Dylan McAvoy is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network, portrayed by Steve Burton. Dylan first appeared on January 29, 2013. He is initially involved in a story arc involving Avery Bailey Clark (Jessica Collins), his former lover who believes he died during the war in Afghanistan. Avery is stunned by Dylan's return, but remains in a relationship with Nicholas Newman (Joshua Morrow). Burton noted the extreme differences between Dylan and his General Hospital character Jason Morgan. The actor was able to have a new wardrobe and look. While Jason was confined and "Stone Cold", Dylan has been credited by Burton as allowing him to portray his lighter side in addition to more of his own personality. The character was later paired with Chelsea Lawson (Melissa Claire Egan); their short-lived romance and marriage received negative reviews from viewers and critics alike.
In October 2013, it was revealed that Dylan is in fact the long-lost son of Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott), Nicholas' mother, making them half-brothers. In June 2014, it was revealed that Dylan's biological father is Nikki's childhood friend, and chief of police, Paul Williams (Doug Davidson). Later, Dylan establishes a relationship with Nicholas' former wife, Sharon Newman (Sharon Case), whom he eventually marries. Burton's performance earned him a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2014 and 2016, winning the award in 2017. In October 2016, Burton announced his decision to not renew his deal with The Young and the Restless. He made his final appearance on January 27, 2017.
Casting
In October 2012, Burton departed the role of fan favorite Jason Morgan on ABC Daytime's General Hospital. That November, news broke that The Young and the Restless put out a casting call for a character named Dylan, who was slated to "hit the airwaves" in early 2013. The casting call described him as a "rugged, dynamic, energetic man in his mid-30s" who "comes from humble, blue-collar beginnings, was studying to be an architect when his construction/contractor father was injured and Dylan had to drop out of college to take over the business. He's done two tours of duty in the Middle East, army special ops. The war left a mark on him. He's done his best to bury it with optimism and a wry, sometimes offbeat sense of humor".
After the casting call was issued, there was brief speculation that the character was a recast for Chance Chancellor, who was also a war veteran. Later, Burton's name was attached to the role. During an appearance on The Talk the following January, Burton officially confirmed that he was cast as Dylan. The episode of The Talk was described as "phenomenal"; Burton had no idea it would have been "New Year's Eve kinda crazy." After one of the show's co-hosts Julie Chen made the announcement of his casting and welcomed Burton to the CBS family, confetti dropped while another co-host Sheryl Underwood did a "wild happy dance". Burton said, "I had no idea about the CBS badge or the welcome basket, or anything. That’s not how I think. I understood why CBS did it, because it’s a big deal. I get it. It’s so strange for me, because I have never been one for all this publicity. They have been so gracious to me, and it was so overwhelming that they would do something like that." Burton made his first on-screen appearance during the episode dated January 29, 2013. He attributed much of his success going back to the 1990s when he studied acting at Theater Theater in Hollywood, California, coached by Chris Aable.
Burton's casting attracted a significant amount of media attention. The Hollywood Reporters Lesley Goldberg noted that it reunited Burton with executive producer Jill Farren Phelps, who was previously the executive producer of General Hospital. Speaking about the decision to cast him, Phelps told TV Guide that the casting department were seeing several actors for the role, and the thought of Burton was "just a dream". She then contacted his manager and together they were "able to make it work out so that Steve could continue to have the life he wants in Nashville."
Discussing his decision to join The Young and the Restless, Burton said on The Talk, "I told my manager if I can keep my family there and I can spend time with them and come back and forth, I would do that in a second. Without hesitation, CBS Daytime made that deal. Really quickly. This is crazy, but I'm just so happy to have the best of both worlds for my family, because before, I couldn't." Burton was happy with the flexibility of his "short term" contract, "I'll get a lot of long weekends and frequent weeks off so I can get back to Nashville. I don't want to work five days a week like I did at GH", he said during a TV Guide interview. The actor said he had "those first-day-of-school jitters" when he first arrived at the CBS building, but was welcomed by everyone. A week before Burton's debut on the series, a promotional ad aired, teasing his arrival with the slogan Daytime's Hottest Soap Just Got Hotter!. In November 2014, Burton announced he had re-signed for another year with the soap.
On October 6, 2016, Burton announced via-social media that he would not renew his deal with the soap, and would exit the role of Dylan.
