‘The Young and the Restless’ Actor Greg Rikaart Dishes on the Craziest Thing His Character Has Ever Done
Since 2003, Greg Rikaart has been heating up the screen on the CBS television soap opera The Young and the Restless. Playing the role of lovable Kevin Fisher, he won a Daytime Emmy in 2005 for his performance.
Over the years, the hardworking actor has had his fair share of strange moments on the long-running daytime drama. His character has endured some pretty wild storylines. A particular moment stood out in his mind when online fans asked about the craziest things Fisher has ever done.
Greg Rikaart’s role as fan-favorite Kevin Fisher
A New York native, Rikaart began his acting career on Dawson’s Creek, cast in a recurring role as a gay student. In 2003, he was offered a job on The Young and the Restless playing the role of Fisher.
His character was only supposed to appear for ten episodes, but he was such a hit with the fans that the producers decided to extend his contract. He is still a fan favorite, after more than 15 years with the Emmy Award-winning soap opera, says the LA Times.
The fictional character of Fisher was introduced to audiences as an internet predator who infected teenage Lily with a sexually transmitted disease. He saw the error in his ways and soon became a changed man. He redeemed himself and five years later married Jana, much to the delight of Y&R fans.
His dark demeanor was in the past, and it seemed he was turning over a new leaf. Jana’s behavior soon became erratic because of an undiagnosed brain tumor, which caused a rift in the marriage, and the couple divorced in 2010. Fisher than pursued Chloe, but that relationship dissolved when Angelina arrived in Genoa City. He was forced by her mob father to marry her against his will.
The following year, they divorced, and he was able to marry his true love, Chloe. The couple soon started a life of crime together and soon became known as one of the “10 Worst Soap Opera Couples of 2012.” Ahh, soap opera storylines!
The chipmunk bank robberies
A Twitter fan recently asked Rikaart, “What has been the craziest thing Kevin has ever done, in your opinion?” The soap opera hunk casually responded, “Chipmunk bank robberies. No question. #YR”
Rikaart is referring to when he was forced to wear a chipmunk mask to rob a bank. His character’s father, referred to as “Terrible Tom,” used to physically and emotionally abuse him as a child. He regularly locked Fisher in a closet, which left long-lasting scars of trauma.
In an attempt to save matriarch Katherine Chancellor, Fisher was captured by Clint and locked in a closet. His past trauma resurfaced, and he believed that Clint was his abusive father. He was coerced to rob the bank, and the whole experience left him in a psychiatric facility to recover from the ordeal.
Fans meanwhile found the whole storyline to be preposterous, with some saying that they stopped watching the soap opera around that time. One viewer commented, “I don’t know what the writers were smoking when they came up with that b.s.”
What Rikaart is up to now
In 2017, Rikaart left the show after his contract was not renewed. His character wasn’t killed off, so fans held out hope that he would return even though he started working on Days of Our Lives. During the last episode of the 2019 season, Fisher returned to reprise his role on The Young and the Restless. Fans were delighted, and he has been a regular on the show again ever since.
In March, the soap opera star revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19. He self-quarantined from his family and is fortunately now feeling better, per CNN.
