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'''Ethan "Cane" Ashby''' is a [[fictional character]] in the [[United States|American]] [[soap opera]] ''[[The Young and the Restless]]'', portrayed by [[Australia|Australian]] actor [[Daniel Goddard (actor)|Daniel Goddard]] since January 12, 2007.<ref name="Soaps In Depth January 23, 2007">{{cite news| first=| last=|title=Amber's New Guy Could Be Trouble|publisher=''[[Soaps In Depth]]'' |page=|date=January 23, 2007|accessdate=2010-06-07}}</ref> Former head writer and executive producer [[Lynn Marie Latham |
'''Ethan "Cane" Ashby''' is a [[fictional character]] in the [[United States|American]] [[soap opera]] ''[[The Young and the Restless]]'', portrayed by [[Australia|Australian]] actor [[Daniel Goddard (actor)|Daniel Goddard]] since January 12, 2007.<ref name="Soaps In Depth January 23, 2007">{{cite news| first=| last=|title=Amber's New Guy Could Be Trouble|publisher=''[[Soaps In Depth]]'' |page=|date=January 23, 2007|accessdate=2010-06-07}}</ref> Former head writer and executive producer [[Lynn Marie Latham]] created Cane in a 2007 storyline establishing him as the son of legacy characters, [[Jill Foster]] and [[Phillip Chancellor II]].<ref name="TVGuideCanada.com">{{cite web|first=Nelson| last=Branco| title=Down Under with Daniel Goddard| publisher=''[[TV Guide Canada]]''|date=2007-07-26|accessdate=2009-06-16| url=http://entertainment1.sympatico.msn.ca/TV_Guide/Soaps/Features/Articles/070726_daniel_goddard_NB}}</ref> [[Maria Arena Bell]] later rewrote his backstory in 2009. |
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Cane became a popular leading man, praised by fans and critics.<ref name="TVGuideCanada.com"/><ref name="Gazing at Goddard">{{cite news| first=| last=|title=Gazing at Goddard |publisher=''theyoungandtherestless.com'' |page= |date=|accessdate= 2010-06-07 |url=http://theyoungandtherestless.com/specials/specials_detail_5075.html}}</ref> The character's romance with [[Lily Winters]] also gained a large following.<ref name="Lane Lovers Treat!">{{cite news| first=| last=|title=Lane Lovers Treat! |publisher=''theyoungandtherestless.com'' |page= |date=|accessdate= 2010-06-07|url=http://theyoungandtherestless.com/specials/specials_detail_5077.html}}</ref><ref name="TVGuideCanada Goddard interview">{{cite web|first=Nelson| last=Branco| title=Conversations with Goddard| publisher=''[[TV Guide Canada]]''|date=2008-06-04|accessdate=2010-06-07| url=http://tvguide.ca/Soaps/Features/Articles/080604_danielgoddard_NB}}</ref> |
Cane became a popular leading man, praised by fans and critics.<ref name="TVGuideCanada.com"/><ref name="Gazing at Goddard">{{cite news| first=| last=|title=Gazing at Goddard |publisher=''theyoungandtherestless.com'' |page= |date=|accessdate= 2010-06-07 |url=http://theyoungandtherestless.com/specials/specials_detail_5075.html}}</ref> The character's romance with [[Lily Winters]] also gained a large following.<ref name="Lane Lovers Treat!">{{cite news| first=| last=|title=Lane Lovers Treat! |publisher=''theyoungandtherestless.com'' |page= |date=|accessdate= 2010-06-07|url=http://theyoungandtherestless.com/specials/specials_detail_5077.html}}</ref><ref name="TVGuideCanada Goddard interview">{{cite web|first=Nelson| last=Branco| title=Conversations with Goddard| publisher=''[[TV Guide Canada]]''|date=2008-06-04|accessdate=2010-06-07| url=http://tvguide.ca/Soaps/Features/Articles/080604_danielgoddard_NB}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 08:30, 19 June 2010
| Cane Ashby | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| The Young and the Restless character | |||||||||||||||||||||
| File:DanielGoddard.jpg Daniel Goddard as Cane Ashby (2007) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Daniel Goddard | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2007–present | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | January 12, 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Lynn Marie Latham | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Ethan "Cane" Ashby is a fictional character in the American soap opera The Young and the Restless, portrayed by Australian actor Daniel Goddard since January 12, 2007.[1] Former head writer and executive producer Lynn Marie Latham created Cane in a 2007 storyline establishing him as the son of legacy characters, Jill Foster and Phillip Chancellor II.[2] Maria Arena Bell later rewrote his backstory in 2009.
