When Roger Howarth signed on to play Matt Clark, aka Mitch Bacall, on The Young and the Restless, he knew one thing was coming: a face-off with the show’s GOAT, Eric Braeden, who plays Victor Newman on the show.
In a recent chat, Howarth admitted he was “genuinely nervous” before their first big showdown, making it clear just how much he respects Braeden’s soap legacy.
Roger Howarth talks about sharing the screen with Eric Braeden for The Young and the Restless
Howarth recently talked to Soap Opera Digest and revealed that the nerves hit him when he found out he’d be acting opposite Braeden. He was anxious to meet, explaining that Braeden has this larger-than-life energy that commands the room. He stated, “[I] was nervous to meet him. I was genuinely nervous! He’s such an imposing, impressive human being.”
But the second they actually met, all that stress just disappeared. Howarth said Braeden turned out to be very “welcoming.” Their first scenes came on December 3, and Howarth said the whole thing was “a lot of fun.”
Then, he went on to talk about Braeden’s skill and professionalism. “I really enjoyed meeting him. It was an absolute pleasure. He’s a pretty terrific actor! It was a lot of fun to go toe to toe with him,” Howarth added.
Off-camera, the two ended up bonding over soccer. Braeden used to play back in the day and even scored the winning goal in the 1973 National Challenge Cup. Once they realized they loved the same game, the tension loosened. That shared interest helped break the ice and made it way easier to bring the Matt-vs-Victor tension to life.
As the drama heats up on The Young and the Restless, fans are glued to the screen waiting to see what Matt’s big comeback blows up next. Victor notices him instantly during that tense face-off at The Shadow Room. Now it remains to be seen where things go forward from there.
