[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoiler for the February 3 episode of The Young and the Restless.]
Jermaine Rivers, who made his debut on The Younger and the Stressed on February 3 as the actual Damian Kane, was very conversant in the cleaning soap earlier than he ever stepped on set. “My mom is a die-hard Younger and the Stressed fan, which makes me inherently a die-hard fan as nicely,” he explains. “I mainly grew up watching the present.”
So, when he booked the function of the mysterious newcomer, his mother was one in every of his first calls. “My mother and I’ve one of the best relationship, and I name her day-after-day,” Rivers says. “Now, my mom doesn’t do social media in any respect, so I felt it was protected for me to provide her a little bit crumb of, ‘Hey, Mother, I’m on the present, however you’re gonna should hold this categorised.’ She was like, ‘Are you gonna be the brand new son?’ She follows it! She doesn’t miss an episode.”
Rising up as a viewer wasn’t Rivers’ solely tie to Genoa Metropolis and its denizens — he had met one of many present’s superstars on a earlier challenge. “Enjoyable truth: In 2017, I used to be engaged on a movie referred to as Den of Thieves with Eric Braeden, who performs Victor Newman,” Rivers relays. “It was directed by his son, Christian Gudegast. Eric and I might have conversations, and I might ask him questions and he was so gracious.”
Displaying up on the primary day was “a really surreal second,” describes Rivers, who needed to put his private ties to the cleaning soap to the facet to concentrate on his job. “I needed to compartmentalize fairly rapidly as a result of it could possibly mess along with your head,” he confides. “I walked round and was like, ‘I acknowledge this set. I acknowledge the espresso store,’ so it was form of like, ‘Wow, I’m right here,’ however then I assumed, ‘Okay, now it’s time to do your job, have enjoyable, benefit from the second and make it actual.’ ”
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Rivers initially labored with Nathan Owens, who has been enjoying Pretend Damian, they usually rapidly discovered widespread floor. “We hit it proper off,” Rivers stories. “We had good exchanges throughout filming. He’s man and I see him as a good friend.”
The 2 had crossed paths earlier than in 2016 on Devious Maids. “We have been on the identical episode collectively. I noticed him in passing, like, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ and in hair and make-up. I feel once you’re in your supposed path, and also you’ve been doing the work that’s placing you on a sure trajectory, you’ll meet the identical individuals. He was nice then, and he’s much more nice now.”
As for what viewers can anticipate from Rivers’ model of Damian, the actor previews, “He’s a really cerebral, cautious man. He’s very strategic and performs his playing cards near the vest. He’s a really profitable businessman who’s managing and overseeing a few corporations, so he doesn’t have time for lots of video games or drama. With that stage of anonymity comes thriller, so it’s going to be enjoyable for everybody to see him initially, in distinction to what they’ve already been acquainted with along with his proxy. You will note a distinction.”
Rivers had an unconventional path to soaps. After 20 years of active-duty navy service, he was set to retire in 2013 and had to determine his subsequent transfer. An opportunity assembly in Savannah, GA modified the course of his future. “I used to be at a resort bar and lengthy story quick, I met my former agent on the bar,” he shares. “I ran into her, unintentionally, and he or she spilled a drink, so I purchased her one other one and apologized. I walked out the door to the balcony and he or she got here out a couple of minutes later and was like, ‘Thanks for the drink, and you’ve got an important look. What do you do?’ I advised her I used to be presently processing out of the navy, and he or she mentioned I could possibly be an actor or mannequin. I blew it off, however she gave me a enterprise card.”
Rivers ended up signing along with her and mere months later discovered himself engaged on a film referred to as Killing Winston Jones with Danny Glover and Richard Dreyfus. “I don’t suppose they launched it,” he remembers. “One thing occurred within the distribution or no matter, however my first expertise on set was as a featured additional on Killing Winston Jones and I bought the bug. After which two months after that, I had a principal function on a film referred to as The Sacrament. By the point I used to be formally out of the navy on June 31, 2013, I had about three or 4 regional commercials below my belt and a few movies, and I used to be gaining a little bit floor. I knew it stepping into that it’s a sport of inches and it’s going to be a sluggish grind, and I used to be okay with it.”
A lot of his early roles had an identical vibe to them. “I performed a cop on Regulation & Order: SVU, and I performed an FBI agent on The Resident,” he lists. “I feel I used to be simply emanating legislation enforcement after 20 years of navy, after which I mentioned, ‘OK, now let me rebrand myself and attempt to discover my approach into being a love curiosity or no matter,’ after which I ended up being a Marvel superhero on The Gifted, enjoying Shatter.”
Annette Brown / ©Fox / courtesy Everett Assortment
Reserving that function was a dream come true for Rivers, who grew up devouring comedian books. “I used to be such a comic book ebook geek as a little bit Military brat in Germany,” he muses. “It was so deep for me that I might spend my lunch cash to purchase comics, so to have the ability to step into the footwear of a Marvel character that I used to be conversant in was one other surreal second.”
However his focus now’s doing probably the most he can with Damian. “I’m excited,” he enthuses. “It feels prefer it’s been an extended wait and I’ve been sitting on that secret however I’m excited for the world to satisfy the actual Damian and to see the story progress. It’s an absolute pleasure and a privilege to be there, and I’ve to honor it. It feels just like the universe conspired for me to be on the proper place on the proper time to be positioned the place I’m proper now.”
The Younger and the Stressed, Weekdays, CBS, Test Native Listings