As first reported by Soap Central last month, veteran actor Michael Nouri (Caleb McGraw) will be joining the cast of All My Children later this month in the role of a reclusive mountain man.

A hermit isn't exactly your typical soap opera character, so it was only natural that Nouri would be asked to explain how his character ended up living in the woods in the middle of nowhere. The actor reveals -- or perhaps just the opposite -- that the show's writers are keeping the reason under wraps. That didn't, however, keep him from speculating.

"I think it had to be something really dramatic for this guy to pull up stakes and live in the woods and be able to make peace with it," Nouri told TVGuide Magazine's Michael Logan in an interview. "I'm guessing he wasn't always a loner. Maybe he's dealing with a broken heart. Maybe he's disillusioned with the government and opposed to paying taxes. Maybe he's had it with society in general."

So what is it that brings Caleb back in contact with civilization? Erica Kane, of course.

Tragedy strikes when Erica's private jet makes a crash landing in a remote stretch of countryside with mountainous terrain. In doing so, her plane levels Caleb's home. This immediately puts Erica and Caleb at odds. Erica desperately wants to get back to her life, but Caleb refuses to help her. Erica's pleas for Caleb to assist fall on deaf ears -- with Caleb comparing Erica's voice to police sirens!

In real life, however, Nouri is quite pleased to be working with Susan Lucci.

"Susan is such a sweetheart," Nouri praises. "A great example of grace and professionalism and bonhomie. And I'm so glad I have her as my partner in this job."

Nouri has more than two dozen feature films under his belt, among them, Flashdance, Finding Forrester, and last year's romantic comedy, The Proposal. This will not be the actor's first daytime role. Nouri appeared as Elliot Hampton on CBS's The Young and the Restless in 1994 and 1995. He also previously appeared on Search For Tomorrow and Somerset in the mid-1970s. Nouri has also been seen in the FX cable series Damages starring Glenn Close.

Nouri debuts on May 24.