We’re fairly certain Nick Newman is innocent of killing Damian on The Young and the Restless, but Nick’s portrayer, Joshua Morrow, is simply slaying his scenes as tensions at Cane’s chateau are on the rise. Soap Central is bestowing our Performer of the Week for Y&R honors on Morrow for Nick’s realistic reaction to a surreal situation.
Joshua Morrow, The Young and the Restless, Performer of the WeekImagine how you’d react if you went to a mysterious mogul’s overseas estate only to find out that the gala was being thrown by someone with whom you were already acquainted. Also, there’s no way to get out, and an innocent man has been murdered. You might start reacting like Nick Newman has been: fed up!
Morrow has played Nick for over 30 years. He’s been consistent in bringing to life his character’s good-guy persona. Nick’s a man who loves and protects his family. Morrow, a dedicated family man off-screen, makes playing Nick look easy, but that in no way should diminish the actor’s talent.
Morrow, however, makes you believe that Nick truly is going through this surreal charade. First, he was, at best, bemused by the development that Dumas was, in reality, Cane Ashby (Billy Flynn). He chowed down on the gourmet food and enjoyed the festivities. However, even in scenes where he may not have had a lot of lines, we could see Nick slowly growing frustrated over being trapped in Cane’s crib. He quipped that the trip to France had “jumped the shark” after Lily (Christel Khalil) revealed that Cane (Billy Flynn) thought that someone was out to kill him.
Nick’s irritation grew into anger when he found the weapon that presumably killed Damian (Jermaine Rivers) in a plastic bag in his train car bathroom. Morrow wisely intensified Nick’s stance. Forget being inconvenienced with no cell phone service and no way to get back down the mountain, Nick was livid that someone was trying to pin the evil deed on him!
“Cane planted evidence framing me for Damian’s murder,” Nick maintained. Sharon (Sharon Case) and Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) tried talking him down, but the intensity that Morrow brought to his scenes made for a convincing case that Nick is spot on!
The Friday tag (last scene) is key to enticing viewers to tune in again on Monday. To use a sports metaphor, Y&R gave Morrow the ball to close out the last show of the week, and he ran it into the endzone. Nick proclaimed that he will, “blow this whole thing wide open before somebody else gets hurt or worse!” Bravo to Morrow for delivering a Friday closer that will surely get viewers back on Monday!
