J. Eddie Peck on Working With Amelia Heinle Again (EXCLUSIVE)

When J. Eddie Peck last played Cole on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS, Victoria was being portrayed by Heather Tom. Upon his return to the soap in November 2023, he found himself working with a different Victoria but a familiar actress. Before joining the cast of Y&R, Amelia Heinle played Mia Saunders on ABC sudser ALL MY CHILDREN, and was romantically paired with Jake Martin, who at the time, was played by Peck!

“I loved working with Amelia on AMC,” Peck confided to Soaps In Depth. “The funny thing, when we first worked together, she was in a different story and working on different days and I really didn’t know her. She wasn’t on that long before they put the two of us together. I think maybe we had talked twice.”

The actor recalled that their first scene together on AMC was shot late on a Friday when they were short on time and didn’t have time to rehearse. “I’d only met her briefly and I’m doing scenes with her for the very first time,” Peck explained. “And the chemistry that Amelia and I had on those very first scenes… I’m at her apartment and I’m playing around with a kitten that she has. At the same time, Jake’s connecting with her. And I want to tell you, out of 13 years in daytime and all the scenes that I did, that particular scene is one of maybe five or six scenes that’s on my daytime reel. That’s one of my favorite scenes ever.

AMC Jake Mia — Peck was excited to get to work with Heinle again on Y&R.Virginia Sherwood/ABC

“And that came from just a complete spontaneity of working with her,” Peck continued. “I think the reason why Amelia has had such success is because she just has this tremendous quality and vulnerability about her that all actors really look for. It’s really tremendous.”

When Heinle took over the role of Victoria in 2005, Peck knew it was perfect casting. “And always in the back of my mind, I always thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I’d love to go back to Y&R as Cole playing opposite Victoria again,’” he confessed. “So for me, this is really a wonderful experience and gift. I’ve really looked forward to it. I just think she’s tremendous in the role.”