Eric Braeden is celebrating his 40th anniversary on The Young and the Restless! The German-born American actor has been portraying "Victor Newman" in the iconic soap since 1980!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: This is Eric Braeden's gorgeous wife Dale!

Eric Braeden didn't even know what a soap was

Eric Braeden didn't know his appearance on the show would become a longtime success. In fact, he revealed he was not even that interested when he first got the opportunity to be cast in the show. "I didn’t even know what a soap was,” Braeden said.

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The 78-year-old actor initially committed to playing "Victor" for three months. However, he decided to continue in the daytime show after having a pivotal conversation with the show's creators!

The Young and the Restless will honour Eric Braeden's appearance on the soap

Eric Braeden's character "Victor Newman" has been so successful that fans even come with their grandmothers to say hi when the actor does public appearances!

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The Young and the Restless will air two special episodes this week -Wednesday and Thursday- in order to honour Eric Braeden's appaearance on the show!