As first revealed in a promo for Season 2, veteran soap star Jordi Vilasuso (“The Young and the Restless,” “Guiding Light”) is returning to CBS daytime with a role on “Beyond the Gates.”
Beginning with the Tuesday, January 13 episode, Vilasuso will play the recurring role of Grayson Perez, a lab tech at Garland Memorial Hospital, working alongside Ashley Morgan (Jen Jacob). Outside his responsibilities at the hospital, he is overwhelmed by caring for his mother and is looking for relief. Meanwhile, Grayson finds relief through dating in Fairmont Crest, using traits such as humor, sensuality, and honesty to help him find the one.
Vilasuso is now the second familiar face to join the daytime drama series in recent months, following the addition of Greg Vaughan (“Days of our Lives,” “General Hospital”) as Dr. Kial Rollins, a widower and father of two grown adult children, both male, and an orthopedic surgeon.
Before joining “Beyond the Gates,” Vilasuso previously portrayed Tony Santos on the CBS soap opera “Guiding Light” and, more recently, played Rey Rosales on “The Young and the Restless.” His non-CBS soap career also includes roles on “All My Children” (as Griffin Castillo), “Days of our Lives” (as Dario Hernandez) and “The Bay” (as Justin Ramos).
“I’m grateful to work in a time where jobs are few and far between,” said Vilasuso in a recent interview with TV Insider. “It’s a privilege nowadays to work on a TV show, and I’m so encouraged by there being a fifth soap on the air. When I started 25 years ago, there were 10 soap operas. It shows you the viability. The people want these stories. There’s still an audience for them, and it keeps us actors employed.”
With “Beyond the Gates” taping in Atlanta, and he and his family now residing in Nashville, the commute to set is quite long, though Vilasuso finds it much more convenient than if they were still residing in Los Angeles, which has become less of a hub for actors when it comes to finding work. “It’s a three-and-a-half-hour drive to the studio, not bad at all. Sometimes my call time is at 2:00 p.m., and I’ll leave Nashville at 8:00 a.m., come here, finish, and then go back, and I get to see my kids,” noted Vilasuso to the outlet.
Of his experience thus far working with the cast, he says, “It’s just such a great group,” adding, “And it’s so interesting to be on a show that’s just starting. Everybody’s here helping something grow and wanting it to do really well. There’s a lot of loveliness in this place. Sometimes you don’t feel that family dynamic, and on this show in particular, I feel like everybody is just so friendly and welcoming. That’s been really encouraging and just a positive work environment.”
On working with his co-star, Jen Jacob, Vilasuso says, “When I did the chemistry read, I was like, ‘Wow, this would be so great. If I get to work with her, I’m going to be happy.’ And it worked out. She’s just such a pro, works very hard, and I’ll be honest, that hasn’t always been the case with costars, and that just makes the dynamic a lot of fun, and makes coming to work great. She’s reading the scripts and saying, ‘Okay, your storyline is getting so good.’ So, she’s excited, and that’s really what we should be. When you have that, and you’re all able to all be in that place, you’re like, ‘OK, cool.’”
Check out a clip of Vilasuso on “Beyond the Gates” below.
