Once Genoa City’s bad-boy, hot shot lawyer who had no qualms about crossing the legal line, Michael Baldwin may be on the brink of getting the one thing he has wanted but never thought possible: Christine Williams! "Michael has loved her since the first time he met her," says his longtime portrayer, Christian Jules Le Blanc. "But he’s been so afraid of this feeling. He’s always wondered, ‘How do I bring it into my life? Michael has such a block against loving someone, because that brings down his defenses."
Indeed, where his partner is concerned, Michael has always been defenseless. He perceives her as his perfect counterpart. "He loves her because she is someone who from the beginning, felt as passionate about the law as he does."
The realization that another person — a woman! — could view the law as he does shocked Michael, according to Le Blanc. "His whole life, women were only a concept. They could either help him to further his career or get through the next law case. Women were purely incidental."
But Ms. Williams posed, from the get-go, a dilemma. "She upset his world, because he lost control."
And being out of control frightens the lawyer. "Michael needs control. He is focused and has worked very hard to stay that way. Christine challenges his belief about only needing the law."
Which is why no fan should be surprised when Michael does a stunning thing by proposing to his law partner. "What does he know of marriage? It’s a great mystery," says Le Blanc. "He’s like someone trying to ride his first bicycle. He takes small steps, like someone younger and much more naïve."
The one thing his alter ego knows is that he thinks marriage between himself and Chris can work. "She is intimately intertwined with what he is most passionate about — the law. He wants to be with her."
Whether Ms. Williams goes through with the ceremony remains very much dependent upon her residual feelings for her ex-husband, Paul. "Christine... leaves town," Le Blanc reveals, "and Michael suspects that Paul is what drove her away. He thinks Paul talked her out of marrying him, has tried to scare her off."
But the truth of her exit is much, much more serious and darker, and Le Blanc is thrilled with the story and its risk. "I told Jack [Smith, Y&R’s co-headwriter] how much I loved this story, and how brave I think it is. I’m very impressed, because I thought daytime would be the last place they would try to pull something like this off. They’re taking characters who have been largely heroic and making them flawed. It’s great stuff to play." —Karre Jacobs
Christian LeBlanc
