Beyond the Gates/Young & Restless Crossover Exclusive: Daphnée Duplaix and Peter Bergman Tease the ‘Biggest Natural Disaster’ Daytime’s Ever Seen
The week of June 8, it isn’t just the cast of The Young and the Restless that descends on Beyond the Gates, it’s also a tornado that rips through the Fairmont Crest country club, leaving lives on the line. “I have been doing this for 46 years,” Peter Bergman (Jack) marvels to Soaps.com, and even so, this is “the biggest natural disaster event I’ve ever seen on a soap opera.”
Even before the cameras rolled, the atmosphere was electric, adds Daphnée Duplaix (Nicole). “Starting from the hair and makeup room, the energy was palpable. And then, of course, getting on set… the amount of people in these scenes is incredible.”
One Hell of an Accomplishment
Duplaix is still amazed at what Team Beyond the Gates pulled off — and “in a timely fashion, even though we were there all day. When you’re working with such big groups, it’s literally like we have to get that shot and that shot and that shot. There can be 10 shots in one scene.
“That literally could take four hours versus the 15-minute blocks that we’re used to,” she continues. “But I think [all that time and effort] shows in the episodes that you are about to see.”
Another Dark Cloud Hanging Over the Event
In addition to the tornado that crashes the party, the forecast calls for tension between Jack and estranged wife Diane. “Kyle got invited, and they asked if he could bring his parents,” Bergman explains. “Jack agreed to go even though they’re really tough times in the marriage. They kind of put their differences aside to try and have a good time, and of course our good time gets spoiled.”
On the other hand, a life-or-death crisis might be just the thing to put Diane back in Jack’s arms. “Yeah,” Bergman chuckles, “it can’t get much worse.”
More: Clifton Davis talks Vernon vs. Victor
The Elephant In the Room
An even bigger bummer for Jack than the fractures in his marriage may be the fact that nemesis Victor is also on the guest list. “There is a point at which Victor speaks to the group, and everyone stands and applauds except for one person.” Guess who!
“Nobody told me to to stay seated,” he adds. “But the director later came over and said, ‘The look of disgust on your face, Peter, was palpable.’”
Given that Nicole is a well-regarded shrink, is Jack tempted to aim her at Victor and say, “Can you fix that?” “I think that is a great idea for the next crossover,” Duplaix cheers. In fact, if Nicole were to visit Genoa City, she could also give counseling Patty Williams and Matt Clark a go. “We’ve got our share of of customers for Daphnée,” Bergman says with a grin. “We do crazy pretty well.”
As Scary as the Tornado?
Given Victor’s nefarious reputation, is Nicole at all worried about son Martin tying herself to the influential moneybags? “I’m going to say she is not that aware of his nefarious reputation. I know that my father knows Victor very well,” Duplaix says in character. “And I always have faith in our patriarch.”
“How lovely to have that misplaced faith,” Bergman jokes. Trust him, “when you get to know Victor, he’s a terrible, terrible man.”
What’s Next?
When the dust settles from this event, “we would love to have folks from Beyond the Gates on our show and hope that we would be welcome again,” Bergman says. “There’s something really fun about a character you’ve played for a really long time in a completely different setting. You don’t have to figure out who the character is, you just have to find people to connect with.”
“We would love to have them back,” Duplaix says. “Any crossover with people who have been in this industry, who understand it, who understand the workload, who understand how to dig deep… it just brings us so much joy.”
