Greg Rikaart on Kevin’s ‘Y&R’ Return — Will He Take Down Nick to Get Chloe Back?
Q&A
Get All the Genoa City Gossip
For exclusive news and updates, subscribe to our The Young and the Restless Newsletter:
Kevin Fisher is (Greg Rikaart) used to having the advantage in Genoa City given his penchant for stepping outside the law when he needs to. But this time, he may have met his match in conniving Adam Newman (newcomer Mark Grossman), who’s going to coerce Kevin into digging up on Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) so Adam can get his son Christian back.
Emmy-winner Rikaart sat down with TV Insider to talk about his return to The Young and the Restless, getting back into Kevin’s skin, working with TV brother Christian LeBlanc (Michael Baldwin) and on-screen spouse Elizabeth Hendrickson (Chloe Mitchell), and whether or not he’s going to let Adam win. Read on for the scoop!
Welcome back!
Greg Rikaart: Thanks! I’m thrilled to be back!
How long does it take you to get back into Kevin’s skin and how is he different from your other daytime role, conniving Leo on Days of Our Lives?
Playing Kevin again is like throwing on your old favorite shirt that’s been in the back of a drawer for a while. I got to work with Christian [LeBlanc, Michael] early on. Falling back into that dynamic took no time at all. As for Leo, I’d say Kevin and Leo are different in that, well, I think that Kevin is a little less opportunistic than Leo is. Kevin’s a little bit more evolved and reformed.
(Monty Brinton/CBS)
How would you describe the Michael and Kevin dynamic? What buttons do they push with each other?
I don’t have a brother in real life, but I think Kevin and Michael’s relationship is pretty textbook. Michael’s the overachiever and Kevin’s the ne’er-do-well. Michael’s had to clean up some of Kevin’s messes in the past. So, Kevin is very reliant on Michael in that regard. There’s a lot of love between the two of them. Kevin is influenced by Michael. He doesn’t walk as straight a line as Michael does but he does walk a straighter line because of Michael’s influence.
Since Kevin’s debut, we’ve seen him to from being an Internet predator to arsonist to a more law-abiding citizen to actually working for the Genoa City Police Department. Now, he’s stepping back outside the law. Why?
He’s driven by his desire to keep his family safe and together. That’s something that anybody with children would be willing to do. I know I certainly would. That’s what’s driving him. Even when Kevin was reformed, he really walked that tightrope. He was never too far from making a bad decision.
He’d be at the police station working and he’d get looks like “We know you’re the fox guarding the hen house.”
Yes. Kevin’s skill set was something he could either use lawfully or legally. He was at his most “reformed” when he worked at the police station, but even then, he’d make suggestions about ways in which to acquire evidence that would probably have fallen into a gray area.
Watching Adam and Kevin is like watching a game of chess being played. One will be winning and then, it will all shift.
Yes. I love the analogy of it being a chess match. Kevin may have gotten a little in over his head and didn’t plan his moves as carefully as he should have. But Kevin is scrappy and resourceful. Even if he loses the upper hand, he’s not going to throw in the towel.
Monty Brinton/CBS
What’s it like working with Mark Grossman? He really got thrown into the deep end right away.
I think he’s spectacular, and he brings a darkness and a humanity to the character. He’s a wonderful actor and great to work with.
On tomorrow’s show, Michael’s going to suggest to Kevin that he stall. This comes after Adam tries to get him to get dirt on Nick so he can use it in the custody fight with Christian.
Yes. Kevin knows what’s on the line here, but I don’t know if he’s willing to [get Chloe back] if it means blowing up Nick’s life. He doesn’t want this to drag on, but he doesn’t want to hurt Nick.
What’s it like working with Elizabeth Hendrickson (Chloe) again?
It’s been great. Working with her is always a treat. I enjoy the dynamic between the two of us. I like Kevin and Chloe together. In more broad strokes, [the show is] taking a lot of big swings by bringing back a lot of characters that the show is excited to see. I’m thrilled to be a part of it.
Young and the Restless, Weekdays, CBS
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services