Tamara Braun will make her debut as Sienna Bacall on The Young and the Restless on October 14, kicking off a new, mysterious storyline involving Noah Newman (Lucas Adams) and more.
For Braun, who wrapped up her run as Days of Our Lives‘ Ava Vitali this past April, the invitation to come to Genoa City was both unexpected and welcome. “I got a call from Josh [Griffith, executive producer and head writer], and he was just like, ‘Hey, I have this really cool role that I’m really interested in having you play if you’re available,’” she recalls.
Though Braun is no stranger to daytime television, having appeared on All My Children as Reese Williams (2008-2009), General Hospital as Carly Spencer (2001-2005) and Kim Nero (2017-2019), and Days as Ava on and off since 2008, Y&R marks new territory for her. And her introduction to the show didn’t go exactly as planned. “I was so sick the week before with Covid,” she explains. “I so worried about getting better and being able to start because it’s really not the way you want to start work at a new job, at a new place. I didn’t want to hold up production, but unfortunately, I did miss my first day of work.”
Thankfully, things turned around quickly. “I’m going to say, I have never had an experience of a first day as wonderful and attentive as it was on Y&R,” she relays. “Matt [Kane, director of media and talent] chaperoned me the whole day, took me to wardrobe, took me to blocking, took me to hair and makeup, took me to my first scene, waited for me because I was still recovering, and he was just awesome.”
Since then, things have only gotten better. “I’ve been there a month now and I’m finally starting to feel like I understand the flow at Y&R,” Braun says. “When you start a new job, it’s like being brought to a family’s house for the holidays. It’s a family, you’ve experienced that before, but all families are different. If it’s a kind family at the holidays, everyone is lovely and welcoming, but it can take a moment to feel a part of the family and not just a guest. But after a few hours and a few drinks, you’re taking your shoes off, putting your feet up, swapping recipes, and making plans for the next gathering. My shoes are off, and feet are up, and the recipes are being swapped!”
Acclimating to the new set was also made easier by the many familiar faces she found on set. “Jill Farren Phelps, who’s a producer, was the executive producer when I was hired on GH as Carly (Spencer) back in 2001, and Owen Renfroe, who was the director of the day, was a familiar face from GH,” she lists. “Fritz (Brekeller) is a stage manager, but we worked together on All My Children.
“There was sweet, wonderful, Missy Claire Egan (Chelsea Lawson, ex-Annie Novak, AMC), so we got to say hi,” Braun continues. “I saw Melody [Thomas Scott, Nikki Newman]. We have never worked together, but we know each other, and we are birthday twins (April 18), so it was so wonderful to see her.”
XJJohnson/jpistudios.comAnother unexpected bonus? Reconnecting with Lucas Adams, who played her son, Tripp Dalton, on Days and was recently cast as Noah. “He’s a lovely actor and an incredible gem of a human being,” Braun raves. “It’s wonderful to get to work with him again in a different capacity.”
She’s also sharing the stage with more GH alumni — Roger Howarth (ex-Franco, GH) and Matt Cohen (Detective Burrow; ex-Griffin Munro, GH). “It’s super cool to be able to work with people you’ve worked with before and or been on a show with before and haven’t had the opportunity to work with,” she enthuses. “I’m looking forward to seeing what comes down the pike.”
At the beginning of her storyline, she’ll cross paths with Hayley Erin (Claire Newman; ex-Kiki Jerome, GH) and Nathan Owens (Holden Novak). “My first few weeks, I worked a lot with Hayley and Nate, and I absolutely adore them,” she shares. “They are both wonderful actors, thoughtful people, they each have a joy and lightness about them, and pretty gorgeous to look at, too! We had a lot of fun working and laughing together. Lots of laughter. And that’s so good for the soul.”
When describing her new alter ego, Braun is equally enthusiastic. “She’s super cool,” Braun previews. “She runs a club in L.A.. “She’s a mysterious, strong badass with an insanely cool wardrobe.”
The actress is excited to dig deeper into Sienna’s layers. “I like that she’s strong, a bit intense, and I feel like there will be so much revealed about her that even I don’t necessarily know lives within her,” observes Braun. “There are hints about who she is and what kind of a life she comes from within the scripts, so my imagination is going in incredible places. She’s got a history, and I think it’s juicy.”
As she settles into her first CBS soap, Braun says she’s found the Y&R set to be a refreshingly positive place to work. “Everyone seems to be excited to be doing their job,” she says. “And they’re coming in to do work, have fun, rinse and repeat. It’s a really nice thing to have a group of people who are grateful for their jobs. Absolutely everyone I spoke to is like, ‘It’s just such a great place to work.’”
As for what fans can expect from her new role, Braun teases a wild ride. “First of all, I’d like to thank them for always being so amazingly supportive,” she says. “They have followed me from project to project with the utmost encouragement and have been incredible cheerleaders. I am so grateful for and appreciative of them. They are the best! In terms of why they should be excited about the storyline? Well, I think it’s going to be a fun, cool ride with lots of twists and turns that should be exciting to experience.”
