Celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Young and the Restless with Sean Dominic

The Young and the Restless has been airing for 50 years, making this a momentous year. In honor of the occasion, we caught up with Sean Dominic, who plays Dr. Nate Hastings, to get his thoughts. This year, Sean will have appeared in more than 400 episodes of The Young and the Restless. He is truly living his Hollywood dreams. One of the things that drives him as an actor is the opportunity to make audiences feel something. Soap operas like The Young and the Restless are perfect at evoking strong feelings in viewers.

Cox: Before we get into Sean Dominic as Dr. Nate Hastings, I want to know who Sean is as an entertainer. Where did this love for it come from? 

Dominic: Honestly, I didn’t choose acting. I was having this conversation with another actor recently. It chose me because, since I was little, I just loved entertaining. I was always dancing, singing, playing instrumentals, and performing in plays. My mother was in the Air Force, so we moved around often. Every new place we moved to, I tried something new to add different things to my life. 

Cox: So, acting wasn’t love at first sight for you? 

Dominic: At first, I never wanted to take it to the next level because I had this fear. Do you know when you hear people say that they have always loved this and that it is their passion? I was like, “Well, I don’t know if I love it like that. I knew I loved the characters I would play and how my acting could affect people’s emotions. 

It took me a while to really understand that I loved it. 

Cox: What do you love about stirring emotions in the audience or viewers? 

Dominic: Stirring up emotions with the audience is part of an actor’s gratification and why we love what we do. 

Cox: I want to congratulate you because this is a tough industry, and reaching the number of episodes you have is impressive. 

Dominic: Yes, this is a very tough and competitive industry. A lot of times, people need to remember that this is a business. I remember recently reading an article on Google stating that around 2% of actors in this business make a living off acting. I was like, “Oh wow. That’s why you have so many working actors working side gigs such as bartending, servers, driving for Uber, and all kinds of stuff to make a living out here. 

Cox: How did Sean stay the course in this challenging industry before roles in shows like The Young and the Restless and Greenleaf? 

Dominic: I played around a lot before taking it seriously. I was bartending at this comedy club and got let go. I had to look in the mirror and have a serious conversation with myself about what I wanted out of life. I knew I wanted to be an actor and had been taking acting classes for a few years. But during those years, I was modeling and doing commercials. I never pursued acting. And losing that bartending job gave me the epiphany that I needed. 

I realized I never pursued acting entirely and gave 110% of my dedication. I started seeing results quickly when I changed my mindset and put myself out there for it. I remember the time I went for this role and got a call back. I didn’t get the part, but a couple of weeks go by, I get a text from this lady who was a friend of my brother. It just so happens; she was a makeup artist on the set of this film. She texted me that she had a long conversation with the director and found out that the director was fighting to give me the part, but the PRODUCERS wanted an actor who was more known.  

This right here lets me know that I was doing something right. And lo and behold, then, the Greenleaf opportunity came. 

Cox: How was the experience for you on Greenleaf? I know that was your first recurring role. 

Dominic: You know what’s funny? When I got the part, I wasn’t getting paid a lot at all, so I took out a credit card to book all my flights to Atlanta from NYC to film. They didn’t include air travel in my contracts. Lol. It was considered a recurring role but for season 2 I think was in like 13 episodes out of 16 episodes; that’s damn near Lead Role status. In Season 3, I was in only 2 or 3 episodes. 

Cox: Sean, you have been on The Young and the Restless since 2019 and have been in nearly 400 episodes, and this year is the 50th anniversary celebration. I want to know what it was like for you when you first landed the role of Dr. Nate Hastings. 

Dominic: When I first got the role and was on set, I was in awe seeing cast members who have been on the show for like 20 plus years. It was intimidating but I wanted to show everyone that I was just as professional as the next man or woman, so I made sure I knew my lines!  

Everyone was just so welcoming and had open arms when I started. I appreciated them because I had a lot of questions. I wanted to know everything, from what was happening on set to who the director was. 

Cox: Take me back to when you landed the role. What was the audition process like for you? 

Dominic: It was actually a quick hire. I had this second callback, and it was between me and four other guys. I remember the other guys pacing back and forth and going over their lines. I told myself that I was going to do something different. I’m going to play cool. I knew my lines and played with them enough. 

I remember Mark Grossman having a callback that same day with me. The funny thing is, I remembered everyone who auditioned for Adam except Mark. 

Cox: Obviously, playing it cool got you the part. 

Dominic: I was confident, I was like, I’m here, I’ve made it this far, and I felt good about my audition. At this point I’m bringing the heat, my A game. If I do my job, then that’s all I need to do. Everything else is in their hands. So much of the audition process has nothing to do with your acting. You may not look the part for them, you may look too young or too old for the part, you might remind someone of an ex. Lol and so on and so on. 

As an actor, you have to have fun with this. You must understand that you won’t get every job and that 180 doors will be shut in your face before one opens. 

Cox: Speaking of being on set, you have been shot in different styles on other shows. What’s the difference when shooting for a soap opera? 

Dominic: So, with a soap opera, we typically film at least one episode daily. And sometimes, it can be an episode and a half to two. So, you have to know your lines and hit your mark. That’s different than when I was on Greenleaf, where we would spend several hours shooting one scene. We could do a scene differently and do some improvisation. 

Cox: Is there any room in the soap opera world to improvise and change things around for your character as an actor? 

Dominic: No, not really! It depends on how long you have been working on the show and how well you know your character, but for the most part, you have to stick to the script. 

Cox: There is a moment you remember when Shemar was on the show, correct? 

Dominic: I’ve worked with Shemar twice when he made guest appearances when he returned for Kristoff (Neil) tributes. He was madly cool from the start. He chatted with me for hours, like we had known each other for years. He told me stories of him and Kristoff and how Kristoff fought for him to be on the show. It’s cool to know some of that history. Now Nate, Devon, and Lily have some big shoes to fill. We came behind the rock stars of soap operas. So, it’s time for us to rock. 

Cox: Returning to the 50th celebration of The Young and the Restless this year, how does it feel now, looking back since you began? 

Dominic: It’s all surreal to me. I don’t know what to think about it, and I’m in four years. I feel like a rookie when I think about the four years, I’ve been in the show compared to the show being around for 50 years. But I take it all in. I salute my fellow actors who have been here for a while. You know I get to learn things when I’m in scenes. Only a few actors can say they have been on a show for a couple of decades, like Eric Braeden, Peter Bergman, and Melody Thomas Scott, just to name a few.