Hayley Erin has had another whirlwind year of playing Claire Newman on The Young and the Restless and the drama for her character shows no signs of slowing down. From her initial storyline as a vengeful stranger controlled by her aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk), Claire has recently started to let loose in Genoa City – and Los Angeles – especially with her attraction to the new and mysterious Holden (Nathan Owens).
The TV Watercooler caught up with the actress in Toronto to discuss the latest twists, including Claire’s newfound comfort, the escalating tension with Audra (Zuleyka Silver), and what might happen when she discovers Kyle (Michael Mealor) has been digging into Holden’s past.
Erin opens up about navigating Claire’s complicated romances and the unique challenge of her family ties. She shares insight into why Claire feels she can justify her connection with shady characters, and we also dive into the beautiful, yet fragile, relationship Claire is forming with her mother, Victoria (Amelia Heinle), and how the lingering voice of Jordan continues to influence Claire’s inner monologue.
All right! Let’s got into it – it was quite the spicy week last week in Los Angeles for Claire.
Yes! Yes.
You’ve shot love scenes with Michael Mealor’s Kyle before but now it’s a different dynamic and scene partner with Nathan Owens as Holden.
Yeah, it’s always interesting.
Could that happiness be short-lived now that Holden has told Claire the truth about his past and what happened with Audra (Zuleyka Silver)?
I think there are some realizations that Claire’s coming to about Holden, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she’ll be able to resist her attraction to him either.
I think there’s a bit of push and pull between her conscience and knowing that he’s a little bit of a shady character, but also remember that she’s a little bit of a shady character [as well].
Audra and Holden cashing that cheque is one thing, but Claire has done some horrible stuff to her own family.
Exactly! So, I think when she applies that kind of framing to the situation [with Holden], she’s able to justify her connection to Holden. Even though, on the face of it, she knows that maybe it’s not the smartest thing to do.
Will she be more upset at Kyle when it comes out that he was doing some digging around Holden’s past in LA?
That is a raw nerve right now, so I think you’re on to something!
What can we expect between Claire and Audra?
There’s so much good stuff between Claire and Audra coming up. I absolutely adore Zuleyka. We have such fun banter. There’s a lot of fun with the dynamic [between us]. Things are going to escalate for sure.
Do you think Holden should be afraid of Victor or that something that is only reserved for people with the last name Abbott?
I don’t think it’s strictly reserved for them, but I think that there’s an intensity to that rage that no one else can quite reach! I wouldn’t want to cross him no matter what my [last] name was! So, we’ll have to see. Actually, I’m curious as to how that’s all going to play out.
Kyle does have one card in his pocket that I think Claire can’t really resist and that’s Harrison. Does she lead into his guilt trip?
I don’t think she sees it as a guilt trip. I think Claire really wants to be in Harrison’s life and loves that role. It’s not so much as a guilt, but she sees [that relationship] as a responsibility, especially since Summer is not around right now.
I think that being a female presence for Harrison is something that Claire doesn’t take lightly. But it’s a very difficult balance now that she and Kyle aren’t together.
What is she to Harrison? Because she’s not the nanny anymore. She’s not his mom. She’s not even his stepmom. She’s not even his dad’s girlfriend. Like, there’s not really a clearly defined purpose, I suppose. What is she? If Summer is his mom and she’s my cousin…
His aunt?
I’m like his aunt. Yeah, I never thought about it like that.
How are you approaching Claire as this young woman who was controlled by Jordan (Colleen Zenk) her entire life? She never really got to experience living like a young woman would. So, I think the scenes in LA where she’s partying and having fun were refreshing to see. Like, was that her first time going to a club?
Absolutely! Yeah, I had so much fun filming those scenes. Ever since Claire first met Holden and started drinking Vespers, it’s been this kind of slow burn of her dipping her toe into that world of not necessarily partying, like in LA, but even just letting loose a little bit.
So, to see her let loose a lot was really fun and I’m excited to see if that has a lasting effect on her demeanour because I think he’s always been very measured. So, it’ll be interesting to see if that kind of control that she has loosens up a little bit.
