‘Y&R’ star Michelle Stafford reflects on the 1 storyline where ‘Phyllis was truly spinning out’
When Michelle Stafford first landed the role of Phyllis Summers on “The Young and the Restless,” it was only supposed to be a three-week gig. Now, she’s celebrating her 30th anniversary.
“I was always expecting to go from job to job because that’s how the acting thing goes,” she tells TODAY.com in a recent interview. “I am continuously stunned that I’ve kept a job, that I continue to act. Not everyone can say that.”
Originally, the character of Phyllis was simply going to cause a little chaos then exit the show shortly afterward. But Stafford soon earned herself a contract role.
“Because we had the genius Bill Bell (the show’s creator), he saw something in Phyllis,” she says.
Since then, Phyllis has become a main player on the daytime soap opera, and the character will get a special tribute episode Oct. 18.
“When they decided to do it, I was very touched. They don’t have to do it. And, you know, Josh (Morrow, who plays Nick Newman) just had one, and then Sharon (Case, who plays Sharon Newman) had one, and it would have been fine with me if it was just them,” she says, noting that the three actors started on the show within months of each other.
“Y&R” fans can look forward to a tribute episode showcasing “the evolution” of Phyllis’ character, per Stafford.
“As we were shooting it, they showed some clips that they were going to show, and I was just like, ‘Oh my God, I remember that day,'” she says.
3 decades of storylines
Phyllis has been at the center of many spirited storylines over the last three decades.
When asked to pinpoint a few of her favorites, Stafford says she particularly enjoyed the Nick and Phyllis affair, which came about following the death of Nick and Sharon’s daughter, Cassie Newman (Camryn Grimes). At the time, both Stafford and Morrow had been on “Y&R” for around 10 years.
“I felt like it was a very real story and told so well,” she says, adding that Nick and Phyllis were two characters “you would never, ever expect” to get together.
In the early 2000s, Stafford got the opportunity to play both Phyllis and Sheila Carter (normally played by Kimberlin Brown) when Sheila, who currently appears on “The Bold and the Beautiful,” got plastic surgery to look like Phyllis.
“That was really, really fun. And the part where she was in a little jail cell, and I was working with Doug (Davidson, who played Paul Williams) and Christian (LeBlanc, who plays Michael Baldwin) only. That was so much fun,” she says.
In 2023, Phyllis faked her own death then came back from the dead, much to the shock of everyone in Genoa City.
“I liked that story. I had a really great time spinning out. Phyllis was truly spinning out,” Stafford says.
Most recently, Phyllis has been brought into a storyline involving the suspicious death of her daughter-in-law, Heather Stevens (Vail Bloom). As her son, Daniel Romalotti (Michael Graziadei), navigates the loss of his wife, Phyllis is prepared to jump into mama bear mode to support him.
“As it continues on, it gets more and more dramatic. Phyllis is really fighting for her son. And again, it’s looking like she doesn’t have a lot of comrades in her fight. Hopefully she gets one or two later on,” she says.
Entertaining rivalries
Thanks to her saucy personality, Phyllis has cultivated many rivalries over the years, and Stafford enjoys letting her inner sass out during these scenes.
“Every single (rivalry) is significant to Phyllis,” Stafford notes, adding that her rivalries are deeply layered.
For instance, Phyllis has always had a bit of a rivalry with Sharon, but there hasn’t been a deep-seated sense of animosity until recently. Sharon went off her medications to treat her bipolar disorder and started exhibiting hostile behavior toward Phyllis’ son and granddaughter.
“Sharon and Phyllis weren’t rivals until the affair, then they were. I think that Phyllis does genuinely care about Sharon, except now. I think in the past I’ve been able to play that she genuinely cares for her. But because of the circumstances, there’s bad blood,” Stafford explains.
Phyllis also has an ongoing feud with Diane Jenkins (Susan Walters), Jack Abbott’s (Peter Bergman) current wife and the mother of his son, Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor). The two ladies have dueled for Jack’s affections on many occasions over the years.
“The Diane thing is just pure rivalry. Phyllis couldn’t have children, and Diane used that against her. (This is a) legit button to push for women,” Stafford says.
Phyllis’ rivalry with Christine Blair Williams (Lauralee Bell), which is primarily rooted in their shared affections for Danny Romalotti (Michael Damian), is also particularly entertaining for Stafford. Christine’s nickname is “Cricket,” but Phyllis has always referred to her as “The Bug” to show her disdain. Although Stafford acknowledges that she’s more inclined to take Christine’s side with this one.
“I personally believe that Phyllis is completely crazy on that one. The other ones I can see Phyllis’s side. I can be like, ‘OK, I see her side. I kind of get why she would not like that person,’” she says. “But yeah, Phyllis has only done Christine wrong, and I feel like a lot of her vitriol toward Christine has to do with Phyllis trying to overcompensate for how wrong she feels.”
Phyllis’ epic romances
Phyllis has never had trouble finding handsome suitors, but Stafford doesn’t necessarily see her character settling down for a prolonged period of time.
“If this were a movie, I don’t think Phyllis would end up with anyone, quite honestly. If it were a movie, we would have to have an end. That’s the beauty of daytime is it’s just a bunch of middles. There’s never any end,” she says.
Phyllis and Nick’s on-and-off-again romance has played a pivotal role in Phyllis’ character development, but it hasn’t come without its own set of challenges.
“They have legitimate obstacles, like Sharon and Victor (Newman, played by Eric Braeden) and his family,” she says.
The same goes for Phyllis and Jack’s recurring romance.
“Diane has been an obstacle, and then (Jack’s) hatred for Victor has been an obstacle. So there are just such legitimate, heavy obstacles in her relationships,” Stafford says.
Of course, the actor would welcome the opportunity to have her character settle into a healthy, enduring relationship.
“It would be fantastic to actually have someone in her life that doesn’t bring all these problems. I don’t know if they’ll write that, but that would be fun to play,” she says. “Phyllis certainly could use it.”
Finding her soap opera ‘family’
Whether she’s filming a scene with her on-screen children or partnering up with a fellow veteran star of the show, Stafford appreciates the bonds she’s formed with her co-stars.
“We spend a lot time together. During COVID, that meant something to me that I went through a pandemic with these guys,” she says.
When Hollywood temporarily shut down during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, “Y&R” was one of the first shows to go back into production, and Stafford says the “family atmosphere” on set was never more apparent than during that time.
“The liability of a group working together in close contact like we do, we have to care about each other. It’s a must. We took it seriously for each other,” she says.
Of course, “Y&R” fans are a very important part of the family, too, and Stafford describes the cast’s relationship with viewers as “beautiful.”
“When we were in lockdown and we were showing our reruns of favorite episodes, people loved it. It actually gave people a lot of comfort, and that means a lot to me. It’s very familiar to people. People have their favorite character, and that’s very familiar to them. Our show, in particular, it’s important to people,” she says.
What’s next for Stafford?
Between her entrepreneurial endeavors and her work on “Y&R,” Stafford’s plate is pretty full these days.
In addition to starring on the show, the mother of two also keeps busy with her skin care line, Skin Nation, a collection of products made with “high quality, organic ingredients” at an affordable price. Stafford was inspired to launch the brand after her sister was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.
“I created it after I had done extensive research into carcinogens and toxins in our skin care, mainly in our food, and that brought me to skin care,” she says.
Looking back on her “Y&R” journey, the actor says she “never thought” she’d one day be celebrating her 30th anniversary with the show when she first joined the cast.
The future is wide open for the star, who’s enjoying her time on the show and taking things “one day at a time” as she’s always done.
