How Jordi Vilasuso’s Fourth Soap Role Gave Him A New Perspective
With three soaps under his belt, and a new role as Y&R’s Rey, Jordi Vilasuso considers the title of daytime veteran a badge of honor. “In my 30s I came to a point in my life where I realized what a blessing soaps really are,” states the actor. “I love to work and for me, it’s really about creating something with other actors, working on a great piece of material and bringing it to life.”
That appreciation for the genre didn’t come easily, however. The actor left daytime after his first soap, hoping to land a plum prime-time or film job. “In my 20s, after I won my Emmy, I did a pilot and I signed with a huge agency,” Vilasuso recounts. “But I had to eat a lot of humble pie and jump around town, from gig to gig, and figure it out. It’s a story I can share now, and I am where I am now because of it.”
Having worked in sudsers on all three networks, Vilasuso is thrilled to have finally landed on Y&R. “I have to say that if there was a soap that I wanted to be on, it was this one because they’re doing a lot of awesome stuff,” he smiles. “Mal [Young, executive producer/head writer] is such a joy to work with. He’s looking to really push the envelope and try new and creative things, which I think is where we need to go. Everybody is realizing, ‘Man, how are we going to deal with this Gen-Z generation that’s watching media on their phone?’ We’ve got to figure out a way to engage them in the stories and Mal is interested in doing that. I’m really excited.”
Vilasuso is having a good time discovering the layers of his new alter ego. “Rey is doing a lot of investigating, a lot of snooping around in the most casual, nice kind of way while getting to know the inhabitants of Genoa City,” he notes. “He’s not really twirling his mustache too much, but I would say there’s a little bit of mystery.”
That mystery includes why Rey and brother Arturo were estranged. “Yeah, there’s a bit of a conflict and a grudge between them, which is pretty heavy,” Vilasuso affirms. “It’s not going to be addressed right now, but we’ll be getting there. Rey is older than Arturo, so he’s a bit of a paternal figure and there’s definitely a lot of resentment. I would say they’ve been away from each other for quite some time, but the reasons are very sensitive. When it comes out, I think there will be a gasp from the audience.”
Vilasuso has bonded with his soap sibling off camera, however. “Jason [Canela, Arturo] and I are from the same place in Miami, so we have a lot of things in common,” he shares. “He just reminds me of a homeboy back from my old stomping grounds. When he’s here, we hang out.” He’s also getting to know his other co-stars better. “Joshua [Morrow, Nick] is awesome and I have a lot of fun with him. Eric [Braeden, Victor] is amazing to work with, Sharon [Case, Sharon] is fantastic, she’s such a pro and is just able to pick up a script and do it. Amelia [Heinle, Victoria] is super-cool, Melissa [Ordway, Abby] is such a sweetie and Gina [Tognoni, Phyllis] is lovely, plus we have a lot of mutual friends in soapdom. We’re all working so hard that there’s not a lot of hanging out, but everybody is having fun on the set.”
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Another benefit to the soap job is staying close to his family, which consists of wife Kaitlin and their two daughters, Riley and Everly. “I’m able to come home, and help my wife with dinner and putting the kids to bed, whereas on other gigs, I’ve had to leave home for three weeks,” Vilasuso says. “This gig on Y&R is going to let me be there for my kids, which I’m really passionate about. It’s a real blessing.”
Raising daughters has been a rewarding experience. “I’m so happy with girls in my life, I don’t have that need to go for the boy,” Vilasuso declares. “There’s so much love and affection in my house on top of a lot of emotional energy. I love my girls. They own me big-time and I do anything for them. My daughters ask, ‘Can we play makeup?’ and I’m like, ‘Sure, yeah.’ And there’s so much glitter on the furniture. It sticks to everything! I show up to work and they’ll say, ‘You have glitter on your face,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I have daughters that are obsessed with being princesses.’ ”
Which is why being a family man may be his most important role yet. “It’s taught me a lot about what’s important,” Vilasuso reflects. “It makes me stronger, it makes me better, and it makes this job easier in a sense because I know what my priorities are, it’s not just about the work, it’s about them at the end of the day. It just gets better and better.”
JUST THE FACTS
Birthday: June 15
Born In: Miami, FL
Marital Status: Married to Kaitlin Riley since August 25, 2012. “We first met when she was 17 and I was 22. When she was 23, she hit me up on Facebook and asked what I was doing. It’s like we didn’t miss a beat and we started dating from that day on. I still have her Facebook message.”
Jordi Vilasuso
Pretty In Pink: The couple has two daughters, Riley, 5 (“She’s smart as a whip”), and Everly, 2 (“She doesn’t take no for an answer”).
Former Soap Roles: Dario Hernandez (DAYS, 2016-17), Dr. Griffin Castillo (ALL MY CHILDREN, 2010-11, 2013) and Tony Santos (GUIDING LIGHT, 2000-03).
Golden Opportunity: Vilasuso won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actor in 2003 for his GL role.
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Family Pet: “We have a goldendoodle named Maddy and she just turned 8. She’s really sweet and affectionate, but she’s a little upset right now because she’s been on a diet for about two months.”
TV Fare: “I don’t watch a lot of TV because that’s our second babysitter, so there’s a plethora of children’s programming. CURIOUS GEORGE is a staple at our house. I was obsessed with CURIOUS GEORGE as a kid.”
Vilasuso looks back at his previous experiences in daytime.
GL’s Tony: “It started me in this business and it was a lot of fun. That was a dream come true having loved gangster movies as a kid. When I came to the set they asked, ‘Have you ever shot a gun before?’ and I said, ‘No.’ They had me shoot two Glocks at the same time, and, I mean, come on, if you played cops and robbers growing up, it was great! And living and working in New York on top of it, single and 19 years old, was a real gift. I loved it. I still have people send me clips that are on YouTube and I crack up. I was so young!”
AMC’s Griffin: “It was great [playing a doctor] because I grew up in a family of physicians. My grandfather was a pediatrician in Cuba and then Florida; my dad, his brothers and my brother were all doctors. I was given a lot of medical jargon on the show and when I had trouble pronouncing things, I would just call my dad and he would advise me. Once or twice, he even corrected them in what they were doing. I would go back and say, ‘You might want to take a second look at that because I’m talking to an actual doctor and I think he knows what he’s talking about!’ That was pretty cool.”
DAYS’s Dario: “Everyone is so kind and happy to be there, it was, like, the nicest set ever. Unfortunately, I was written into a corner because they actually had switched writers and they had different plans for the show, which happens and I get it. Was I happy about it? No, but I understand. That was a hard pill to swallow, but made me look at this business and really be grateful where I’m at right now. I can really appreciate it from that point of view now.”
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Did You Know?
• He recently worked with Alicia Leigh Willis (ex-Courtney, GH) on the movie Baby Obsession. The
actress was one of the presenters for his Daytime Emmy win, but had trouble pronouncing his name.
“When she first saw me, she’s like, ‘I murdered your last name!’ She was very self-deprecating and lovely about it. It was a really nice moment for us.”
• His cousin Marivi is married to actor Andy Garcia.
• His sister-in-law is teen star Bailee Madison.
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