Greg Rikaart Celebrates His Daytime Anniversary!
On July 14, Greg Rikaart reached a very special career milestone: his 20th anniversary in daytime! Previously, Rikaart had appeared in one-off episodes of shows like GROUNDED FOR LIFE and GILMORE GIRLS and had a recurring role as David on DAWSON’S CREEK. But a fateful audition in 2003 for the new role of Kevin Fisher on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS changed the young actor’s life forever!
Five Daytime Emmy nominations and one win later, Rikaart has added another soap role to his resume, that of DAYS OF OUR LIVES’ Leo, and marked the momentous occasion of his Y&R debut on Instagram with a carousel of flashback photos from his years in Genoa City. “I’m aware this may seem a bit tone-deaf today, given the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike, but it’s okay to celebrate the good while being fired up to fight what’s unjust,” he wrote, referring to the actor’s strike that has now crippled the entertainment industry alongside the ongoing writers’ strike. “Also, daytime operates under a different SAG-AFTRA contract, so here goes…
“Twenty years ago today, this yahoo debuted on Y&R,” Rikaart continued, adding that he was “feeling lots of gratitude as I celebrate two decades of work on two soap operas with hundreds of fantastic collaborators.”
As longtime Y&R viewers will remember, Kevin was first introduced as the bookkeeper at Bobby Marsino’s strip club, who befriended and took advantage of a young Lily’s innocence and gave her a sexually transmitted disease. The role was only meant to be a short-term story arc, but several months later, Rikaart’s place on the canvas was cemented when it was revealed that Kevin was Michael’s younger half-brother.
Many of Rikaart’s colleagues jumped in to congratulate their friend on his Y&R anniversary, like Christel Khalil (Lily), who joked that she missed “our scenes of you giving me chlamydia.” Elizabeth Hendrickson — whose Chloe was long involved in an on-again/off-again romance with Kevin — shared that Rikaart was “the best scene partner/co-worker/counterpart I could ask for but overall, the best human. I’ve loved having a blast with you all of these years and laughing so hard to [the] point that we could barely look at each other in a scene. I’m glad we finally figured that part out. Now I could just cry because I miss you sooooo much! Chloe and Kevin for life!”
Lauralee Bell (Christine), Michael Graziadei (Daniel), and Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea) were also among the Y&R stars who congratulated Rikaart on his daytime anniversary, as did DAYS cast members Linsey Godfrey (Sarah), Kristian Alfonso (ex-Hope), and Peter Porte (Dimitri).
Wrapping up his post, Rikaart gave a shout-out to viewers of both daytime dramas for their support. “And a huge thanks to the incredible DAYS and Y&R fans!”
Please join us in congratulating Rikaart on his daytime anniversary, and we look forward to many more years of standout performances by the talented star in the years to come!