Cane became a popular leading man, praised by fans and critics.[2][3] The character's romance with Lily Winters also gained a large following.[4][5]
Writing and portrayal
In 2007, Daniel Goddard debuted on The Young and the Restless as Cane Ashby, an Australian bartender in search of his birth family.[6][2] Goddard originally auditioned for a role on As the World Turns as Brad Snyder (Austin Peck). Though he was not cast in the part, Barbara Bloom, the senior vice-president of CBS Daytime, recommended Goddard to The Young and the Restless's head writer and executive producer [[Lynn Marie Latham]. After testing for the part of Cane for Latham and casting director Karen Rea, Goddard was cast in the role.[1][7] The actor auditioned with an American accent, but when the show found out about his Australian background, that influenced Cane's backstory.[8] "The concept of Cane was that he was given away at birth," Goddard said. "So he could have been from Mongolia. It just worked out luckily for me that I was the right person for the job."[8] Since the producers could not understand the actor's real Australian accent, Goddard "Americanized" it while portraying the character.[2] Goddard described Cane as a "typical Australian, working-class kind of guy who mined opals, raised goats, then went off for travel and adventure to sort of find himself."[9]
The character's initial story positioned him as the love interest of Adrienne Frantz's Amber Moore and the son of Jill Foster Abbott and Phillip Chancellor II.[1][5] The writers detailed Cane as a smart, loyal, and moral survivalist with an edge.[10][11] They showed that edge during the character's reaction to Amber's betrayal.[10] After that relationship ended, the writers planned on pairing Cane with Michelle Stafford's Phyllis Summers. A scene aired between the characters in the same episode as Cane and Amber's break up. The popularity of Phyllis with Nicholas Newman halted the plans for the pairing.[10][5] Cane was instead written into a romance with Christel Khalil's Lily Winters.[12] Viewers felt the character lost some of his edginess when paired with her. "I can say, as an actor, that Cane has lost a certain amount of edge, a certain amount of his dynamic," Goddard said. "But at the same time, it's been replaced with a level of compassion, understanding, tolerance, romance, and love...all the things that daytime is really about at its core."[10]
Goddard compared the romance between Lily and Cane to Lady Chatterley's Lover since both characters grow and learn from the relationship.[13] The storylines designed for them included the controversy with the gap in the character's ages, a miscarriage, and a quadrangle with Chloe Mitchell and Billy Abbott. Within the quadrangle story arc, Chloe tricks Cane into thinking they conceived a child together. To make the story work, the writers scripted Cane as less intelligent, a strategy they used previously with the Amber storyline. To keep the character from looking bad, Goddard said he made acting choices to justify Cane's actions.[8] Despite the lessening of the character's intelligence, Goddard said he liked the story because of the originality of the plot. Love triangles and questioned paternity happen regularly in soap operas, but he felt that head writer Maria Arena Bell managed to make those conventions fresh and new.[8][14]
Phillip Chancellor III
In 1976, William J. Bell created Phillip Chancellor III as the child of Jill Foster (Brenda Dickson) and Phillip Chancellor II (Donnelly Rhodes). From that point, the character stayed a part of the show's storylines until the character was killed off in 1989.[6][15] Years later, in 2007, former head writer Lynn Marie Latham rewrote the birth of the character by establishing that Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper), Jill's enemy and Phillip II's wife, switched their child with another, hours after his birth. The character was brought back onto the show as an adult named Cane Ashby, portrayed by Daniel Goddard.[2]
Cane reentered the series as an Australian in search of his birth mother with no knowledge of his true paternity.[8] During that time, Goddard did not want to know the real motives of his character because he did not want that to influence his performance.[2] After the reveal that Jill is Cane's mother came to light, his views changed. "Now, I welcome the information because it adds more color to my portrayal," he said.[2] The initial lack of information made playing Cane difficult since there was an amount of ambiguity over whether he was a good, bad, or in between character. The ambiguity deepened when Goddard read the script revealing that the DNA test performed for Jill and Cane came back negative. "I had never gone to Lynn to ask what's going on," Goddard said. "But I went to her then and said, 'I can play anything I need to, but just answer this one question- am I really Jill's son?' And she said, 'Yes, you are.'"[10] A second test later reflected that. Though the maternity question was cleared up, more ambiguity about Cane's intentions appeared as the character received a phone call from his uncle Langley that hinted towards Cane scheming against Jill and Katherine.[10][11][5] The original intent of the call was to show that Cane wanted what was owed to him after being given away.[10][11] The writers changed directions after the popularity of the character grew.[10][16] Goddard said he felt the phone call was resolved within the story when Cane sent money to his uncle as part of taking care of him.[13]
