Roger Howarth has portrayed numerous bad boys throughout his soap career, and now he’s tackling one of The Young and the Restless‘ biggest villains — Matt Clark.
Originally played by Eddie Cibrian, Matt Clark first appeared as a teen in Genoa City in 1994, quickly becoming a central antagonist to Sharon Collins (Sharon Case) and Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow). Sharon dated Matt, then broke it off to be with Nick, sparking Matt’s deep resentment toward Nick. A furious Matt raped Sharon in a jealous rage, a traumatic event she kept secret.
When Sharon’s pal, Amy Wilson (Julianne Morris Polaha), confided that she liked Matt, a concerned Sharon revealed the truth to Amy about the rape. Amy beelined for Matt, who denied Sharon’s claims.
Determined to ruin Sharon and Nick’s relationship, Matt began digging into her past. In 1995, he discovered that Sharon got pregnant at 16 and gave the baby up for adoption. Matt sat on the information, and after Nick proposed to Sharon, Matt crafted a letter spilling all the details of Sharon’s baby and delivered it to Nick. Nick refused to believe Matt’s claims, and a fight broke out between them. Despite the turmoil, Nick and Sharon resolved their issues, though she still kept quiet about the rape.
The truth finally emerged when Sharon and Nick tried to be intimate, but she couldn’t go through with it. Sharon told Nick about the assault, prompting Nick to confront Matt. Nick attempted to procure a gun on the way, but failed. When he arrived at Matt’s, Nick spied Sharon pulling away in her car and Matt lying in a pool of blood, a gun nearby. Worried that Sharon had done it, Nick tried to wipe the gun clean, just as the cops arrived. Matt survived, and Nick was arrested and indicted for attempted murder.
CBS / Everett Collection
As Matt recovered, he recalled that it was Amy who shot him, but kept silent. The trial didn’t go Nick’s way, resulting in a 15-year prison sentence. Nick struggled in prison, and his powerful father, Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), was determined to clear his name. After Nick was brutally beaten by another inmate, Larry Warton (David “Shark” Fralick), Victor took action to get Amy, who was suffering from amnesia and institutionalized, and Matt in the same room. Matt, posing as a doctor, visited Amy, triggering her memory of the shooting. Amy confessed to shooting Matt, and Nick was exonerated. Matt left town in 1996, and Sharon and Nick happily wed.
The Newmans had four years of peace before a man named Carter Mills came to town and applied for a job at Crimson Lights, owned by Sharon and Nick. Carter was actually Matt Clark in disguise, having undergone plastic surgery (now played by Rick Hearst). Matt infiltrated the Newmans’ lives, plotting revenge.
Matt framed Nick for selling ecstasy to college kids. When a student wound up dead — courtesy of Matt — Nick was arrested on drug and murder charges. A clever Victor suspected Matt Clark was somehow responsible and began investigating. Meanwhile, Matt escalated his scheme by luring Sharon to a remote cabin, planning to drug and rape her, then send the recording of it to Nick. In prison, Nick learned Carter’s true identity from Larry and alerted Victor, who intervened as the police arrived. Matt was injured while trying to escape.
In an attempt to clear his name, Nick wanted to get Matt to confess to setting him up, but Matt was wise to Nick’s plan and ordered him to remove the wire. In a final act, Matt pulled out his breathing tubes and put them in Nick’s hands. Matt flatlined and was declared dead. Nick was ultimately exonerated when Larry confessed to working with Matt and shared Clark’s plot to destroy Nick and Sharon.
Howard Wise / jpistudios.com
Now, 24 years later, Matt has resurfaced in Los Angeles as Mitch Bacall, married to Sienna Bacall (Tamara Braun). Nick and Sharon are also in town, caring for their son, Noah Newman (Lucas Adams), who was injured in a car accident. Sharon’s investigation into what happened to Noah led to the discovery that Noah was working for a man named Mitch. Sharon ran into Mitch on her quest to get answers and immediately suspected he was Matt Clark.
Howarth is excited to play the complex role. “I’m really thankful that I get to play a character with mischief and devious and villainous qualities,” he told Soap Opera Digest, adding that while Sharon may suspect Mitch is Matt, he’s not coming forward so quickly. “It’s important for Matt for people to continue to think that he’s Mitch. He’s built a life as Mitch. He values the life he has as Mitch. And it’s very disruptive to Mitch’s life that the Newmans seem to think that he’s another person, and he does everything he can to convince them that what they’re seeing is not the truth!”
The Young and the Restless, Weekdays, CBS
If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network‘s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or a loved one is in immediate danger, call 911
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