Betrayal is an everyday occurrence on daytime. This week, however, the reaction that Sunset Beach?s Ricardo displayed when he discovered that his fiancée and his brother had slept together was something that only comes along once in a blue moon, thanks to the gifted Hank Cheyne.

When Ricardo finally saw the tape of Gabi and Antonio?s lovemaking, one could have expected an overwrought, over-the-top performance from Cheyne. (Heck, we are talking about Sunset.) What he conveyed, though, was a riveting, almost frightening portrayal, methodically peeling away the many layers of a devastated Ricardo. In doing so, Cheyne transformed the character from nice guy to raving lunatic. The metamorphosis, though jarring, was handled with amazing subtlety.

As Ricardo?s vision adjusted to the X-rated display in front of him, one would have expected this passionate character to toss the television across the room with a furious bellow. Instead, Cheyne?s eyes widened in horror as they fixed on the naked images; Ricardo didn?t want to believe what he was seeing, yet somehow recognized that deep in his heart he knew the affair always was a possibility. Hands in his hair, Cheyne paced the room as the video played in the background, and we could see the wheels turning in Ricardo?s head. At one point, he ran back to the screen, dropped to his knees, and stared, transfixed. Cheyne took this scene in a strange, almost sexual direction as Ricardo mumbled, "It looks so much like Antonio and Gabi" caressing the screen while pressing his face up against their cavorting forms.

Then, as if a switch had been thrown, Cheyne let Ricardo?s anger bubble up. His eyes became darker, his body stiffened, his hair and clothes were suddenly unkempt. Still, Cheyne didn?t stray into overacting; he kept Ricardo?s emotions at a steady simmer - at least on the outside. Inside, it was a different story. As Ricardo was bombarded with memories of Gabi and Antonio together, he finally cracked, the frightening transformation reaching its apex. Cheyne let out an almost inhuman howl, and fled the room. Inhuman also could describe Cheyne?s appearance, which seemed to mutate as Ricardo spiraled dangerously out of control. Nostrils flaring, bathed in sweat, the actor looked like a wild animal about to go on a deadly rampage.

That rampage never materialized, however, as Ricardo suddenly suffered a stroke just as he was about to confront Gabi and Antonio. The lines between character and actor were abruptly blurred for a split second as Ricardo collapsed in a heap. If we didn?t know better, we might have thought Cheyne was reacting to the emotionally exhausting performance he had just given - not acting out Ricardo?s crippling stroke.