Young and Restless’s Roger Howarth Recalls ‘Awkward’ First Encounter with Joshua Morrow (Excl)
When The Young and the Restless resurrected one of its most notorious villains, Matt Clark, in the form of Daytime Emmy-winning actor Roger Howarth, Howarth’s on-air mission was simple: create as much misery as possible for Matt’s favorite targets, Nick (Joshua Morrow) and Sharon (Sharon Case). So, it’s no surprise that even though Matt is going by another name, Mitch Bacall, neither Sharon nor Nick exactly greeted him with open arms. Off-camera, though, Howarth tells Soap Opera Digest that he has felt “a really great vibe” from both Morrow and Case.
We Meet Again
Though Howarth had not crossed paths with Case before they began working together this fall, he did have one prior run-in with Morrow before the actors were reintroduced on the Y&R set. Explains Howarth, “I met Josh in 2013 on a sidewalk while he was having some breakfast by himself and I walked by.” At the time, Howarth was working on General Hospital, which he had joined the previous year as his One Life to Live alter ego, Todd Manning, before taking on the role of Franco, and he immediately recognized Morrow as a fellow daytime vet. “I said, ‘Oh, my God, you’re on that show,'” the actor recalls. “I said hi, he said hi back, and, you know, I’m socially awkward, and so that was the end of the conversation [laughs]!”
It’s safe to say that Howarth was not expecting that brief encounter to have made a lasting impression on Morrow. But, he reports, “When I met him again, 12 years later, not thinking he would remember that at all, the first thing he said to me was, ‘You know, we’ve actually met once before….’
“I thought that was really sweet, you know?” continues Howarth. “He’s a really good dude.”
The performers have to conceal their camaraderie when they get into character, as Howarth’s Mitch has been on the receiving end of heated reactions from both Nick and Sharon since Howarth’s debut. Sharon was the first to lay eyes on him, on October 31, and she immediately recognized him as the man who had tortured her years ago. Though “Mitch” claimed that he had no clue what she was talking about, Sharon ran straight to Nick and insisted that Matt Clark was back from the dead. Nick decided to see for himself, and on the November 5 episode and let his actions speak louder than words when he tracked the creep down, punching him across the face!
And while neither Nick or Sharon are likely to change their tune and roll out the welcome mat for the villainous Mr. Clark, Howarth says that both Case and Morrow made him feel at home quickly at his new workplace. “They could not possibly have been more welcoming,” he enthuses. “And I’ve enjoyed working with both of them a lot.”
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Soap Opera Digest does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.