Development Characterization and portrayal
Burton "loved the idea" of playing a character "very different" from Jason Morgan, who was characterized as "Stone Cold". The role of Dylan allowed him to wear colors other than black, which he was famed for at General Hospital. Of returning to daytime television without Jason Morgan's "uniform" and "black T-shirt", Burton described the experience as "refreshing". Explaining his wardrobe process, he said: "I never had to try stuff on. I'm not used to wardrobe fittings. I had to try on about 20 different outfits! That was really grueling. It was important to shake the leather coat and black t-shirt and do my hair different, because I know people are always going to see me as Jason."
Burton revealed that Dylan is "a lot more" like himself. "Jason was so stoic and didn't really get to show a lot of personality, unless it was with Spinelli or Sam," he said. Dylan has a sense of humor, and the actor felt that it would bring out a "lighter side" of his acting. In addition to his "entire makeover" which included a new hairstyle, Burton lost weight to play Dylan, as the costume department wanted him to look younger. Burton admitted during an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he was worried about how Dylan would be received, considering the "persona" of Jason is out there; he hoped "people will buy" Dylan, although some people would say "You are Jason and that's it." Burton told Yahoo! that: "[Dylan is] extremely different. That's the biggest thing for me, that after playing a character, which I loved, for 21 years, coming here and trying to do something different - 'cause I know fans are always gonna see me as that character if they watch the show and if they watch both shows... So, it's definitely a challenge because I was so used to playing that character." Jason's "confined" ways allowed Dylan to have a "little more" of Burton's own personality.
Before his debut, Phelps revealed that Dylan was "greatly traumatized by what happened to him in Afghanistan" and had been "severely injured" but rescued, which is why people believed he had died. Along with being a war veteran, Dylan takes over his family's construction business.
Relationships Upon Burton's casting, it was revealed by MSN that Dylan, who was described as "the mysterious ex Avery keeps bringing up" by Jillian Bowe of Zap2it, would be involved in a love triangle with his ex-girlfriend Avery Bailey Clark (Jessica Collins) and her current lover, Nicholas Newman (Joshua Morrow). Of Dylan's storyline and involvement in the love triangle, Phelps said: "Dylan does come to town to find Avery but this story has much more complexity than that [...] What you think is going to happen is not what's going to happen." She noted that Avery was the "great love of his life", though she may not have "the same feelings for him." Avery believed that Dylan died during war; TVLine commented that "such a resurrection" would "surely" derail her romance with Nick. During an interview with MSN, Burton said, "Nick and Dylan will definitely fight for her, but ultimately, it's going to be her choice." Dylan and Avery had an affair while she was still married to her ex-husband, but still had a "great relationship", which was shown through flashbacks. Dylan's primary goal in coming to Genoa City was to make sure she was happy, and if she wanted to get back together. Burton said that Dylan can't get Avery off his mind despite the fact that she had moved on.
Fans of the show speculated that Dylan would be paired with Nick's ex-wife, Sharon Newman (Sharon Case), to which Case responded by stating, "Everybody’s speculating about Dylan, the new character coming to town but, all I can say is, I think it’s fun because it’s a hoot to speculate". Luke Kerr of Zap2it noted how fast Dylan met Sharon, and said they could potentially be a "popular pairing with fans". Of working with Case, Burton stated: "Sharon Case is actually very fun, and she makes me laugh. So half the time in scenes where I am laughing, I am really laughing at Sharon! She has that personality where she makes me laugh." He also noted that fans of the show on Twitter have seen how "comfortable" and "easy" the character's on-screen relationship is. Dylan later shares a one-night stand with Chelsea Lawson (Melissa Claire Egan), who was pregnant with Adam Newman's (Michael Muhney) child; she decides to pass the baby off as Dylan's, and the two later marry. Egan described the character's decision to keep the child's paternity a secret as a "ticking time bomb". Burton stated that Dylan is "not the sharpest tool in the shed", since he believed what Chelsea was telling him. When asked about the child, Burton said: "This kid is everything to him, so once we figure out whose it is, if it’s not his, it’s not going to be a good situation for anybody." When asked if Dylan could forgive Chelsea, Burton added: "That’s a tough one. I don’t know what kind of mental state this is going to put Dylan in, to even think about that."
Maternity reveal In October 2013, it was revealed on-screen that Dylan is in fact the long-lost son of Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott). Scott had previously previewed her upcoming storyline in an interview with On-Air On-Soaps, stating: "I love this story! Now, I don’t know how it’s all going to turn out, but the premise, the people I get to work with, and the writing, has been spectacular. That’s all you need; good actors performing a good script, and our fabulous new directing team, and I love them all. I have not been this happy at work in a while."