Joshua Morrow made his Young and the Restless debut as Nicholas Newman, Victor and Nikki’s son, 30 years ago. On the eve of a special Nick-themed episode, he chatted with Soap Hub about his three decades in Genoa City and which of his leading ladies is his character’s endgame in a genre whose stories never, ever conclude!
Life Begins at 30
Had things gone differently, Morrow might have ended up like his son, Crew Morrow, and become a cast member of The Bold and the Beautiful. He first tested for the role of Forrester Creations intern Dylan Shaw in 1994, which went to Dylan Neal. At the same time, Brittney Powell (Safety Geeks: SVI) and Maitland Ward (Boy Meets World; White Chicks) competed for the role of Jessica with the show casting the latter in the role of Eric’s niece.
“B&B was a long, drawn out, multi-week thing where I had to audition like three times, and then, I had to go in for producers, and then, there was a screentest,” Morrow recalls.
“It was demolishing,” the actor recalls of losing out to Neal for the part, as he was young and filled with confidence. “I was like, super cocky, and I was like, ‘Oh, everybody loves me,'” he reflects with a chuckle. (Morrow may have been cocky, but yeah, people do love him!)
Morrow thought that he was going to go through a similar process when he was called in to try out for Nick. But it’s quite possible that the folks at Y&R chatted with the people at B&B and learned that Morrow was a star waiting to happen. The road to being cast as Nick was a smoother one. Shortly after meeting with series creator/sr. executive producer/head writer Bill Bell, executive producer Ed Scott, and Heather Tom (then, Victoria; now, B&B’s Katie), he was hired!
“It was kismet,” Morrow says. “I was meant to play Nick. Not getting Dylan was the greatest ‘failure’ of my life.”
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Nick and Sharon: The Early Years
On Friday, June 21, Y&R will honor Morrow with a special episode showing flashbacks of Nick and Sharon’s (Sharon Case) early days. “It’s a lot about the beginnings,” the actor previews. “It’s basically a walk down memory lane, the Nick and Sharon love story involving the parents, some of the sister [Victoria] stuff.”
Morrow says the show provided flashbacks on the monitor when he was taping his retrospect episode so that his memory could be refreshed. “They made a point of showing us the clips while we were having flashbacks, which I thought was very cool,” he says. “You get to see a bunch of clips that I haven’t seen in decades. It was cool, man.”
Two different actresses played the part of Sharon before Sharon Case, fresh off a stint on the syndicated soap Valley of the Dolls, was hired. As far as Morrow is concerned, with all due respect to the previous players, the third time was the charm.
“The show got it right when they found [Sharon Case],” Morrow raves. “She’s one of the most honest actresses I’ve ever seen. She’s a force, man. We’ve grown up together. We’re very good friends. Our careers will always be linked because of that — the way [Nick and Sharon’s] love story began and how it unfolded.”
Another Love
While Nick has had other love interests over the years — Amy (Julianne Morris), Grace (Jennifer Gareis), and Avery (Jessica Collins, who stars on Apple TV’s Acapulco) — Morrow singles out Michelle Stafford’s Phyllis as the other main significant woman in Nick’s life in terms of love interests. The two characters were drawn together following the death of Cassie (Camryn Grimes, who now plays Mariah).
“For me, it’s always sort of an even thing between the two pairings,” Joshua Morrow muses. “I don’t even want to diminish that. My journey with Michelle Stafford has been just as long, it seems, as it’s been with Sharon. She’s been a huge part of my career, and I am incredibly grateful for both of these incredible women.”
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