Y&R Peter Bergman Talks Jack Abbott’s Staying Power – Actor Thought He’d Be “Gone” After A Few Months

The Young and the Restless (Y&R) spoilers note that Peter Bergman recently celebrated 35 years of playing Jack Abbott in Genoa City, this past month.

Believe it or not, Bergman was recast in the role in November 1989 after OG Jack Abbott, actor Terry Lester, left the show.

Bergman recently spoke with Soap Opera Digest (SOD) about entering the role of Jack Abbott and how he thought he wouldn’t last more than a few months on the Y&R.

Young And The Restless Spoilers – Star Peter Bergman – “Recasts … Just Didn’t Work”

Before jumping into the Jack Abbott role, Bergman played Dr. Cliff Warner on All My Children (AMC) from 1979 to 1989. He was let go from the soap, and as such, lost a bit of confidence in the process.

Plus, during his time on AMC Bergman saw recasts come and go, so while he was grateful for his new job at the Y&R, he had his reservations.

Talking to SOD, Bergman states, “We had [recasts] on All My Children that just didn’t work; there were not too many replacements who lasted long-term.”

He goes on to say, “And so, I kind of felt that I was going to be one of those, that six months later, they were going to say, ‘No, let’s just kill the character.’”

Y&R Spoilers – Star Peter Bergman – Hindsight Is 20/20

His perspective on job security changed dramatically after he won his first Daytime Emmy in 1991, noting that when he won the award for playing Jack Abbott, he said, “Yep, this part is mine.”

In fact, he would move to add two more Daytime Emmys to that statue, and has accumulated a total of 24 Daytime Emmy nominations during his time on the Y&R.

At this point, could anyone else play Jack? It would be like trying to recast Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) or Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott)!

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