Vincent Irizarry, a soap opera veteran who counts The Young and the Restless among his many series, is headed to the big screen. He’s going to appear in Soapbox, which stars The X-Files star David Duchovny as a former daytime serial star.
The Young and the Restless, Soapbox
“It’s been a crazy, wild, fun several weeks shooting the comedic film Soapbox opposite @davidduchovny, under the fantastic direction of @andrewjaycohen with a stellar cast, namely @lavernecox , @westduchovny , @thebrianhuskey , @jimmisimpson , #fredmalamed , @joshbonzie , @jennifergrey , and my dear friend and past @dayspeacock alumnus [Christopher Sean, ex-Paul]. It was a joy working with them all.
“I guarantee, you’ve never seen David quite like this before!” assures Irizarray. “Take that from someone who got to see him up close and personal, (I’m embarrassed to say, a little more so than I ever would’ve imagined 🫣).
“Check it out once it’s released. It promises to entertain you, for sure… 🌟🎬🌟🎥🌟,” concludes the Daytime Emmy winner.
While Irizzary did a turn as evil David Chow on Y&R, he’s perhaps best known for the role that put him on the daytime map, playing Lujack on Guiding Light. The young actor made the GL scene in 1983. Originally, the role was intended to be short-term, but the show, seeing Irizarry’s charismatic appeal, expanded the role, making Lujack, in reality, Brandon Luvonoczek. the long-lost son of Alexandra Spaulding Von Halkein (played by legendary star Beverlee McKinsey).
Lujack’s tenure in Springfield was brief as he died from injuries sustained in an explosion onboard a ship while he was rescuing a kidnapped Beth (Judi Evans; now, Bonnie, Days of our Lives).
Daytime lured the actor back to play Scott on Santa Barbara, and then, he was Lujack’s twin, Nick, on GL. Irizarry then became Dr. David Hayward on All My Children; next, he became Dr. Jordan Armstrong on B&B for a brief period of time. The actor also played Deimos Kiriakis on Days of our Lives, which briefly reunited him with his GL leading lady, Evans.
Getting on his Soapbox
Soapbox follows an aging soap opera star, played by Duchovny, who finds himself caught in the absurdities of today’s culture wars. The X-Files star co-wrote the film. The movie also stars Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing).
The soap world has been brought to the big screen a few times with great success over the decades. Dustin Hoffman played the dual roles of Michael Doherty and Dorothy Michaels, who landed a role on fictional Southwest General. Doris Belak (ex-Anna, One Life to Live, ex-Beth, Edge of Night) played Rita, the no-nonsense producer who saw something in “Dorothy” that would resonate with viewers. Dabney Coleman (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman) played Ron Carlisle, the director, in Tootsie.
Oscar winners Sally Field (Norma Rae) and Whoopi Goldberg (Ghost) starred in Soapdish, which poked fun at the backstage world of soaps through characters including Celeste Talbert (Field), an actress, and Rose Schwartz (Goldberg), the head writer of fictional soap, The Sun Also Sets.
Is Soapbox destined to join these classic films as a movie that brings the soap world to the screen? Soap Hub will keep viewers updated on the film’s release!
Catch all-new episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus.
Edited by Michael Maloney