The Young & The Restless: Ray Wise Teases Return After Shocking Twist Of Ian Ward Being Alive: “You Can’t Keep A Good Villain Down”
The Young and the Restless delivered a significant twist—Ian Ward is alive! Ray Wise teases his return and reflects on working with Colleen Zenk and Eric Braeden. Could Jordan be alive, too?
The Heather murder mystery storyline wrapped up with Sharon back home and Jordan’s death by poison. Meanwhile, the Newmans really thought her partner in crime, Ian Ward, had also died, but The Young and the Restless writers introduced the shocking twist of the villain being alive, which made it quite obvious that the character would be returning to Genoa City soon after.
Ray Wise, who plays Ian, recently spoke about the surprise and what it means for the character, including how the twist was planned. Here’s what the veteran actor revealed about his experience on the show and the character, including how working with some of the co-stars on Y&R felt.
The Young & The Restless: Ray Wise Teases The Return Of Ian Ward
During a recent conversation with Soap Opera Digest, Ray spoke about the door being open for the character to return soon. He said, “Well, you can’t keep a good villain down? You can’t do that! And I was thrilled that they kept the door open for Ian to make a return at some point.”
He revealed that the little burst of air coming out of his mouth at the end, which depicted Ian as alive, was planned. He also shared how he was excited when he found out that the producers wanted to bring back Ian after his last stint in 2016. “Colleen Zenk became my partner in crime on the show. She was wonderful. We worked extremely well together,” he further explained.
Ray expressed that he and Colleen had no restrictions on where they could go as Ian and Jordan, respectively. He stated, “We tried to keep our sense of humor about it. Colleen and I had an excellent rapport, and she was my perfect acting partner on the show.” He also called the other co-stars on the soap opera lovely and accommodating.
Ray also divulged that apart from working with her, he enjoyed his scenes with Eric Braeden, who plays Victor Newman, the most. “We’re close to the same age, and we’ve sort of been around for about the last 55 years, 60 years, and we have a lot in common as actors and as human beings,” he stated and called all of his scenes with the soap star “kind of special.”
The actor also pointed out that the character Ian is full of himself and feels that “he’s not only on a level plane with Victor Newman” but is instead “a little bit above him, in terms of pure brain power.” Ray said that he never thought about the role ending as he felt the door would always be left open.
He concluded that he would “come back in a heartbeat” whenever there were “new ideas about the character of Ian Ward.” He also hoped that Jordan was not dead, making Colleen’s return possible. “We have just scratched the surface regarding settling all our vendettas,” he signed off.
