In 80s and 90s, many debuting soap actors used their roles as steppingstones to primetime and further fame. Good examples include Alec Baldwin (Billy, “The Doctors”), who went on to “Knot’s Landing,” and John Stamos (Blackie, “General Hospital”), who went to “Full House.”
Joshua Morrow
At the same time, there was a cadre of talented actors who weren’t swayed by the conventional notion that judged soap opera acting to be, by definition, an inferior undertaking. These actors were content to make soaps the mainstays of their careers, each building a body of work that is now beloved by millions of fans. Think of actors like the late Douglas Watson (Mac, “Another World”) and the late Nicolas Coster, who starred on no fewer than nine soaps, including “Another World” and “One Life to Live.” Each was truly magnificent and, in their years, became backbones of the soap industry.
Joining that distinguished brother- and sisterhood of outstanding actors who decided to concentrate on soaps is Joshua Morrow, who has played Nichols Newman on “The Young and the Restless” since 1994, when he was twenty. Morrow was born in Juneau, Alaska, into a miliary family and later moved to Los Angeles. He says he was really lucky to get his “Y&R” role so early in his career, when William J. Bell, the show’s creator, was still writing the show. “It was a solid job,” he says of “Y&R,” which was and still is the highest rated soap. Nick is of course the son of the show’s leading couple, Victor and Niki Newman (Eric Braeden and Melody Thomas Scott). Says Josh, “Eric is like a father to me.”
And over the years his character has remained central to “Y&R.” Very early on, Nick married Sharon Collins (played by Sharon Case), and they had a daughter named Cassie (played by Camryn Grimes, who now plays Mariah). Cassie died tragically very young. The couple had two other children, Noah and Faith. Nick was attracted to Phyllis (Michelle Stafford), a volatile woman who gave birth to Summer. Somehow Nick always came home to Sharon. “It was first love, always true love,” says Morrow.
Crew Morrow and Dad (People.com)
Like his character, Morrow married early in life. In 2001, he wed Toby Keener. They have four children: Cooper, Crew, Cash, and Charlie Jo. Morrow says fatherhood is as central to his life as acting. A self-confessed sports addict, he says, “Actually, being a father to these kids is the most important thing I have ever done.”
Through the years, he’s made a success of Nick, too, receiving five nominations for Daytime Emmys in the Younger Actor category. And staying with the show so long certainly has paid off artistically. He’s taken the character through a series of gripping storylines, many scripted by his character’s creator, Bill Bell, and many by longtime (now departing) headwriter Josh Griffith.
This year Nick was put up against a true enemy, Matt Clark, played by Roger Howarth, whose specialty, playing villains, won him many fans when he played Todd Manning on “One Life to Live” (which was also scripted by Griffith, along the late Michael Malone). For the last year or so, Matt and Nick’s fiery confrontations literally lit up the screen. Says Morrow of Howarth, “I couldn’t have asked for a better scene partner.”
And this year, too, the exiting headwriter Griffith also wrote a powerful and challenging storyline in which Nick became addicted to fentanyl. “He’s never been so tested,” says Morrow. It has affected all the character’s relationships on the show. In a very striking unpublicized black and white episode earlier this month, Nick, who had quit rehab, had a dream that showed the effects of his addiction on his loved ones. Sharon became totally strung out and his mother Niki who has long been an alcoholic brought out the best in actresses Sharon Case and Melody Thomas Scott.
That same week another female character entered Nick’s life — he met fellow fentanyl addict Marie Kirkland (Jade Harlow, who had played Jessica Bennett on “Passions” and Grace on ”The Bay”) and the two had a night of desperate sex. At the end Marie actually O.D.’d and after Nick put her in the ambulance, he naturally called wife Sharon. “No matter where she is, she’s always home to Nick” says Morrow of this fantastically written, produced and acted episode.
And Morrow has another reason to be excited. Last year, his son Crew debuted on “The Bold and the Beautiful” as Will Spencer and has become very popular. Morrow told People Magazine that, of all his children, Crew was” the least receptive to taking my help. If you had told me (Crew would be such a hit) a year ago, I would have said there’s no way this kid is going to end up in daytime soap opera. Now he’s killing it and I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
In addition to two short movie appearances before “B&B,” Crew has been cast as the lead in a major motion picture called “Wildcards” as a young man from a wealthy background who is charged with assaulting a black woman. “There’s no stopping him,” Joshua says of his son’s future success.
Meanwhile, Morrow plans to stay at “Y&R” where he says he has been very happy for years. His current performances in the drug storyline have certainly been Emmy worthy. All in all, Morrow says these harrowing storylines “have been absolutely fantastic to play.” And a highlight of Morrow’s long and distinguished soap career.
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