Cliff Lipson/CBS; sean smith/jpistudios.com
Twice Blessed: Joshua Morrow with Nick’s brides Sharon (Sharon Case, l.) and Phyllis (Michelle Stafford).
It’s not that common in real life for men to be intimately involved in the goings-on in the lives of their ex-wives, but for Nick Newman, that’s just another day at the Young and Restless office. The character is currently thick in storyline with two women he used to be married to, Sharon and Phyllis.
Lean On Me
Joshua Morrow, who has played Nick since 1994, believes that Nick wouldn’t have it any other way. Especially now that Sharon is on a protracted downward spiral, having gone off her bipolar medication. “Sharon leans on Nick for stability,” the actor opines. “And Nick is that person for everyone on the show — he wants to be the person that everyone can count on and come to when things are not going great. He relishes that role. He wants to help people and be that touchstone for them, and he usually is.”
Morrow doesn’t think that the depth of Nick and Sharon’s bond necessarily hints at them making another go at their relationship. At least for now, he asserts, “There’s zero romantic anything with them, but they are incredibly close. They’ve turned into very good friends. Where this leads, who knows? You can sort of use your imagination and fill in the blanks on your own. But Nick knows how important he is to Sharon and she really relies on him to help her through stuff. And that incredible history that these two characters have will only bolster Sharon and he knows that.”
Nick’s “help me help you” philosophy extends to Phyllis, as well, no matter how much of a handful she can be. Declares Morrow, “I absolutely believe that, at his very core, he’s never going to turn his back on the people that really matter to him. And that includes Sharon and Phyllis. No matter where they’re at in their lives, Nick will always be there for them despite everything that they put each other through and especially in times of trouble. Sharon’s clearly in a troubling spot right now, but he’s never going to turn his back on either one of them or, or on his family. As I said, he likes sort of being everyone’s rock. That’s who he is, and I really like that about him. He takes very seriously the lessons that his father taught him, which is, ‘Family before everything.’ Nick handles things way differently than Victor, but he will be the person that everyone can count on for the rest of his life.”
Seeing Red
What does Morrow make of the current dynamic between Nick and Phyllis? “Nick and Phyllis have such a unique relationship,” he notes. “I believe they get each other more than anyone in Genoa City. Nick understands that, and he knows what he sort of got himself into with her. She is a tornado and a whirlwind of emotions and they’ve got a light sort of back-and-forth [in their banter].”
The actor thinks there is still sexual chemistry between the characters, as well. “There’s obviously, I think, always sort of electric attraction with them. And you know, what’s funny to me is, I always like to play Nick where he walks in and sees Phyllis — or especially when Phyllis is with Summer — like he knows he’s about to walk into a tornado. He knows that this is going to be an, ‘Uh-oh!’ He is going to have to buckle on a seatbelt because we’re about to go for a ride!”
Forever Your Girl
Morrow considers himself blessed to have been working closely with Sharon Case (Sharon) and Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) for so many years, with Sharon and Nick’s love story kicking off in 1994 and Nick and Phyllis’s romance commencing in 2005, especially when all three characters are played in story together. “It’s my favorite story that I’ve ever been involved in, is that triangle,” he says. “And the fact that I get to continue to play it year in and year out with these two incredible powerhouses of talent in Sharon and Michelle is just incredible. And the writers are awesome about it; I mean, you can count on it that every week, he’s going to walk in and have moments with these two women that are just fun to play. And the audience loves it.”
Morrow observes that “in this dynamic between the three of them, Nick turns to Phyllis for advice about Sharon quite often. I think that’s because they’re really good friends. But I don’t know if he turns to Sharon, ever, for advice about Phyllis! And I have to believe that’s sort of mired in the fact that Nick and Sharon were like these young true loves, and that relationship has always been very different than it is with Nick and Phyllis. I always find it interesting that that the conversations that Nick has with Phyllis tend to be a little more like, ‘I need help. We’re friends.’ Whereas there’s a different emotional attachment to Sharon, and I think he doesn’t want to hurt her by asking for her advice about Phyllis.”
Concludes Morrow, “Nick just really loves these women, Sharon and Phyllis, and he’s never going to be able to completely turn the page, which is the problem with each of their relationships! You know, Nick is the issue because he can’t ever just say to one woman, ‘Yeah, the other woman is completely gone and she doesn’t have a place in my heart.’ And I like that. I love that! That is always an issue. And Sharon and Michelle like it too. It’s always going to be a problem. And that’s what we want in soaps! We want mess, we want problems, we want things to play, we want levels. And this triangle has stood the test of time and it will continue to do that.”
