The Lottery

Season 1 Tue SABC3 (*193) 21:00 Repeat Sat SABC3 23:00 Sci-fi

Single-season sci-fi show The Lottery (2014) focuses on the end of the human race as we know it. The last babies were born six years before the show’s timeframe of 2025 and the government is determined to take the children from their families. Michael Graziadei plays Kyle Walker, the single dad to six-yearold Elvis (Jesse Filkow), who’s gone on the run and refuses to give up his son.

The 37-year-old isn’t a father in 1

real life but he can understand Kyle’s actions. “I’d do anything for my dog, like Kyle does for Elvis. She’s a pitbull that I rescued two years ago from the animal shelter,” he says.

The German-born actor says that 2

he takes something from every role. “When I did [adventure movie] Into The Blue 2: The Reef (2009), I learnt to dive and got my SCUBA certificate. And like my character [troubled artist] Daniel Romalotti in soapie Young & Restless (1973-current), I learnt to take photos and I’ve put together a portfolio.”

He played Daniel on Y&R from 3

2004 until he left in 2013 due to other commitments, but Michael did pop in for a visit in episode 11 000 (September 2016 in the US). SA fans should see this episode in mid-May 2017.

And while he’s found success in 4

acting, it wasn’t his first-choice career. “In college I took acting classes as a joke. It sounded like something easy and fun. I studied communications at the University Of New Hampshire [in 2000] because I didn’t want to be a starving artist,” he jokes.

Despite rumours in mid 2016 that 5

Michael was dating his Y&R co-star Yvonne Zima (Daisy Carter from 2009 to 2012), he laughed off the “silly stories” and says that “I’m single to mingle”.