In 2008, Maria Arena Bell took over as head writer of The Young and the Restless. A storyline she readdressed was the phone call Cane received from Langley. In her revised version of the story, Langley is really Phillip Chancellor III, portrayed by Thom Bierdz. The show kept secrecy around the twist by sneaking Bierdz in to shoot scenes and asked that he not tell anyone of his return.[17] Goddard told Soaps In Depth he liked the story twist because it added another dimension to Cane. "This change will allow another metamorphisis to begin, another development and evolution of Cane..." he said. "Cane has always been a three-dimensional character, but now you will see a fourth dimension, because you will finally find out where he's coming from and who he is."[18]
Storylines
In January 2007, Cane is a bartender at Indigo, Neil Winters' nightclub in Genoa City, Wisconsin. An Australian national, Cane has remained in the United States beyond the expiration of his visa, and is fearful of being deported. Shortly thereafter he becomes involved with Amber Moore (Adrienne Frantz), who first uses him to make Adrian Korbel (Eyal Podell) jealous. She later finds out that Cane is trying to find his birth mother. He was adopted by a woman named Violet Montgomery, who died shortly after, and then raised by Violet's brother, Langley Ashby who lives in Canberra, Australia. At the same time, Amber is also trying to track down Jill Abbott's (Jess Walton) son, Phillip Chancellor III, who has actually been switched with another child by Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper) shortly after his birth in 1975. She realizes that Cane might be Jill's son and tries to capitalize on that by marrying him. Amber and Cane go to Las Vegas where she gets him drunk and tricks him into thinking they got married. It is revealed in February 2007 that Amber's suspicions of Cane being Jill's son are correct. Jill and Cane share a tearful reunion. Additionally, the revelation that Cane is the true Phillip Chancellor III prevents his deportation; since he was born in Genoa City, he is a native-born U.S. citizen.
Cane and Amber get used to being married, and eventually move onto the Chancellor estate. Kay also offers an executive position to Cane in the construction division of Chancellor Industries, which he accepts.
Later, Cane begins to be suspicious concerning his marriage to Amber. He realizes that his signature on the wedding certificate does not look like his own, though Amber claims it is because of how drunk he was that night. After contacting Amber's former mother-in-law Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) and asking questions about her history with Amber, he eventually realizes the truth, that the marriage is invalid. Cane wants nothing to do with Amber and claims that she only ever wanted him for the Chancellor money. Before asking her to sign the papers invalidating their marriage, Cane has sex with Amber and then rejects her, hoping to make her feel his pain. Amber, meanwhile, appears to have actually fallen in love with Cane during the marriage, and is devastated at his rejection.
In September 2007, Cane shares a kiss with the recently-divorced Lily Winters (Christel Khalil), and also begins a flirtation with A.D.A. Heather Stevens (Vail Bloom). Cane and Heather mutually decide to be just friends, citing no chemistry as the reason. Cane does feel the chemistry with Lily and wants to romantically pursue her. When he finds out how much younger than him she is, he decides against that. The two continue to be drawn to each other until they decide to not let age be an issue for them. Cane and Lily start dating, despite Neil's (Lily's father) disapproval. Cane plans to move into a condo when he finds out that Lily is planning to move out as well. Cane wants to ask Lily to move in with him but he's not sure about Neil's approval. During this time, Lily becomes pregnant with Cane's child, but miscarries early on. Cane and Lily continue to see each other, and they each profess their love for one another on several occasions. They are in a committed relationship and start living together in the house Cane bought for them. In August 2008 Cane proposes to Lily by giving her a fortune cookie with a ring inside. Lily accepts.
