Soap veteran Jordi Vilasuso is adding another daytime drama to his credits. He debuted as lab tech Grayson Perez on Beyond The Gates on January 13. This marks the actor’s fifth soap role, and Vilasuso is excited to jump in, as you will see in the interview below.
Key Takeaways
- Vilasuso debuted as Grayson Perez on the January 13 episode of Beyond The Gates
- The actor has been in the soap opera community since 2000.
- Vilasuso was awarded the 2003 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actor for his role of Tony on Guiding Light.
- This is Jordi’s fifth soap role.
- Vilasuso is married to Kaitlin Riley, and they have three daughters: Riley Grace, Everly Maeve, and Lucy Noelle.
Grayson Perez
Grayson is a lab technician at Garland Memorial Hospital and is a potential new love interest for Ashley (Jen Jacob), who is single and ready to mingle after breaking up with Derek (Ben Gavin). Grayson was raised by a single mother, but the roles have been reversed as he takes care of his ailing parent.
When asked what attracted him to the role, Vilasuso revealed, “The show has given me a great story, and I am really excited to share it with you all.” The actor was also psyched to be on a new show. “When I was on Guiding Light, I remember they were celebrating their 50th anniversary, [of the television premiere], but being on a new show is really exciting,” the actor recalls.
One of the perks of the new gig is “getting to work with really talented people like Jen Jacob [Ashley],” adding “there’s a chemistry that I believe came through because I don’t think they would have kept writing for us as much as they have. Her character has been very kind to Grayson.”
On his wish list to share scenes with? “I would love to work with Greg Vaughan [Kial], because he and I have been on all these shows together and we never got to.”
He also mentioned Jon Lindstrom (Joey) because he loves “chopping it up with those guys who play the bad guys, because ultimately that’s the role that I want to play.”
Soap Royalty
Vilasuso caught the attention of soap viewers with his breakout role as Tony Santos on Guiding Light, a performance that earned him the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in 2003. The role put Vilasuso firmly on the daytime map and launched a career that would span multiple iconic soap operas.
“It’s been quite the journey!” Vilasuso enthused about being in the soap industry for 25 years. Vilasuso also appeared on All My Children (Griffin), Days of Our Lives (Dario), and The Young and the Restless (Rey), where he was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in 2022.
Family Man
Off-screen, Vilasuso is a devoted husband and father, and a person of deep faith. He married actress Kaitlin Riley in 2012, and the couple shares three daughters: Riley Grace, Everly Maeve, and Lucy Noelle. That was also one of the draws in taking the role — taping close to his home in Nashville. “There’s so much peace here, which we weren’t necessarily getting in LA, so this whole journey has been very divinely inspired. I truly believe that it’s God’s had his hand in it.”
He recently completed work on a faith-based project that he directed and produced. “I’ve finished directing it, and I can’t wait to share it.” He continues, “It’s a big project that I’m doing, but it was something that I received it from our Good Lord, and I’m really proud of it. I never thought I would direct something. I never thought I would write something and create something that would be in that space, but it feels so right, and the response has been so positive.”
According to the actor, it has been all positive: “I just had a big meeting this morning about it, so things seem to be really moving in the right direction.”
