Young and Restless Exclusive: Adam’s Hunt for Matt ‘Gets a Little Messy,’ Says Mark Grossman
When Mark Grossman learned that Young and Restless planned to revisit Adam’s past with a new storyline that would see him traveling to Las Vegas with Nick (Joshua Morrow) on the hunt for Matt Clark (Roger Howarth), he immediately saw the possibilities. “I thought it was really exciting,” the actor tells Soap Opera Digest of the new tale, which also reunites Adam with his former partner-in-crime, Riza (Tina Sasciani), who he hopes will spill what she knows about Matt’s whereabouts.
What a Tangled Web
When Grossman first joined the cast of Y&R as the new Adam Newman back in May 2019, the character had been presumed dead following an explosion three years earlier, but was found living in Las Vegas under the name of “Spider,” with no memories of his previous life in Genoa City.
“There was a lot that we don’t know about what went on when Adam was Spider,” the actor notes. “And especially [his history] with the Riza character. We saw her years ago, but I don’t think we really knew much about that relationship between them. So it was exciting to see what we were going to learn about that.”
Because Adam is currently in a pretty good place with Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) and their son, Connor (Judah Mackey), Grossman was also looking forward to how this new storyline might shake up the status quo. He enthuses, “As far as like, an actor’s standpoint, I was like, ‘Oh, this is so fun,’ because there can be potentially a lot of drama, especially if he’s got to go in and have the temptation of his previous life as Spider to try and help find Matt Clark. So I think we’re going to see if the lines are going to get blurred a little bit and see what he has to do to get this information.”
While the Y&R star enjoys playing all facets of his character, he adds, “I always loved the edgy, dark stuff. It’s nice to see Adam get along with the family and have a better relationship with Nick. But so much of Adam is his edge, or the shady things that he’s got up to, and kind of walking that line. So it’s always fun when you kind of get to dive back into that stuff and get a little messy.”
Deadly Games
Adam reuniting with Riza means Grossman was also reuniting with her portrayer, Tina Casciani, who was last seen on the soap back in 2020. After a six-year absence, “The fact that she came back was really cool,” he says. “I really enjoyed [working with her]. She just nails that character, and it was a lot of fun.”
As wary as Adam is of revisiting his life in Vegas, he knows he has to be extra careful around Riza. “Adam is just playing a role, right?” Grossman notes. “He’s going to do whatever he has to do to get the information that he needs. But there was some sort of a relationship here. I don’t think it was, for lack of a better word, a super deep relationship. I think it was a very transactional relationship. So that’s where it gets a little tricky.”
Riza is clearly not thrilled to see Adam again, as shown in the Y&R spoilers video, where she suddenly pulls a gun on him! “His work might be cut out for him a little more than he thought,” Grossman previews with a chuckle. “He might have to work a little harder to get Riza to trust him again, and he might really have to dig deep. Obviously, she doesn’t trust Adam. They’re both kind of these poker players that are trying to gauge each other.”
The actor explains that it’s those gambling skills that Adam is hoping to draw on to get out of this dangerous situation. “He’s doing everything he can to convince her that everything’s on the up and up,” Grossman explains. “Because he’s putting on a ruse that he wants to get back in the game. He has to really come at it from a different angle and try to play this role and put on this charade. Hopefully, she buys it — but it’s not going to be easy!”
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