Michael Muhney of "The Young and the Restless" on Playing Heteroflexible, Machiavellian and More!

It's not often one hears the world of daytime soap operas compared to the writing of Shakespeare, but that's exactly what Michael Muhney thought when Maria Bell, showrunner for The Young and the Restless, described what Muhney's character would get up to should Muhney decide to join the show.

The Veronica Mars alum did decide to take the part and in doing so, landed square in the middle of what has become an explosion of queer characters on daytime television. In addition to the ground-breaking Luke and Noah on As the World Turns, there is the blossoming relationship between Kyle and Fish on One Life to Live, the return of Phillip Chancellor to The Young and the Restless where gay attorney Rafe Torres had already taken up residence, and numerous other secondary gay characters scattered across the daytime landscape. 

But Muhney's Y&R character, Adam Wilson, might be involved in the most intriguing gay storyline of all, in part because his character isn't actually gay — although he might not be 100% straight either.

One thing is for certain, as played by Muhney, the Machiavellian Adam is scoring big with viewers who have never seen a character willing to go quite so far to protect a secret. 

AfterElton.com recently caught up with Muhney to talk about why he took the part after another actor declined to "go there", his approach to the role and just how stunning Broadway actor Cheyenne Jackson really is.

AE: I assume you knew in advance what Adam's storyline with Rafe was going to be, that they were going to end up having this weird seduction going on. What was your reaction to that?
MM: I honestly, right at that moment in which they were telling me about that, I can remember where I was seated in this meeting, and how they were describing it to me. Maria was kind of pitching it, if you will.

I think I might have started rubbing my hands together with a big smile. To be honest, I think I may have muttered something to the effect, "Soap operas are new to me, the whole medium is new to me, however this is sounding more and more like Shakespeare."

The story becomes so convoluted: who you're blackmailing, who you really trust, who you're seducing, what lengths you're really willing to go to get that done. To me, that kicked it up a notch. It sounded incredibly intriguing. She had my attention, that's for sure.

AE: I just watched that scene again when you first seduce Rafe, and you ended up sleeping with him. Can you walk me through what was going through Adam's mind at that moment?
MM: I think in a moment in which you've tried everything you can to verbally divert someone's eyes from something you don't want them to see or find, you've tried everything you can, and you realize you have to take it up a level.

I think Adam's strength — and weakness — is that he feels he can dial in on anybody and figure out what makes them tick, and play to or against that, if he needs to. If it's Ashley realizing that she might be fragile, he can play on her fears. If it's Rafe, and knowing they are similar in age and knowing his sexual preference, he can use that information that can give him power in that situation.

Adam found himself in a situation where he was expressing himself to Rafe in way that he's going to be able to divert him, before he realizes he's going to have to follow through on what he's advertising.