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‘The Young And The Restless’ Alum Eva Longoria Dishes On The Crazy World Of Soaps — Implies One Of The Leading Actors Was A Diva?

By Chrissie Williams
Published on: 12:04 PST, Jan 14, 2016

Former The Young and the Restless alum, Eva Longoria, made headlines last week after she made a few surprising revelations about the world of soap acting on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Eva made an appearance on Late Night as part of her promotion for her new series, Telenovela. Eva explained her new show is a dream come true for her, and she is thrilled with the writers and cast. It wasn’t the promotion of Telenovela that came as a shocker; it was what Longoria said about her time on the CBS daytime drama that left many fans utterly shocked.

Eva Longoria portrayed the beautiful, yet unstable Isabella Brana on The Young and the Restless for three years, from 2001-2004. In 2012, an unknown actress portrayed her only showing Isabella from behind to imply that Isabella was locked in a mental hospital following her breakdown after her breakup with Paul Williams (Doug Davidson) nearly a decade earlier. The daytime drama left the door open for Eva’s (or a recast) return to the soap opera; however, at this point, the powers that be see no need to bring Isabella’s character back to Genoa City.

In Longoria’s new series, she plays a Spanish soap opera actress in a comedy about the shenanigans that happen behind the scenes. Soap Central reported that Eva recalled when she landed her first soap role on General Hospital, and her family was “over the moon” excited about her acting gig.

“You would have thought I won an Oscar Award the way my mother was carrying on. She tells me, ‘You made it. You made it, baby girl.'”

Eva noted the General Hospital role was tiny; she muttered one word, and that was it. Even still, her family was excited about her success. After the ABC daytime drama one-time appearance, she landed the part of Isabella Brana on The Young and the Restless, which was a much longer role.

The Young and the Restless helped prepare her for her newest role, as she found working with the men of soap operas could be pretty challenging at times. Eva recalls Marc Cherry (creator of Desperate Housewives) telling her during her stint on his show, “The difference between daytime and prime soaps is in daytime the men are the divas.” Eva told Seth Meyers that was her experience working with daytime actors, almost to a tee.

Eva noted she experienced the soap opera men divas firsthand. Longoria recalled a time when working on The Young and the Restless, and one particular leading actor kept messing up her cue. Eva explained that she told him to stick to the script; however, he seemed to be enjoying messing with her cue. She decided to add his cue, so her line made sense, still; however, the director was not happy with her improv skills and told her to stick to the script. Meanwhile, the leading actor (who Eva refused to reveal his identity) was not reprimanded.

Eva explained that the men on the set of The Young and the Restless could do no wrong in the director’s eyes, and the longer you spend as a cast member, the more your life starts to resemble a soap opera in real life. Eva laughed, and stated she wrote she would never do another soap after the craziness she endured on CBS daytime drama; however, Telenovela was too good of a script to pass up.

What The Young and the Restless star do you think was the diva Eva Longoria described in her interview with Seth Meyers? Have you seen Telenovela, and if so — do you like it?

[Photo by Maarten de Boer/Getty Images Portraits]

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