Be still my heart…

By Lux

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to attend the West Coast Women’s Show at the PNE Forum featuring special guest Joshua Morrow aka Nicolas Newman of the soap opera the Young and the Restless.

I must confess I am a watcher and a fan of Y&R so this was one assignment I knew I would enjoy and I was not disappointed.

Joshua Morrow the actor who plays Nicolas Newman on the show is a delightful person and very modest. A loving family man with four wonderful, if challenging, young children. The role requires Joshua to be on set from Tuesday to Friday 49 weeks of the year. That’s quite a schedule but like many other actors on a daytime television series Joshua is grateful for the steady work in an area of television that has had its ups and downs in recent years. For any actor steady work is a bonus. Joshua’s first love was sports but he admits he took drama to meet girls way back when in university. His appearance in a play lead to four auditions and the role he still has after 19 years, that of Nicolas Newman.

I was looking forward to meeting Joshua in person and the PR company organizing the West Coast Women’s Show were kind enough to squeeze me in prior to Joshua going on stage for a meet and greet session with the attendees.

I was introduced to Janis, a breast cancer survivor, and the winner of the Global TV “meet Nic Newman” contest. Janis told me she watches Global news everyday and that is where she found out about the contest she entered and won. “I am so excited I have been watching him for 20 years now” said Janis. I asked Janis besides Joshua as Nic Newman who are your other favourite actors? Janis – “Billy Miller for sure, love Billy, he’s a doll and I would like to see Chelsea and Joshua get together, Chelsea and Nic that would be a good story.” Janis told me that watching Y&R everyday while she was battling breast cancer really helped pull her through and she is a loyal fan.

Now it’s time for all of us to go back stage to meet Joshua. Janis has brought her son Dane along and I promise to take their picture with Joshua. Janis says she is really nervous about meeting Joshua.

Joshua meets Janis and her son, shakes their hands and says “Hi, Joshua, what’s up dude, what’s your name?” “Dane” and Joshua asks “do you play sports dude?” Dane says “I play football and soccer.” “Who’s your favourite team?” “The Whitecaps.” Joshua is clearly very comfortable around kids and both Janis and Dane are excited.

Joshua continues “Nice, did you get to the soccer game yesterday? I didn’t and now I’m so angry at myself. As soon as I was coming into my hotel people were just careening down the street to that game and I’m so tired from the night before and I go upstairs but I should have just walked down there.” Joshua is told about the outcome of the Whitecaps win against Toronto. “I know I read about it at breakfast I’m very angry at myself.”

I take a picture for Janis as she and her son Dane go out to take a seat in the audience waiting to see Joshua on stage.

I ask Joshua – I’ve read that you have four lovely children.

“Thank you three of them are lovely, one of them is a pain, but I love them dearly.”

Will you say which one?

“My middle son, I think about him constantly. I finally became a parent when he arrived. He is the pulse of our family, but he tests me.”

I wonder when I watch the steamy scenes on Y&R how you reconcile that with your kids, do they get to watch?

“No, no they don’t watch me, they don’t personally care as long as I grab the baseball glove and run outside in the street with them that’s all they care about. They know I’m on a TV show but it’s not something I really want them watching they’ve seen it occasionally because, just by happenstance, but it’s not the kind of viewing I want my kids to have at this age.”

Do they get teased at school?

“No it’s funny in L.A. I’m not famous. Where we live there are actors everywhere so I don’t think my kids really talk about it and I certainly don’t. I would gather there is a large part of the community that has no idea who I am I’m just the guy that has a lot of free time to coach little league.”

Y&R covers a lot of socially conscious subjects on the show you’ve done date rape, bullying, just most recently different types of substance abuses. Do you or the other actors have any involvement in the choosing of the subjects?

“You know we have very little to do with the writing of the story line it’s just not our job and we maybe have 20 people around the country that do that. My role on the show is very clearly defined; I show up and do the story they want. If I had an issue I felt super strongly about I’m sure I could go in and pitch it but there are so many people doing this
and whatever I’m thinking about they’ve already thought of it so that part of our jobs the actors tend to stay out of, or I do. Some people may be a little more involved but I am not.”

All too soon it’s time for Joshua to go onstage for the meet and greet.

I wish you another 19 years of Y&R, I’ll be watching. “Thank you, please do. Thank you for all your support.”

Like I said a really modest guy, and a really nice person.

I’ve included a little note sent to me by Janis in response to my request to use her name, her son’s name and the pictures for my article:

Hi! It was so nice to meet you as well. I’m still excited, yes he was lovely and charming. He had me at hello! Yes absolutely you have the pictures, you have anything you want to use. Dane is correct. If your editor approves go for it. Thank you for being there as I was very nervous, and you really helped me out.

It was an honour and my pleasure to meet you too Janis.