Austin Travers
| Ian Ward |
|
The Young and the Restless character |
| Portrayed by |
Ray Wise |
| Duration |
2014–2016 |
| First appearance |
January 23, 2014 |
| Last appearance |
July 4, 2016 |
| Created by |
Shelly Altman
Jean Passanante
|
| Introduced by |
Jill Farren Phelps |
| Classification |
Former, recurring |
| Profile |
| Other names |
John Darwin
Fred |
| Occupation |
- Cult leader
- Oversees The Paragon Project
|
| Home |
Walworth Penitentiary |
|
|
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera. It was first broadcast on March 26, 1973, and airs on CBS. The following is a list of characters that first appeared on the soap opera in 2014, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and head writers Shelly Altman and Jean Passanante.
Ian Ward, portrayed by Ray Wise, made his first appearance on January 23, 2014, as a former cult leader, believed to be the biological father of Dylan McAvoy (Steve Burton) and former lover of Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott). Wise's casting in the recurring role was announced in December 2013. The character was slated to "play an integral role in the lives of several Genoa City residents". Michael Fairman of On-Air Soaps wrote that, "Now this is actually good casting if you look at the eyes of Ray Wise and Steve Burton!", and also asked if the character "could become the next Mitch Laurence of daytime". Jillian Bowe of Zap2it wrote that, "Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and Dylan (Steve Burton) will soon have another family reunion in Genoa City."Soap Opera Digest described Ian as a "charismatic former cult leader who seduced a teen Nikki, resulting in the son he never knew he had (Dylan)". In an interview with the magazine, Wise stated that the director of How I Met Your Mother, a sitcom where Wise recurs, recommended him for the role to the soap opera's producer, Jill Farren Phelps. Wise also described and explained the character, stating: "I think he's like everybody else; there's good and bad in all of us. Ian certainly has that. In the past, he's been the leader of a group of people. [Now] he has a philosophy and a kind of religion that he follows called The Path. He's in town to find out about a certain individual, but he's probably there to stir it up a little bit and I think he will." After a nearly year long absence, Wise returned on September 4, 2015.
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Wikipedia
