Young and the Restless Exclusive: As Matt Returns, Roger Howarth Teases Major ‘Shift’ Ahead
Since getting out of jail on a technicality after Victor (Eric Braeden) had him hauled away on The Young and the Restless back in January, Matt Clark has been hiding in the shadows, sending threatening texts and plotting his next move to wreak havoc on the Newmans. But that all changes on Wednesday, April 1, when the villain resurfaces on screen — and by the following day, he’s closing in on one of his favorite targets: Nick (Joshua Morrow). Soap Opera Digest checked in with his portrayer, Roger Howarth, about being back in action as the notorious bad guy.
The Devil You Know
While Matt was crafting the next arc of his revenge, Howarth was on a much more wholesome break from Genoa City. “Cari [Stahler, his wife] and I went to England for three months and got to be with my son’s family, including his wife and daughter, and spent the holidays with them,” he reports. “And I got to see my daughter, who lives overseas. It was a beautiful couple of months.”
Howarth knew when he wrapped up Matt’s comeback arc late last year that the show wasn’t done with the character — or with him. “When I left, they let me know that there was a window where they hoped for Matt to return,” he explains. “So we scheduled ourselves to be back in Los Angeles for when that might be.” And once back in the studio, he hit the ground running.”It’s a really well-written role with very clear dynamics, so I felt very comfortable getting back to work. Comfortable and excited! I was definitely excited to get back to work.”
The actor returned to the studio in mid-February and says that Y&R has been keeping him busy ever since. “It’s going great!” he enthuses. “Everyone I work with has been really cool. They’re really nice people and I really enjoy being here. Honestly, we’re actually taking a week off now [from shooting] and I’ll be happy to get back to work next week. I feel very lucky.”
From a storyline perspective, Matt hits the ground running. “Matt’s not one to sit still,” Howarth nods. “He’s been busy — and up to no good. Matt is just as destructive as ever!”
Which is just how the actor likes it. “It’s a very fun part to play,” he grins. “And part of what makes it so fun is that it seems every character in the story [surrounding Matt’s return] seems to have an agenda that is not completely transparent to everybody else in the story. Everybody’s got an angle. Everybody’s trying to figure out how to help themselves.”
A Change is Gonna Come
As Matt’s return kicks off in Las Vegas, there is unfinished business between him and Nick, whose portrayer, Joshua Morrow, has made no secret of how impressed he has been by working with Howarth. Asked if he’s seen any of his co-star’s interviews on the subject, Howarth says, “So here’s the thing — people send me texts [about it], and then I call Josh privately and thank him and tell him on the phone how much I appreciate him and how wonderful I think he is. So it’s nice to have the chance to publicly say that I feel the same way about him. I’m a big fan. I think he’s doing a great job with Nick’s drug addiction. I think he’s a very compelling, beautiful actor and he’s a really good dude. I’m really happy that I’ve had the chance to get to know him.”
While Matt does still have characters like Nick, Noah (Lucas Adams) and Sienna (Tamara Braun) in his crosshairs, fans shouldn’t expect a retread of his reintroduction arc from last fall, back when he was still posing as Mitch Bacall. This time around, hints Howarth, “There’s a shift coming up in the story that’s been a lot of fun. They’ve given me some new people to bounce off of and I really appreciate what Josh [Griffith, executive producer/head writer] is doing. I hope the fans like it!”
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