40 Years of the 'Y&R' and Still At It!

'The Young and the Restless': Eric Braeden In 2020

German-American actor Eric Braeden has been working in film and television since the 1960's and has not stopped since. He is even still a main cast member of his iconic role as the villain you love to hate "Victor Newman" on The Young and the Restless!

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Eric Braeden is ingrained in American TV and Film history for his long and impressive dedication to the world famous soap opera, The Young and the Restless.

From Small Beginnings, The Young And The Restless' Eric Braeden

Born Hans-Jörg Gudegast April 3rd 1941 in Germany, he immigrated to the United States in 1959, attended the University of Montana, Missoula and almost immediately began acting. He had 120 film and television roles in his birth name before he officially began working as Eric Braeden!

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He played a German soldier in Combat! and guest starred in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and was a feature on countless daytime TV roles like The Six Million Dollar Man and The Mary Tyler Moore Show and actually needed convincing to accept the part on the soap opera The Young and the Restless.

Eric Braeden's Time As "Victor Newman" And Today

Thank goodness he did! He has been portraying the villain you love to hate "Victor Newman" on The Young and the Restless since 1980 and has not stopped being a part of the show since then! His character was originally only supposed to be temporary but fans reacted so well to him, his contract was extended. In 1998 he won a much deserved Daytime Emmy for the role.

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February marked his 40th anniversary as "Victor". He is still an active member of the cast of The Young and the Restless and continues small features on shows like How I Met Your Mother and a part in the box-office hit Den Of Thieves.

5 Facts About Eric Braeden!

Under pressure from the Hollywood studios, he was asked to change his name which he said was one of the most difficult decisions he's had to make so he created the name as an homage to his hometown in Germany, Bredenbek.
In 1958 he won the German National Team Championship in Track and Field!
He was a survivor of the sinking of the German military transport ship MV Wilhelm Gustloff in 1945.
Braeden even played John Jacob Astor, the richest man to die on the Titanic in James Cameron's 1997 Titanic. Not surprisingly, he said this role was "one of the scariest moments" of his career.
His son is a Hollywood man too! Christian Gudegast is the writer and director of the film Den Of Thieves starring Gerard Butler, 50 Cent and O'Shea Jackson Jr.
Eric has been married to his wife Dale since 1996!