Michael Graziadei shares how a co-star played a role in his return to The Young and the Restless
It has been six years since Michael Graziadei's last appearance as Daniel Romalotti on The Young and the Restless. Read on to find out how a visit from a Y&R co-star helped get the ball rolling for his return to the show.
Fans of The Young and the Restless were thrilled to hear that after being away for six years, Michael Graziadei would be reprising his role as Daniel Romallotti, and it turns out that one of his Y&R co-stars played a very instrumental role in Graziadei returning to the show. In a recent interview, Graziadei shares what sparked the initial idea.
During a visit with Christel Khalil (Lily Winters) to meet Graziadei's new twins, Arlo and Oliver, Bryton James (Devon Hamilton) asked the new dad about returning to The Young and the Restless. Graziadei told Soap Opera Digest, "So we're playing around and Bryton asked 'Would you ever come back to Y&R?' And I said, 'I don't know, man, I never really thought about it.' Then I added, 'I just always thought that if they ever wanted me to come back that they would call me.' Bryton asked if I'd be open to it. That made think if I had a regular job in Los Angeles and was not running out of town, I would be able to watch my sons grown up. So I told Bryton, 'I'd be very tempted.'"
After that conversation, James let the show know about Graziadei's interest in coming back, and thankfully, the show was open to the idea, as well. When official talks began, his visit was originally slated for December, but the show decided to bring him back earlier, and he reported to set in October.
Graziadei's return was supposed to be a secret, but he was allowed to tell James, since "he's the reason all of this happened." He found out that his return didn't remain a secret for too long. While visiting CBS for a COVID test, he ran into Josh Morrow (Nick Neman), who asked him, "Hey man, when do you start?" He also received a text from his TV mom, Michelle Stafford (Phyllis Summers), that said "GRAZ!!!" She admitted later that she knew he was coming back but didn't say anything because the cast wasn't supposed to know.
Graziadei's first stint on Y&R ran from 2004 to 2013. He returned for a short visit in 2016. When describing his current return to the soap, he said, "It was like I had never left. It just felt like another day that I was walking through the artists' entrance down the hallway to hair and makeup. However, there are a lot of new faces and I've been scrambling to learn all the names. There have also been some new sets since I left town, like Society and the Grand Phoenix, so it's a new Genoa City."
Along with the news of Graziadei's return, the show also brought back his TV dad, Michael Damian. "Michael was one of the first people that I spent a lot of time working with when I came to the show. He and I have remained in contact through the years, so getting to hang out with him and see him in person and work with him and Michelle has been so much fun. Everything about this has been a very positive experience.
Graziadei's most recent stint was on the Netflix crime drama The Lincoln Lawyer in 2022. His other acting credits include television shows The Rookie, S.W.A.T., American Horror Story: Murder House, and All Rise.
Are you enjoying Michael Graziadei's return to The Young and the Restless? Would you like to see him stay in Genoa City? We want to hear from you -- and there are many ways you can share your thoughts.
