B&B and Y&R Stars: Their Big Breaks

By Soaps in Depth Updated: July 26, 2019

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CBS Soaps in Depth Magazine

The big break — every actor has one. It’s the part that puts them on the map. And, although you may know some of your favorite THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS and THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL actors only from their current roles — and might even assume that those were their big breaks — they may not be the gigs that set them down the path to soap stardom.

Check out the photo-filled flashbacks in the gallery below and see how many of these debuts you can remember — and how many come as a surprise.

For more on your favorite Daytime stars, keep reading the CBS edition of Soaps In Depth magazine.

This story originally appeared in our print magazine

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Don Diamont

CBS
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Don Diamont You’d have to be new on the planet — or at least new to daytime — not to know that prior to hitting the jackpot with B&B’s Dollar Bill Spencer in 2009, Don Diamont spent more than two decades playing Y&R’s gardener-turned-tycoon Brad Carlton. But no one could blame you if you weren’t aware that that wasn’t his big break. Diamont first turned heads back in 1984, when he was cast as DAYS OF OUR LIVES’ Carlo Forenza, a hotheaded hottie with a chip on his well muscled shoulder!
Heather Tom

Soap Opera Update
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Heather Tom This future (five-time!) Daytime Emmy winner was just a kid herself in 1990 when she was cast as Victor and Nikki Newman’s daughter, Victoria, on Y&R. Before jumping to sister soap B&B as Katie Logan in 2007, she spent three years playing ONE LIFE TO LIVE’s Kelly Cramer — the role originated by Gina Tognoni (later Y&R’s Phyllis).
Amelia Heinle

Robert Milazzo/ABC
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Amelia Heinle A two-time Emmy winner for her portrayal of Y&R’s Victoria, Amelia Heinle previously appeared on ALL MY CHILDREN as Liza Colby’s half sister, Mia Saunders. Her introduction to daytime, however, came in 1993, when she won the role of LOVING’s poor little rich girl Steffi Brewster (and even brought over the character to the defunct ABC soap’s spinoff, THE CITY).
Rena Sofer

Steve Fenn/ABC
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Rena Sofer Prior to joining B&B as Quinn Forrester, Rena Sofer was probably best known for her work as GENERAL HOSPITAL’s original Bensonhurst babe, Lois Cerullo. But she actually made her daytime debut several years earlier, first with the short-term role of ANOTHER WORLD’s Joyce Abernathy, then with the much bigger part of ingenue Rocky McKenzie on LOVING.
Scott Clifton

Gregg Weiner
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Scott Clifton Before winning three Daytime Emmys for his work as B&B’s Liam Spencer, Scott Clifton paid his dues in the soap biz, as Schuyler Joplin on OLTL and, in his afternoon-TV debut, as GH’s wild-haired teenage dream, Dillon Quartermaine.
Peter Bergman

ABC
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Peter Bergman When Peter Bergman was cast as Y&R’s manipulative Jack Abbott in 1989, it was hard to imagine him playing a rascal. That’s how closely associated he was with his first soap part, that of Pine Valley’s good-guy doctor, Cliff Warner, on AMC.
Jordi Vilasuso

Gregg Weiner
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Jordi Vilasuso Fifteen years ago, the budding heartthrob began his career as a soap-hopper as JV mobster Tony Santos on GUIDING LIGHT. He’d later go on to play Dr. Griffin Castillo on AMC and Dario Hernandez on DAYS before landing his latest role, that of Rey Rosales on Y&R.
Eva LaRue

Soap Opera Update
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Eva LaRue Long before Eva LaRue was cast as Celeste Rosales on Y&R, she was beloved by daytime viewers for her long run as AMC doc Maria Santos. Yet it was before that that she made her first splash in soaps when she briefly appeared on the NBC sudser SANTA BARBARA as Margot Collins, a shady love interest for Ted Capwell.
Darin Brooks

Paul Skipper/jpistudios.com
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Darin Brooks The role of B&B’s Wyatt Spencer fits Darin Brooks as well as a pair of snug blue jeans. However, it wasn’t the first soap part that the hunk tried on for size: Back in 2005, he dove headfirst into suds as Max Brady, the DAYS race-car driver who never failed to get viewers’ motors purring!