That's My Mama

■ When Porte guest-starred as male stripper Blaze Deluxe on the sitcom TELENOVELA in 2016, he finally got to meet the show’s main star, Eva Longoria (below), who played Ricky’s mother, Isabella, on Y&R. “I drew the connection for her and then we just discussed a little bit about our time on the show,” he recalls. “She really enjoyed working with Doug Davidson. What an incredible career has come from that experience for her. And then we talked about stripper moves — you know, important stuff!” Of their shared soap roots, Porte reflects, “We’ve both come a long way.

First, she played my mother on Y&R and now I’m playing her stripper, so life is funny sometimes! Not only did I get to do that episode and chat with her then, but they also had me back when Zachary Levi wasn’t able to attend a table read. They were like, ‘Oh, let’s invite Peter and he can read the part.’ So, I got to hang out with Eva a couple of times. She’s great to work with. Not only was she performing, but she’s behind the camera and she was producing the show. I don’t know how people can weave their brain around wearing so many hats but she does it quite gracefully.”