I mean, Jordan’s not around, but could her voice always be in Claire’s head?
Yeah, definitely. I think we all have a parental voice in our head because that’s where our inner monologue is born.
As a parent of two young girls, I try to be a good mom. So, I’ve read a lot about psychology, which is so helpful with Claire because she’s such an interesting head case. But a lot of the parenting stuff is that we want to give them the unprod
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I think we all have a parental voice in our head because that’s where our inner monologue is born. I think as I’m a parent to two young girls and I, you know, try to be, good mom. And so I, I’ve, you know, read a lot about psychology. I’m really into psychology, which is so helpful with Claire because she’s such an interesting head case.
A lot of the parenting stuff is that we want to give our kids a productive inner monologue, and to be supportive and positive because our words really do form the way that children think. So, that’s definitely at play. Not the negative, but it’s almost the fearmongering that Jordan would do [to Claire]. The worst-case scenario is always playing out [for Claire]. There’s that defensiveness that is born out of that, for sure. Claire is always kind of measuring people.
She’s getting the opposite [of Jordan] now with her mom, Victoria (Amelia Heinle). Like when she invited Victoria over to her hotel room after Holden had left. I think we’ll be seeing more scenes of Claire confiding in Victoria about Holden and Kyle. It’s a totally different mother/daughter relationship that Claire is used to.
Yeah and it’s interesting because it’s a mother/daughter relationship that is being formed between two women. So, it’s interesting that they’re friends and there has been enough heartache that they’ve experienced together.
It’s unique because they don’t have that shared history [that Victoria would have with Katie]. Not that it’s not as strong, but it is such an important relationship to Claire.
I think sometimes maybe she tells Victoria what she wants to hear and maybe it isn’t as honest. There’s not that comfortability that you have with someone that you’ve known your whole life. So, I think sometimes those conversations between Claire and Victoria, while completely honestly, maybe Claire isn’t being honest with herself because wants to be the person that she wants Victoria to see her as, rather than being an entirely, raw person.
And it’s a rough time for them both after losing Cole (J. Eddie Peck). With the holidays coming up, is there grief going to be touched upon?
I hope so. The loss of Cole is so devastating. It’s such a devastating blow to Claire, having had just gotten him back into her life. I think that in a way, it really solidified her as a Newman because now she has no other family.
But, I do hope the memories of Cole are kept alive. Because he also had so much history [on the show] too.
Last year, the Christmas episode was so lovely [between Claire, Victoria and Cole]. I actually had a premonition because it was so lovely, I was like “This isn’t going to end well. No one gets to be happy. It’s a dangerous thing.”
What was it like coming back to Y&R as an adult, after having played Abby when you were younger? It’s the same family, but a new character. Sometimes, when you see Melissa Ordway’s Abby, do you go, “Oh, my Abby would have never done that?”
Oh, it’s hilarious! We’re obsessed with each other. When we saw each other at the Daytime Emmys [earlier this year], we decided to be each other’s dates. We walked the carpet together, and we called it the “Abby Sandwich.” And anyone who wanted to come in the middle could take a photo with us!
Melissa’s playing the adult version of a character that I played as a kid, so I don’t think we feel any weirdness about that because we never really had to interpret the same thing. I loved that character, and I love what Melissa has done with it. She’s such a great actress and is so funny.
I loved your time on General Hospital as Kiki. Roger Howart is now on Y&R and he played your “sort of” dad on GH.
My dad-ish!
Have you shared many scenes together yet or seen each other on set?
We’ve definitely seen each other on set. It’s been so great to catch up. We’ve been hanging out, which is really fun because we’re both in brand new places in our lives, so there’s a lot of stuff to catch up on, which is great.
I adore him! We may have a couple of scenes together, so we’ll see!
How much does he tie into Holden’s backstory?
Yeah, because it’s all in LA and Shadow Room-centric. There’s definitely a connection [between Holden and Matt Clark/Mitch Bacall].
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on Global and CBS. Canadians can catch up with episodes on demand, the Global TV app, STACKTV, and at GlobalTV.com.
