Catching up ‘The Young and the Restless’ Redaric WilliamsBy Wilson Morales
January 11, 2014
For those who aren’t aware, Redaric Williams has been on the the #1 daytime soap opera ‘The Young and the Restless’ for some time and his work is starting to pay off with accolades.
Willams plays Tyler Michaelson, younger brother of lawyer Leslie Michaelson (played by Angell Conwell), and currently involved with Abby Newman (played by Melissa Ordway).
Most recently, Williams was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series.
Being on a soap opera was nothing that the Michigan native expected. Although he went to college to study acting, he became successful as a model, become the face of Carling Black Label in South Africa at one point.
Prior to the nomination, Blackfilm.com spoke to Williams on his role on the show and what’s he learned so far from working with veteran actors.
For those who haven’t seen the show, can you talk about the character that you’re playing?
Redaric Williams: The character that I’m playing, he’s a graphic designer currently, but he grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. He’s into graffiti and is a misfit sort of kid; but he’s kind of cleaned up his past. Then he’s working with a tech company and was doing some marketing for them, made a lot of money and he’s carrying on. He also has a little bit of an impulsive personality. He blew a lot of money, and now he’s moved to Genoa City which is where “The Young and the Restless” is based at. He’s the new guy in town and kind of came in like a bull in a china shop at first. He was working in an office where he was going after a married woman at first, and that created a lot of drama and ruffling some feathers with that. Then now, he’s kind of playing his cards. He’s currently settling down, I guess and developing. It’s weird. Things can happen fast, and so it’s strange. It’s been a year, but I feel like my character has changed a lot since coming on the show, but it’s fun to play as an actor.
There aren’t that many African Americans on soap operas. So what was the appeal for you to being on one?
Williams: I’m an actor, man. It’s a job, for one, first and foremost. When I was auditioning for a bunch of stuff, I was actually in South Africa when I got the news about it. My manager sent me an email. I was in Cape Town doing an independent film over there, and I was also filming some commercials. She sent me an email and said to come out and do a screening because they saw a video that I’d submitted for that, and everything happened fast. When it happened, I came out, I flew out to L.A, went back to New York and went to L.A. and did a screening and then they offered me the contract from there. I almost didn’t want to take the job, because I had a quick little feeling of like, you know, like, it was a soap opera and it’s a long term contract and I’m going to be locked in and everything happened so fast. I had no idea about daytime television at all. I didn’t know anything about soaps, and finding out that they’re the number one soap for like the last 25 years and it’s with Sony and CBS, there were just so many appealing things. Since doing it, coming on and the way that we film, it’s so different than other acting that I’ve done. It’s different than film. It’s different any other kind of theater. It’s different than all of that because we film so fast. I have a pilot script sitting next to me right now that I’m looking over for tomorrow. It’s like material, a lot of material, we get it short notice and we do everything in one take. They only give you one take. So it’s a very, very polishing environment. If you have things that you want to work on as far as your overall game as an entertainer, as an actor, as a performer, there’s no better place to be than to like put your chops to the test. It’s kind of cool, but to answer your question, as far as being a black person and being on the show, I like the fact that there are shows like ‘Young and the Restless and they are notorious. There are other shows that are notorious for having a multitude of different ethnicities on their show. They kind of do that, and I think it’s good in the sense that it’s not necessarily like you’re representing for a one demographic or anything like that. It’s more so, like crossing over the viewership. It’s like if you look at some shows years ago that did really well, that were in homes and they showed people in a different light, that’s one of the things that I liked about them. If you’re on TV or if you’re on the radio, you are a role model. People with young, influential eyes, ears and minds are exposed to what you’re doing. So it’s always good to represent in that way. I like it.
As you mentioned, this show has been #1 for over twenty years and that’s because a good majority of the cast have been together for a long time. So when you’re working alongside the guys who play Victor and Jack, and those people who’ve been there for fifteen years, what’s it like being in the rookie in the club?
Williams: It can be intimidating at times, like when I first came on. You know that they’re very well-liked by the fan base. You know that they’ve been accepted and receptive well, and for me, not only am I new to the show, my character is new to the show. It’s a brand new character. I’m not replacing a role that someone else has already portrayed. It’s a brand new character, and then I’m brand new to the show too. So when I first came on to the show, I was aware of that and I wondered how I was going to be received by the fan base; but that’s looking at the character side, like the back end and what happens then. But as far as on the set working with them, it’s like I’m a sponge. I soak up everything because they’re extremely good at what they do. One person in particular that I always comes to mind when I think about it is Kristoff St. John. He plays Neil Winters on the show. I had my first scene with him and Angell Conwell. She plays my sister on the show, and to watch the way that he carries himself on the set, the different transitions that he does into his scenes, in between his scenes and the techniques, the little things that I’ve picked up…he’s very, very, very good at what he does. It’s a learning experience, and I think because of the fact that you know that they’ve been on the show for so long, they feel solidified. I’m not opposed to learning or being receptive to anything that they’re doing or any information that they have. They’re all good with offering information, and guiding you in things that you may need. I feel fortunate because a lot of time you can get on a project and it’s a smorgasbord of different actors all thrown together. To be on a show where, like you said, there are established actors that are on there, some of them for over a decade, it kind of makes you feel like you’re in a safe place as an actor, which sounds kind of weird. But it’s like joining a company that’s been around for a long time and there’s executives that have been in the business for a long time and they really know what they’re doing. So you feel very safe as far as the way that they conduct their business because you know that they’re proven, everything is proven. So I feel bless and honored to be able to be exposed to a situation like that.
Does coming onto the show with a family member on the show give you a lifespan on the show? It would seem if you didn’t, you would be more disposable.
Williams: Yeah, right. That’s very true. That’s very, very true. I think that was one of the things that was like a back and forth, like a pendulum swing with me and Angell Conwell because I know when I came onto the show, she was off and on, on the show, but she wasn’t in a contract role. But I do know that they all really, really liked her and they liked working with her, and I was always hearing good things about her behind the scenes from all the different executives or directors or crew, whoever it be. They really liked her professionalism. They really liked working with her, and I think that they really wanted to solidify her on the show as well. So I think with me, I initially was not going to be her brother. They went like, ‘Hmm, maybe they have something here. Let’s do this,’ and they tied that in to together because they wanted to cement her character and give her a little bit more grounding, and little bit like I said, like have a pendulum swinging back and forth. Then, like I said, they did the same thing with my character being new, and so it was little bit more of a sticky appeal as far as the storylines go and having a family member.
When you’re not on the show, what do you during the day that keeps you grounded?
Williams: What keeps me grounded? Just life in general. I would say my faith. That’s one hundred percent, always has been. Always will be. That’s just to the core of who I am. That in and of itself, I could go on. That’s a whole other interview. My family as well, I would say. My nieces and nephews. I have a lot of nieces and nephews. I don’t have any children as of yet, but my nieces and nephews, I look at them and it kind of puts things into perspective.
What’s coming up next for Tyler?
Williams: People ask me that a lot, like, what’s in store and what’s around the corner. It’s so odd because everything is speculation, even for the actors because we get the scripts so last minute. I have no idea what’s coming up right now. I would say a further development, a relationship. Although, there looks like there’s some trouble on the horizon. I guess the character was engaged at one point, an ex-fiancé and she’s coming back into the picture and may cause some problems. That’s what I’m seeing in the crystal ball.