Cane spends an evening drinking with an old friend from Australia, and ends up getting drunk and passing out in Chloe's car. Chloe takes advantage of the situation by tricking Cane into believing they had sex. Even though Chloe is pregnant before pulling her scheme, a recent DNA test shows that Cane can not be excluded as the father of Chloe Mitchell's child, much to her enjoyment and Cane and Lily's horror. Upon this revelation Lily moves out of the house.
In early October Cane meets his half-brother Billy who has returns to Genoa City and will be working at Jabot, while keeping contact with House of Kim via satellite. Since Cane might be the father of Chloe's baby, Lily urges Cane to marry Chloe to be there for his child. In early September it is revealed that Chloe has been lying about her identity all along. Her real name is Kate Valentine, and she is in fact the daughter of Katherine Chancellor's longtime maid Esther Valentine. This enrages Cane who realizes Chloe has been lying to him since the start of the whole fiasco. Jill urges him to consider getting a good lawyer with the ultimate goal of getting an annulment.
Cane begins to grow closer to Chloe over the prospect of them having the baby. After a fight between Chloe and Lily in which Chloe falls from a ladder, he makes it clear to Lily that Chloe and the baby are his first priority. Lily agrees that that is where his priorities should be and tells both Cane and Chloe she will keep her distance. While Chloe is in the hospital because of the fall from the ladder, Billy finds out he is the father of her baby, not Cane. He decides to let Cane raise his baby because he does not think he is father material. Lily is now intrigued by a mystery man online by the name of Sonny who just happens to be Billy.
The mystery man turns out to be Billy, Cane's younger brother. Billy also later takes over Jabot in a coup ran by Jack Abbot and ousts Cane out. Lily falls for Billy and they have an affair. Billy questions Chloe about the paternity of the baby and he calculates that the baby is his from the timing of their first meeting. However, he keeps it a secret but discusses it with Jack. He wants Lily and decides to forget it and let Cane raise the child since he's the better man. Cane and Chloe become more of a family discussing the nursery however, Cane isn't aware that Chloe is fantasizing about Billy and their baby on a regular basis.
Cane discovers that Lily and Billy have already been intimate and their on their way to a Valentine's Day rendezvous in the mountains. He's upset and starts reminiscing over their love affair. He starts to panic and rushes to the Cabin to stop them and tell Lily that he loves her and he wants a life with her. Chloe arrives at the cabin just as Billy tells Lily that the baby is his. She goes into labor and they help her deliver the baby. Cane arrives and professes his love for Lily just as the baby is born. She is named "Cordelia Katherine Valentine Ashby". Cane plans to stay in the family "he" created with Chloe despite his love for Lily. Lily pushes Billy and Chloe to tell Cane the truth. Chloe eventually does, but Cane decides to fight for custody of the baby he claims as his own, threatening both Chloe and Billy as to their parental rights and qualifications. Cane has asked Lily to marry him and she accepted yet he still intends to fight Billy for paternal rights to Delia.
At Lily's urging, Cane decides to drop the paternity suit. He declares his love for Lily again, and they marry. Following the wedding, Cane recalls his telephone conversation years earlier with a man named "Langley" regarding their joint plan to con Jill and Katherine. The man bears a startling resemblance to the supposedly deceased Phillip Chancellor III (Thom Bierdz). On June 10, 2009, it is revealed that "Langley" is indeed Phillip, and that he is still very much alive (unknown to everyone except Cane).[19]
Nina Webster Chancellor (who was Phillip's wife at the time of his supposed death) begins background research on Cane, as part of her efforts to adapt Katherine's memoir into a screenplay. Her suspicions about Cane continue to grow, and she eventually orders the exhumation of Phillip's body for genetic testing. When it is discovered that Phillip's casket is empty (and, in fact, never contained a corpse at all), Nina demands that Cane submit to DNA testing to verify his status as Jill's biological son. Upon learning of Nina's demand, Cane retrieves a vial of blood marked "Langley" from a carousel of vials he has kept in a hidden freezer for use in DNA testing.[20] On July 2nd 2009, Paul reveals to Nina that the blood given for the test to confirm Cane's identity had blood cells which had burst, meaning it had been at one time frozen. When confronted, Cane reveals that he is not actually Phillip Chancellor III. Everyone is furious, except for Katherine who simply wants to know why he had tricked them all. When asked why he did it, the real Phillip appears before Cane can answer the question.Lily and Cane break up after Lily finds out he lied about being Jill Abbott's son and pretended to believe he fathered Chloe's baby in order to continue with the ruse. Lily is later diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Her uterus is taken out during a surgery to remove the cancer, but the doctor is able to harvest two of her eggs. Lily reunites with Cane while continuing with cancer treatment. They decide to continue their plan in starting a family and pursue surrogacy options. Mackenzie Browning (Clementine Ford) agrees to act as their surrogate and becomes pregnant with Lily and Cane's twins. Soon after, Cane gets arrested by an immigration officer who plans to deport him.
