s voices, to her really coming into her own and going, “I don’t care if it’s the right or wrong choice, it’s my choice.”

Photo: JPI

What scenes did you end up submitting the landed you this Lead Actress Emmy nomination?

ANNIKA: I started with this great scene that our producers, Casey Kaspryzk and Rachel Herman actually remembered, where Hope walks in on her mother in her lingerie flirting with Ridge. And they remembered that scene. So, that really launched us off to Hope being kind of in this deep denial of, “I’m nothing like you. I’m not going to follow in your footsteps. I don’t have feelings for Thomas.” Cut to Liam confronting her about watching her give into her desires in Rome. And him saying, “Where were you Hope? At the Colosseum?” and then kind of in a roundabout full circle way, Brooke finding Thomas and Hope in bed together and then Hope really kind of going toe to toe with her mother. Then, ending with her kind of fully coming into her own as a woman and saying, “You wanted a divorce, Liam, here’s your divorce.” I really wanted to show the journey of her finding her own voice and advocating for her own choices and finding that inner strength, basically.

Photo: JPI

Was choosing the reel difficult given you had so much material within the 2023 calendar year of eligibility to consider?

ANNIKA: It was hard to pick and choose. There were a few I ended up leaving out. There was a really beautiful scene with Thomas where she realizes he overheard her kind of talking ill of him. That one was really hard to let go of.  I was also considering another scene with Liam where they actually signed the divorce papers. I’m just so grateful to even be able to have the material to choose from.

Photo: JPI

How did you find out you were nominated?

ANNIKA: Eva Basler, our VP of Communications & Talent Relations, called me and it meant so much to me to get that call from her. I tend to get nervous and have anxiety, so that day I just had to not think about it. So, I was out on a walk with my love, and my dog. We’re just in the middle of a cul-de-sac and my phone starts ringing. And it was the best surprise ever! Then, when I found out that Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke, B&B) got nominated alongside me, I immediately FaceTimed her. It was the funniest thing because she literally picks up and she is wearing a sun visor and sunglasses wrapped up on top of a horse as she’s in the middle of a mountain and in a valley on this beautiful white horse. It was the most picturesque thing.

Photos: ABC, JPI, NBC

I believe you know some of the women you are nominated with, obviously Katherine, but also Tamara Braun (Ava, Days), Finola Hughes, (Anna, GH), Cynthia Watros (Nina, GH) and Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, Y&R). What are your thoughts on these nominees?

ANNIKA: Well first, I’m just so excited to be in this category with the other women. Tamara Braun, who I was nominated with previously in the Supporting Actress category I’m excited that she’s in this category with me. Michelle Stafford, who I see in the hallway all the time, is great, and Finola Hughes, I’m just like obsessed with from afar. I even watched her on Watch What Happens Live!  Cynthia, I hear her work is tremendous, and with Katherine, I’m just really grateful to get to share this with her. To be honored amongst these legends of daytime is amazing. Just to be seen in that way, that means more to me than anything.

Photo: JPI

You mentioned during B&B’s on-set Emmy celebration that this past year was a difficult one for you, and that everyone at the show really helped you through it. What meaning would winning the Emmy hold for you?

ANNIKA: That would be overwhelming. I wouldn’t even know how to describe it – an honor, a privilege, a blessing? It would mean the world to me, especially after this past year. That’s why it’s so significant, because even on the darkest days, the storms passes. You just have to hold on for that brighter day.

So, what did you think about the scenes Annika submitted for Lead Actress? Were they some of your favorite moments from the Emmy season? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.