Y&R Star Michelle Stafford Gives Behind-The-Scenes Insight Into Acting

Recently on The Young and the Restless, Amanda Sinclair called Michael Baldwin for backup in talking Phyllis Summers out of leaving Genoa City for good. Actress Michelle Stafford revealed some fascinating behind-the-scenes insight into her and her co-stars’ acting methods for the scene.

Y&R Star Michelle Stafford Gives Behind-The-Scenes Insight

In the scene, Michael (Christian Le Blanc) gives a monologue about Phyllis and her sordid past in Genoa City, explaining how she grew. Stafford shared the scene on her Instagram account, and she gave some insight into what the writers wrote and how she, Le Blanc, and Amanda actress Mishael Morgan took it and turned it into something more.

“These are the kind of things I love about acting…. And acting with amazing people,” began Stafford in the caption. “So, this whole scene was about Michael coming in and giving Phyllis this whole speech about how she should stay in town. The reactions from me and @mishaelmorgan were not written in to it.”

However, the two-time Daytime Emmy winner put some of her own spin on it, and her Y&R co-stars went with it, creating an amazing scene. “Of course, since Amanda doesn’t know all this history about Phyllis, Phyllis would be a little uncomfortable with Michael talking about crimes she’s committed in such a cavalier way.”

Turning Lemons into Lemonade

Michelle Stafford pointed out how much the coronavirus pandemic stifled some of the work she and the Y&R cast and crew did on the set these past few years.

“It’s been a challenging time to really be free as an artist the last couple years,” she admitted. “The obstacles that we overcome every day… working with the masks and the distance. Especially distance we’ve had to keep during very intimate scenes, whew, very challenging. We’ve done it but (in my case) I don’t know if I’ve done it well. But when we have little Jewels like this. A scene that turns out like this. It makes me happy.”

You can check out the fantastic scene again below. Do you see it any differently after reading the actress’s commentary? Let us know in the comments section.

The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Genoa City, check out all the latest that’s been posted on Y&R spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.