Reception
Cane Ashby's 2007 debut had positive and negative reviews. Soap Opera Digest praised the story as "a riveting tale".[21] TV Guide Canada's Nelson Branco found the story unrealistic, but praised the addition of Goddard and Cane to the series. "A few eyebrows were raised when The Young and the Restless decided to rewrite history by bringing in Daniel Goddard to play Jill's 'real' son, Phillip Chancellor," Branco said. "But as romantic rogue Cane Ashby, the talented newcomer seduced us into suspending our disbelief- for now!"[2] Soon after the character's introduction, Cane and Goddard became popular among viewers and gained praise from critics.[3][22] He also became part of a successful pairing with Lily Winters,[4] which gained "a very vocal, and loyal fan base".[5]
In 2009, Maria Arena Bell altered Cane's backstory by revealing that Cane is not really Jill's son and was sent by the real Phillip Chancellor III to take care of his family. Soap Opera Weekly's Janet Di Lauro commended the change. "This story also breathes new life into Cane, who was becoming increasingly dull as a whitewashed, pompous do-gooder," she said. "Suddenly, he has his edge back."[23] Soap Opera Digest gave the story a thumbs up and a thumbs down because, though it was an exciting twist, it happened too closely with the other Chancellor family rewrite undoing the mother and daughter relationship between Jill and Katherine.[21] The magazine later named the story "Most Preposterous Plot Twist" of 2009 because the rewrite "was way out of sync with Y&R's usual authentic approach to storytelling."[24]
References
- ^ a b c "Amber's New Guy Could Be Trouble". Soaps In Depth. January 23, 2007.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h Branco, Nelson (2007-07-26). "Down Under with Daniel Goddard". TV Guide Canada. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b "Gazing at Goddard". theyoungandtherestless.com. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b "Lane Lovers Treat!". theyoungandtherestless.com. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d e Branco, Nelson (2008-06-04). "Conversations with Goddard". TV Guide Canada. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b "A Tale of Two Phillips". Soap Opera Weekly. 2009-06-09.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "Meet Daniel Goddard!". theyoungandtherestless.com. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d e Fairman, Michael. "The Daniel Goddard Interview". michaelfairmansoaps.com. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "The Boy From Oz". Soap Opera Digest. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h McElwain, Julie (2008-07-07). "Speed Racer". Soaps In Depth. p. 62–65.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c "Is Cane Who He Claims to be?". Soaps In Depth. June 2007.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "New Couple Alert". Soap Opera Digest. 2009-09-25.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b "Chasing Cane". theyoungandtherestless.com. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "A Trip Down Memory 'Lane'". Soap Opera Weekly. 2008-10-14.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Cassata, Mary; Irwin, Barbara (1996). Hoffman, Peter (ed.). The Young and the Restless Most Memorable Moments. Los Angeles, California: General Publishing Group. pp. 107–109. ISBN 1-881649-87-3.
- ^ Barnert, Deanna. "Daniel Goddard: Nature vs. Nurture". Soap Opera Digest. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Di Lauro, Janet (2009-06-09). "Closer Look: Thom Bierdz". Soap Opera Weekly.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "The Truth About Cane". Soaps In Depth. 2009-07-09. p. 4.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ The Young and the Restless recap (June 10, 2009) - Soaps.com
- ^ The Young and the Restless recap (June 22, 2009) - Soaps.com
- ^ a b "Presto, Change-O". Soap Opera Digest. July 14, 2009. p. 49.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Di Lauro, Janet (May 27, 2008). "Applause Applause Daniel Goddard". Soap Opera Weekly.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Di Lauro, Janet (July 21, 2009). "Phillip III's the charm for Y&R". Soap Opera Weekly.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Most Preposterous Plot Twist". Soap Opera Digest. December 15, 2009. p. 63.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help)