Reason why Eric Braeden hasn’t submitted an Emmy daytime film for twenty years

The Young and restless star Eric Braeden revealed that he hadn’t submitted any roles for the Daytime Emmy nomination in 20 years. There’s a reason he chose not to include his name for daytime’s biggest award.

Concerns about the voting process

The actor, who plays the iconic Victor Newman, had some serious problems with the voting process for the Daytime Emmys. Now that the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) has changed the rules on who can vote for an Emmy, he felt good about submitting his scenes for consideration.

Since 1980, Eric Braeden has captured the hearts of fans as the cunning, ruthless, yet charismatic Victor Newman on Y&R. Between 1987 and 2004, he was nominated eight times in the Outstanding Lead Actor category, with one win in 1998. Since he was a soap opera regular, producing one memorable performance after another, fans wondered why he didn’t have video footage submitted with some of his best scenes that have been considered for the Daytime Emmy Awards since 2004, but are now up for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Daytime Drama Series in 2024. (Find out when the awards show airs.)

Although many of his fans have speculated that he prefers to focus on his craft rather than being recognized for his work, he recently spoke with Michael Fairman TV and set the record straight. Braeden was pleased with this current nomination, explaining, “I hadn’t filed in over a decade because I didn’t believe in the voting process. Finally, the academy had the sense to invite outsiders to widen the circle of those who vote for this.”

Creating more transparency in the voting process helped change Braeden’s opinion. “You cannot ask for objectivity if you only vote within your company. That’s nonsense. Then personalities play a role in who loves who,” he said, adding, “I am very happy with the nomination, though.”

Of his peers nominated in the same category, Braeden cheekily noted, “Thorsten Kaye (Ridge, B&B) is a very good actor. I’ve known John McCook (Eric, B&B) for 150 years, I think maybe 140 years. And the other gentlemen, I don’t know, but I’m sure they all deserve the same distinction.” (See all of this year’s leading actor nominees.)

NATAS was clearly listening to Braeden’s words

Braeden exclaimed, “Oh, that’s nice,” when he heard of his current nomination and felt vindicated. “Someone had listened because I had been complaining about the voting system for years, and as far as I was concerned it was based on sheer laziness,” he said, going on to note, “There are 150,000 registered actors in Hollywood. You can’t tell me that you can only vote within your company. It’s nonsense. It’s not right. You know, let other outside actors judge what they see.

While the nomination is good and winning would be great for Braeden, the incredible daytime television legacy he created and his status as an icon will continue regardless.