Fans of “The Young and the Restless’” Redaric Williams (Tyler Michaelson) no doubt view the Michigan native as a hot hunk. But with a business degree from the University of North Texas under his belt as well as the cajones to start his own social media company, he is much more than just a pretty face. But even with the killer combination of brains and brawn, he admitted to Soap Opera Network that he was very nervous to become a part of Genoa City!
“The first day, I had a scene with Kristoff St. John and Angell Conwell, who play Neil and Leslie. There was so much going through my mind; it was all over the place,” he says with a laugh, adding that he’s not over exaggerating. “I was worried about everything: I was worried about the crease in my shirt to the way my eyebrow moved, anything you could imagine. Anything and everything you could think of.”
Fortunately, he’s since been able to overcome that fear. But he does say that every day on set is a challenge, due to the fact that “Y&R” sets such high standards. “There’s something very, very impressive about coming out onto this set when you’re about to go to work,” he explains. “The way that everything is just moving so fast, and the way that everyone just knows what they’re doing, and they’re executing everything very, very smooth. You get the sense of, ‘Okay, I don’t want to mess up. I’ve got to make sure that I do what I’m supposed to do, that I pull my portion of the rope.’”
“The fans are every single demographic you could imagine, every age category, and they’re from all over the place. So I think that’s what sort of amazed me, how diversified the fan base actually is. And I love them all.”
— Redaric Williams
If fans were polled, the majority would say that Williams has definitely delivered. And he would say the exact same thing to them! “I’ve met fans at restaurants and wherever, and they are some of the most genuine people. You know when you meet somebody, and you just get that warmth from them? Like that. Just such good people,” he says, adding that the most surprising thing about joining “Y&R” has been getting to know the fan base. “I thought I had soap fans pegged. But it’s not like that. The fans are every single demographic you could imagine, every age category, and they’re from all over the place. So I think that’s what sort of amazed me, how diversified the fan base actually is. And I love them all.”
Speaking of fans, diehard lovers of Williams have been chomping at the bit for Tyler to land a leading lady. There’s been a tease of that possibly being Lily (Christel Khalil), but the actor himself isn’t too sure that situation will fully pan out. “I think love is a stretch,” he teases of Tyler’s future. “He sees it; it’s like the light at the end of the tunnel. But he’s in a tunnel. He’s really in a tunnel. So love is this little glimmer off in the distance.”
But that’s not to say he’s not searching for it, despite. “He is reaching for [love in his life]. You see that playing out: He’s reaching, he’s reaching, he’s reaching. And you’re going to see that the tunnel that I [mentioned] has a lot of twists and turns and ups and downs.”
And through that journey, Williams teases that his alter ego may become a completely different person! “He changes a lot,” he reveals. “What you see right now is not what you’re going to get.”