Victor Newman Jr., the third child of Victor Newman and his only child with ex-wife Hope Adams, has been kept out of Victor's life for the most part of his existence on The Young and the Restless. A toddler when he was last seen on-screen, he returns to Genoa City after nearly 10 years of absence in the form of Chris Engen.

Rumors about the character's return have been buzzing around the internet for some time now, but CBS has finally confirmed the news.

In 1998, Victor Jr. was featured as a pre-schooler played by Hayden Tank. The character was eventually “aged” off-screen as a device to usher Victor out of the show's storylines for several weeks to allow his portrayer, Eric Braeden, to shoot the film The Man Who Came Back. Later, Victor Jr. was supposed to be introduced back into the canvass as a safety net in case Joshua Morrow, who plays Nicholas Newman, did not renew his contract with The Young and the Restless. But since Morrow eventually did sign up, plans to reintroduce Victor Jr. were shelved.

Now, Victor Jr. returns in a much older form, portrayed by 27-year-old Chris Engen. Although the character's age should only be nearing high school age in the real world, writers of the long-running soap decided last year to fabricate Victor Jr.'s age to allow them to explore more alternate story ideas.

Despite being a newcomer to the soap world, Engen has already appeared on the television series Felicity and the feature film Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. He is also credited for his long-term role on Saints and Sinners, and has recently wrapped up production of the indie film God's Ears.

Engen has started taping his first scene on The Young and the Restless yesterday and is slated to make his debut on the soap on February 12.


-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: CBS
(Image courtesy of The Soap Dispenser)