Joshua Morrow Admits He Was ‘Nervous' About Nick Newman's Shocking ‘Young and the Restless' Overdose

Joshua Morrow is opening up about his character, NickNewman, surviving an overdose on The Young and the Restless.

In an interview with TV Insider, Morrow revealed his thoughts on the storyline involving Nick developing an addiction to pain medication after a car crash.

"I was like, ‘I don't know that it's very Nick-ish, but let's give it a whirl,'" he said.

Morrow joined The Young and the Restless in 1994, and after three decades on the show, he wanted to make sure audiences would not be hurt by this arc.

"I was a little nervous about it. I hadn't been nervous about anything since high school, but I was concerned about how the fans would take it," the actor shared. "They don't want to see their hero fall in the way that he did, but I just ask that they take the story for what it is and enjoy the journey because from an acting standpoint, it's been really difficult work to do, but I've enjoyed it, that's for sure."

Morrow's character faced pressure as he was forced to confront his enemy, MattClark (RogerHowarth), and couldn't control his fentanyl use.

"Nick has always been loose and confident and had a carefree attitude about a lot of things," Morrow said. "He took some drugs to calm his nerves and to prepare for the moment, but he was not in a healthy state of mind to deal with something as dramatic as this. He just kept going further and further down this hole, and it all came to a head."

Nick's addition has been a challenge for Morrow.

"Most of the time, I come in here and do this job with my eyes closed because I don't feel like there's much of a stretch anymore between Nick and Joshua," he admits. "But this is a completely different arena now and work that I've never really had to do, so it's been very hard. I don't want to make light of it. If you've ever Google-searched fentanyl, it's terrifying to see what it actually does to people. That's not quite the version that we can show on television, so I just want to be as respectful as possible and do as authentic a job as I can."

If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, help is available 24 hours a day through theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Hotline at 1-800-662-4357.

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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 3:47 PM.