Nick is willing to do whatever it takes to put an end to the threat of Matt Clark on Young and Restless, and since it has been confirmed that Roger Howarth returned to the soap to resume filming, it may not be long before the two men come face-to-face and do battle. Joshua Morrow tells Soap Opera Digest that he is “absolutely” looking forward to sharing scenes with Howarth again as this storyline prepares to explode once more.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
“I can say without question, Roger is one of the most talented people I’ve ever worked with,” Morrow declares. “He’s an incredible artist. I love what he’s done. He’s played Matt Clark with a completely different, unhinged, maniacal quality that none of the other portrayers played him with. And that’s not a slight on Eddie [Cibrian] or Rick [Hearst’s] talents whatsoever. It’s just Roger’s take on this is completely different and unique. He’s just a fascinating guy to watch and to work with. I feel blessed that I get to see him again. He’s fascinating. I love what he’s done with Matt Clark.”
The Y&R star shares that as an actor who doesn’t really like to run lines, he’s only done it once with Howarth, so he’s unfamiliar with his co-star’s process of preparing for a scene. “I come from an improv background in theater, and I like it when you have to think on your feet,” Morrow explains, “and that’s why I don’t really spend a lot of time with the other actor trying to prepare and stuff. So I’m not sure what he does when he goes out there, but whatever it is, sign me up. Dude’s freaking brilliant.”
Never Forget
Morrow appreciates the way that Howarth plays the villainous Matt as “much more wounded and messed up,” and counts one particular scene they shared as a real standout. In the December 29 episode of Y&R, the two men engaged in a dramatic confrontation at the Chancellor Park overlook, where Matt threatened to throw himself over the railing so Nick would be blamed for his “murder.”
“I can honestly say they’re top five scenes for me on the show, ever, because of what Roger did with it,” Morrow praises. “He played this character like… I could see that he was like, hurt when he was young, or that he was wounded. Like there was something fragile about him. And it just broke my heart. It made tears spring to my eyes watching Roger.
“My favorite moment was when I tell him to jump,” he adds. “He’s like, ‘Well, I’ll just jump and then you’ll be found guilty.’ And then I walk up and just look at him and I said, ‘Go ahead, jump.’ And the look that washed over Roger’s face when Nick said that to him, to me, was heartbreaking. It felt like I could see this wounded person all of a sudden come to the surface. And from an actor standpoint, I found that to be so sad and also beautiful.”
Morrow also credits Howarth with bringing something extra to the scene beyond what was written in the script. “That was not on the page,” he shares. “That was something that Roger chose to do on his own, and it was [freaking] beautiful. That moment, I’ll never forget. It was amazing.”
A Real Moment: Morrow will never forget the scenes he did opposite Howarth when Nick told Matt to go ahead and jump.CBS
First Impressions
Before they worked together on Y&R, the two men originally met back in the early 2010s when they ran into each other at a coffee shop. While Howarth recalls introducing himself to his fellow soap star, Morrow remembers the encounter a little differently. ‘We were in the Palisades, at one of my favorite cafes that we always go to, and he was just sitting at a table,” he relates. “He may have known who I was, just because we’ve been in the industry together for a very long time, but I introduced myself and said, ‘I just wanted to say hi.’ Roger Howarth, he always has a bit of lore to him because he’s kind of a mystery. He’s a true artist, and he’s got this really unique thing to him.”
Having been working in soaps since joining the cast of Y&R in 1994, Morrow was well aware of Howarth’s own history in the medium, with him having started out that same year playing Todd Manning on One Life to Live before going on to play Paul Ryan on As the World Turns, and also Todd, Franco Baldwin, and Austin Gatlin-Holt on General Hospital.
“I like meeting people in our medium,” Morrow shares. “I’m very protective of it. For some reason, soaps get sort of a weird rep from the industry, but these are some of the most talented people I’ve ever seen in my life doing this job. It’s very difficult what we do, and some people that you share scenes with, they’re just incredible. At that point, I had never worked with him, but Roger Howarth, I mean, he’ll go down in history and soap lore as one of the more unique and talented performers that this medium has ever had.”
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