The Young and the Restless viewers know that Daniel Romalotti is working hard to rebuild his life after a bad period. Just as things seemed to be looking up, his partner Heather left him and his mother Phyllis died after spiraling for months. Even so, Daniel’s managed to keep his wits about him and move forward. For his performance, Soap Hub Performer of the Week honors for Y&R is presented to Daniel’s portrayer, Michael Graziadei.
Michael Graziadei: Y&R Performer of the Week
This week was a sad one for Daniel and his sister Summer (Allison Lanier) because they said goodbye to their mother, Phyllis (Michelle Stafford). Graziadei started out the week strong when he gently confronted Summer about not letting him plan their mother’s memorial. We loved the gentle tone that he had Daniel take, given the delicate situation. Even so, he did end up having his artwork used in the celebration, which the actor revealed made Daniel proud through the look on his face.
During the memorial, we loved the way Graziadei expressed Daniel’s complete devastation when he simply could not speak. He stood and made an attempt, but he tearfully admitted he couldn’t. The actor said so much for Daniel without any words through his demeanor and teary eyes. Even the dejected way he sat, showed the depth of Daniel’s heartache.
However, perhaps the best moment came after Summer put Diane (Susan Walters) on the spot, and Daniel ended up rescuing her by standing up and finally saying something about Phyllis. Graziadei helped Daniel give a heartfelt speech, hitting just the right note with this voice and just the right timing with his delivery. It was a believable moment, and we felt that Daniel was truly dealing with the tsunami of grief that came with losing his mom, especially after their estrangement. He was also filled with pride when Lucy (Lily Brooks O’Briant) stood to say her piece.
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Amid Daniel’s grief, Michael Graziadei gave him some lighter moments, too in his interactions with Lily (Christel Khalil) at Society after Lily and Danny (Michael Damian) tried to set them up by leaving. We could see Daniel’s wanting when Lily went home instead of sticking around with him. Obviously, he feels a pull toward Lily, and most of that was built through body language and facial expressions. Bravo on an excellent performance!
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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