“The Young and The Restless” (Y&R) spoilers hint that Luca Santori (Miles Gaston Villanueva) may soon get a visit from his father. We know the elder Santori is a criminal and dangerous, but little else. CBS Soaps in Depth speculated about casting of the part and mentioned Joseph Mascolo as a possibility.
However, it looks like this is way off base for a number of reasons. First, Mascolo is in ill health. He even struggled to film his Stefano DiMera death scenes on “Days of Our Lives” because of his medical issues. Second, Mascolo may make appearances on Days of Our Lives as Ghost Stefano as his health allows.
There is no way that Mascolo is up to taking on a new role of importance like the Santori patriarch. This SID rumor is nearly inconceivable – and their second suggestion is a bit off kilter as well. The article also mentioned Antonio Sabato, Jr as a possible Santori dad for Luca.
But that’s a wild one too since there’s only a 12 year age difference between Villanueva and Sabato. On a side note, the SID author doesn’t seem to know who Sabato is – they listed him as ex-Dante from “General Hospital.”
Of course, Sabato portrayed the pivotal role of Jagger Cates, brother of Stone Cates, the teen who infected Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough) with HIV. It’s a big whoopsie to list him as Dante who has only been played by Dominic Zamprogna, who came on in 2009, while Sabato left his second GH run as Jagger in 2008.
There are a ton of other great possibilities in the right age range to play Luca’s dad – how about Lorenzo Lamas, for instance? He’s got a daytime history on “The Bold and The Beautiful” and was a big hit on primetime soap Falcon Crest.
Or they could import someone hot like Alexis Ayala, the famous telenovela actor… Or Edward James Olmos, a Latino legend, would be amazing in the part. The bottom line is there is a huge roster of Latin acting talent to choose from in the 50+ age bracket that would be amazing in this role.
But Antonio Sabato, Jr is too young – and Mascolo is too old – Y&R showrunners need to find an actor that’s just right… The role of Luca’s dad could be huge. If he comes to Genoa City, he’ll be a major rival for Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) and part of a major storyline so his casting needs to be spot on.
Stay tuned to CDL for more casting news and other “The Young and The Restless” spoilers.
