While in Toronto, beloved The Young and the Restless star Peter Bergman (Jack Abbott) sat down with us, alongside his co-star Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki Newman), to discuss a surprising new project that has him appearing outside of Genoa City: The new series, Pluribus, which premieres today, Friday, November 7.
Bergman, who holds the record for Outstanding Lead Actor nominations at the Daytime Emmy Awards (and won three), shared the intriguing story of how he landed the role for the new Apple TV show, which stars Better Call Saul’s Rhea Seehorn.
From Jack Abbott to the “Distinguished Gentleman”
Bergman revealed that he received a personal call from friend, Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad), asking him to take on a role. The process immediately felt high stakes.
“He called and asked if I would come in and play a role, and he said, I’ll send you the script. And there were NDAs and watermarked pages and everything, Bergman explained.
When he finally read the script, the original character name was priceless: “Distinguished Gentleman.”
“Well, of course, so perfect,” laughed Thomas Scott, with Bergman admitting, “So I thought, well, he thinks I’m distinguished.”
A Seven-Page Monologue
The role, while brief, proved to be an intense acting challenge. Bergman’s pages involved a lengthy monologue that had him “prattling on for seven pages.”
The actor described the demanding shoot, which took him to New Mexico. “Every single time I did a take, I did it from the beginning to the end, every single time. And I think there were 13 different takes from different angles…” he recalled.
Bergman confirmed that the series is a vehicle for the “wonderful” Seehorn and that he’ll appear in the first episode. While the intense promotion might make fans think he’s a central character, the actor kept expectations grounded.
The teaser looks like it’s our show,” he joked. “No, I’m not [starring]. I’m in the last seven pages of the first episode.”
Pluribus premieres November 7 on Apple TV.
