Miles Gaston Villanueva may have little too aggressive with Summer towards the end of his run on as Luca on The Young and the Restless (YR), but that’s nothing compared to his next role.
The actor is slated to play Lyle Menendez in NBC’s upcoming fall series Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders.
Soap Hub talked with Villanueva about the part and his thoughts on whether he’ll ever be back to Y&R.
Killer Moves
Lyle Menedez, who along with his brother, Erik, shot and killed their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez in one of the most high-profile murder cases in modern US history.
The pair was represented in court by attorney Leslie Abramson, played in the series by Edie Falco (The Sopranos).
“We have so much depth of character,” Villanueva tells Soap Hub about this powerful role. “We’ll see why Lyle and his brother did what they did.” The actor is a bit too young to recall the real-life case when it was going on, but he says “I feel like I knew their faces.”
Happy Parents Day
Ironically, Villanueva’s parents were in town helping get their son a dresser on the day he learned he got the coveted part.
The actor had his manager and agent on speaker phone when they gave their client the good news so he could share it with them immediately. “We all started screaming,” Villanueva recalls. “They joked that they wanted to offer (my father) the role of Jose.”
In real life, Lyle wore a hair piece, but in the series Villanueva will have his own hair style to appear as if he’s wearing a wig. “They style it every day,” he says. “Everyone thought it was a real piece when they first saw it.”
Despite this levity, Villanueva says the material is very gritty and powerful. (The Menendez sons said they shot their parents following years of abuse.)
“Gus [Halper, who plays Erik] and I have been watching documentaries, it’s horrifying. The boys are seen at different ages and there will be flashbacks.”
A Third Stay in Genoa City?
In addition to playing Luca, Villaneuva also briefly played a priest who gave Nikki info that led to her reunion with Dylan (Steve Burton).
If Y&R offers him a third role would he say yes? “Never say never,”the actor responds with a smile. “There are some wonderful people I worked with on that show.”
Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders debuts Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.
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