‘The Young and the Restless’ (Y&R) spoilers share that Peter Bergman, who plays Jack Abbott, recently dished on the Soapy podcast to hosts Greg Rikaart and Rebecca Budig.
‘The Young and the Restless’ Spoilers: The Infamous Victor/Jack Rivalry Is Historic as Bergman and Braden Were Also at Odds
Rikaart plays Leo Stark on Days of Our Lives, and Budig plays Taylor Hayes on The Bold and the Beautiful. So, Bergman’s fellow soap actors understand the backstage drama that sometimes occurs in daytime dramas.
Not to mention, we all know that life sometimes imitates art. What went down between Bergman and Eric Braden, who plays ruthless business tycoon Victor Newman, is the perfect example of that.
Fans also know that Victor Newman and Jack Abbott hate each other with the passion of a thousand suns. So, it’s interesting to hear that the two of them clashed when Bergman first came to work at Y&R.
Bergman started his soap career playing Cliff Warner on All My Children in 1979. In 1989, he was fired from the soap.
The actor’s sudden availability coincided with Terry Lester’s departure from the role of Jack, who established the character in 1982.
Melody Thomas Scott, who plays Nikki Newman on Y&R, recommended Peter for the role. In November 1989, Bergman came to the show to play Jack.
She had seen a photo of Bergman on the cover of Soap Opera Digest, announcing that he had been fired from the show.
Melody recognized his talent and immediately told her husband, then-producer, Edward Scott,
“This is your next Jack Abbott.”
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Bergman explained that the off-screen dynamic between him and Braden was tense when he first joined the show. It was very difficult for both actors to coexist on set at first.
‘The Young and the Restless’ Spoilers: The Friction Between Them Was the Source of “Tabloid Fodder”
According to Soap Opera Digest, Bergman revealed that friction between the two men became the source of some “tabloid fodder.” The actor told Rikaart and Budig that, at the time, Jack was a manipulative, womanizing cad.
So, for Bergman, the role required him to act and behave a certain way, and he admitted that he was cocky on the set.
Bergman said that Braden wasn’t a fan of his cockiness. He added,
“Braden and I always worked very differently, which created more discord.”
He said,
“Early on, there was some real conflict there, yes. It was very tough. And that made the transition from AMC to Y&R harder. And I worked pretty exclusively with Eric and Melody for my first two years there, aside from the Abbott family part. And it was an experience.”
Over the years, Braden and Bergman
Bergman and Braden’s characters, Jack and Victor, have one of the most infamous rivalries in soap history. However, Bergman gushed, “We’re great friends today.”
He added,
“We get along very well today and are very proud of this Jack/Victor saga, which he referred to as probably the oldest enmity in all of television. The journey we’ve taken together off camera, I’m very proud of.”
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