Michael Muhney of “The Young and the Restless” talks about his character’s brief walk on the gay side

TV Guide Canada does such an exceptional job of covering daytime soaps and has an exceptional new interview with actor Michael Muhney who plays Adam on The Young and the Restless.

He was an emergency recast last summer for Chris Engen and walked right into a storyline that had his character partially blind and sleeping with his lawyer and friend Rafe (Yani Gellman) to get out of a jam. It was disappointing that the Adam and Rafe storyline did not develop further or that the two never even shared an on-screen kiss.

Michael tells writer Nelson Branco that he was game for a same-sex lip-lock if the script had called for it.  Below is the portion of the interview where he talks Adam-Rafe. But there is much more to the piece which you can access through the link at the start of this post.

TVG: Do you think Adam exhibits gay tendencies? Or is Adam just financially bisexual?!
MM: Let me tell you something, as an actor, the Rafe seduction really whet my appetite. First of all, as an actor I have no boundaries whatsoever. A character who will do anything to get what he wants will always draw me in as an actor. Adam blurred the lines of sexuality when he seduced his gay friend for the sake of self-preservation. That told the audience that there isn’t a line he won’t cross. Which makes Adam the ultimate threat because he refuses to fail or lose. That’s very dangerous. At some point, we have to find Adam’s Achilles heel, of course. Perhaps then, Adam will stop wielding his sword.

TVG: Was this Adam’s first sexual encounter with a man?
MM: I’ve been told it was.

TVG: Adam should win an Emmy for “faking” it in bed! It was obviously authentic enough for Rafe to believe Adam was gay as a handbag.
MM: [Laughs] Yes! What I like is that Adam has thrown out the ambiguous nature of that encounter. How far did Rafe and Adam really go in bed? What’s nice is that the audience gets to draw their own conclusions.

TVG: Some viewers wondered if Y&R was making a statement by having Adam immediately take a shower after he had sex with Rafe.
MM: To me, that was metaphorical. He embraced a sexual moment for a grander scheme, so afterwards he felt like he had to wash himself of those actions. I think Adam surprised himself at the lengths he’d go to survive. In that moment, he was tormented at what he was truly capable of. All in all, I like how the story played out. The best part is that particular story thread is still hanging out there to be explored. I get a kick out of the fact that from time to time several characters will make comments about Rafe and Adam’s sexual encounters. Adam still has to answer for taking advantage of Rafe and his sexuality. I would think that one day Adam’s going to have to address how he betrayed his friend in the worst possible way. Until then, Adam will play defense when their affair is brought up.

TVG: Do you think Nikki was justified in outing Adam’s affair with Rafe to anyone who would listen? I thought that was a fascinating beat, even though Y&R never addressed the moral implications.
MM: I think Nikki felt she was justified in outing Adam to give her loved ones insight into who they were really dealing with, and, of course, protect them in the process. We’ll never know if Nikki intended any direct malice via her actions.

TVG: What did you think when Y&R chose not to air a single kiss between Rafe and Adam?
MM: To be honest, I didn’t think anything of it. I wasn’t happy nor was I disappointed by that decision. I understood their thinking. Hey, I just come into work and do my job. Having said that, let me tell you, if the kiss was written into the script, I would completely embrace it with open arms. I’m an actor. That’s what I do — act. I would’ve gone the distance. As I always have and always will.

TVG: The worst thing an actor can do is judge their character. Once you do that, you’re not acting. You have developed quite the gay following thanks to playing Adam, Genoa City’s sexual terrorist! You first attracted a gay fan base during your scene-stealing turn as the sarcastic and surly Sheriff Don Lamb on Veronica Mars, right?
MM: I don’t know if my following was predominantly gay, but I did have my share of gay fans. There are more gay folks out there than the average person gives credence to. As my career has grown with larger audiences, I find all different types of people who admire, critique or follow my work.

One of the campaigns I’m very proud to work with is the No-H8 Campaign. It’s funny because I tend to romanticize what it was like to live in the ‘60s or ‘50s. You know — what it was like to live in a world with hardly any cars on the road or when the fox trot ruled the day and that sort of thinking. But then, I remind myself that half our country didn’t have any rights. I definitely would have fought in the civil rights movement and drank from the colored water fountain with pride. Make no mistake, if I was born in that era, I would’ve gotten myself into a lot of trouble! And here we are again, in another civil rights movement involving the gay community. I want to stand up with tears and frustrations and just say, “Are you kidding me? You’re going to tell me that there are rules and limitations to love?” As my sister likes to say, “straight people have no right to corner the market on miserable marriages!” It’s heartbreaking, really.