One Life to Live alum Trevor St. John (ex-Todd Manning and ex-Victor Lord) officially returned to the world of daytime this week when he took on the role of Tucker McCall on The Young and the Restless. The actor's Y&R stint had been teased since August as a "mystery role."
After years away from daytime, St. John has become the latest star to play Tucker, a character that had previously been played from 2009 to 2010 by William Russ (ex-Burt McGowan, Another World) and Stephen Nichols (Steve "Patch" Johnson, Days of our Lives; ex-Stefan Cassadine, General Hospital) from 2010 to 2013.
The character has shaken things up ever since he first arrived in Genoa City more than a decade ago, and it looks like things will be no different this time around.
Prior to his arrival in Genoa City, it had been over ten years since St. John had last appeared on daytime, though the actor did appear in the web-based rebooted version of OLTL that was produced by Prospect Park and later streamed on Hulu in 2013.
St. John made his daytime debut on One Life to Live in the early summer of 2003, initially as Walker Laurence, the younger brother of supervillain Mitch Laurence (Roscoe Born). As the summer came to an end, though, "Walker" was revealed to be none other than a plastic surgery-altered Todd Manning, who had gone missing earlier that year and was presumed dead.
St. John then put his own unique spin on Todd for eight years before original portrayer Roger Howarth returned -- as the real, not-so-dead Todd in 2011. St. John's character was then revealed to be Todd's twin brother, Victor Lord, Jr., altered by plastic surgery, of course.
In a fun twist, Y&R co-executive producer and head writer Josh Griffith was co-head writer of OLTL when St. John was debuted on the ABC soap.
"His character will come in and shake things up on all fronts because he has a lot of connections to people in Genoa City," Griffith told Soap Opera Digest for its 2022 fall preview issue. "One of those connections, you'll be surprised how it came about, and he'll have his hands in many pies. I know Trevor from One Life to Live and I'm just thrilled to get to work with him again."
In a recent interview, St. John told Digest that he was both "surprised and flattered" when he received a call to come in for a role with Y&R.
"Actually, surprised is not a strong enough word. I was more shocked," St. John said. "My first day couldn't have been better. Everyone, and I mean that literally, was welcoming and helpful. They've created a culture there of generosity and positivity that's really impressive and makes me feel fortunate to be there."
St. John has kept busy since his last stint on daytime, most notably as the determined and ruthless Air Force Master Sergeant Jesse Manes on the CW hit series Roswell for two seasons from 2019 to 2020.
Getting back into the rhythm of daytime television has been a challenge for St. John after over a decade away from the genre, the actor admits.
"I don't think I'll ever become acclimated," St. John said. "It's a completely different animal than film and prime-time. The volume of material and pace of shooting really makes it feel like a tightrope walk in a windstorm. The thing is, you can either embrace it or fight against it. I've decided to embrace it.
"The painter Edgar Degas said, 'Only when the artist no longer knows what he is doing can he do good things.' Well, I hope he's right, because every time I walk onto the set, I'm totally clueless," St. John added.
St. John holds the distinction of being the last face to have ever appeared on OLTL during its network run on ABC. In 2005, he and OLTL star Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair Crame, OLTL; ex-Eve Donovan, DAYS) were nominated for the "Irresistible Combination" award.
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