Young and Restless’s Michael Graziadei on Phyllis and Danny: ‘It’s Nice To Have One Level-Headed Parent’ (EXCL)
Daniel’s life is in a bit of a shambles right now on Young and Restless as he’s fallen hard for Tessa, a married woman. Thankfully, his parents are around to offer him some helpful advice to cope with the situation… well, one of them is, at least! Danny has been more than supportive of his son since Heather’s death, but Phyllis’s advice has been a tad on the questionable side. As Michael Graziadei (Daniel) jokes to Soap Opera Digest, “It’s nice to have one level-headed parent!”
Parenting the Parent
Although Phyllis often drives Daniel up the wall, Graziadei is a big fan of her portrayer, Michelle Stafford, with whom he first began working when he took over the role of the schemer’s son back in 2004. “I enjoy my scenes that I have with Michelle more than any other scenes,” the actor enthuses. “One, she is just so incredibly talented. I feel like I’m constantly in awe [of] the things that she finds in material that I may never have thought were there, or had looked at it and been like, ‘How the hell is she gonna pull this off?’ And then to see it just transpire as we’re working together, it is always a surprise, and it is always a joy. I mean, I cannot say enough good things about Michelle.”
Often, it feels as though Daniel is the one who is the parent to Phyllis, trying — frequently in vain — to rein his mother in and keep her under control. But on a soap opera, that kind of messy drama makes for pretty good television! “Yeah, and she’s fun,” Graziadei says. “It’s fun to have that, you know? It would just be boring if it was your run-of-the-mill [mother/son dynamic]. It’s nice to have that juxtaposition of the calm and sensible with Michael Damian [Danny] and then Daniel always having to worry about his mother and not know what’s gonna come out of her mouth next or not know what’s gonna happen next!”
Music Men
Graziadei also enjoys a strong bond with his other TV parent. “Michael and I have a fantastic relationship,” the actor shares. “When I text him, I always text ‘Dad’ to him, and refer to him that way.” According to Graziadei, that connection remained strong even during the times that one or the other of them has been off Y&R. “We’ve been in communication before, when I was on the show, and the whole time I was gone,” he says, referring to the break from Genoa City he took from 2013-22. “I think that the two of us just have a nice relationship together.”
Daniel has been learning to play guitar on the soap, but in real life, his portrayer is a talented musician, something he has in common with Damian, who has released numerous albums and is particularly well-known for his 1989 number-one hit single “Rock On.” For his part, Graziadi would enjoy performing on screen with his TV dad. “I think that’s something that absolutely would make sense in this world,” he declares. “But you don’t know what other people have in mind for the story. I’m sure Michael has, you know, floated the idea out there.”
Daniel resisted Tessa’s suggestion that he could show Danny his progress by playing guitar at his father’s upcoming wedding to Christine, but now it appears that the bride and groom are anticipating a performance from both of them on their big day. “I guess we’re going to have to watch and see,” Graziadei teases. “There might be a surprise for everyone at my father’s wedding!”
Conversation
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