Twenty Years on The Young and the Restless: Joshua Morrow's Five Favorite Moments

Not possible! It's been 20 years since Joshua Morrow joined CBS's The Young and the Restlessas Nicholas Newman, the suddenly sprouted, wondrously hunky son of the nefarious Victor and his drama queen Nikki. "Man, this anniversary really makes me feel old but also very grateful," Morrow says. "This is the best job in the world and, second to my children, my proudest accomplishment. I hope to do it as long as CBS and Sony and the fans will have me. It's the ride of a lifetime." TV Guide Magazine sat down for a gab session with Morrow to go over his picks for the five most memorable, perfectly Nick-tastic scenes ever. Make sure to check out the clips!

Nick Returns to Genoa City (June 21, 1994)
First things first: We gotta talk about that fishnet shirt! "I can't blame it on Y&R," Morrow says with a laugh. "When I got the job, I had no TV experience and was still living at home with my mom. I didn't know anything. I went into the wardrobe department and had this 'Pretty Woman' moment where they rolled out racks of clothes and said, 'Pick.' And so I did. What was I thinking? I guess seeing a little skin through the gear back then was considered funky. Wear that shirt to a restaurant now and you'll get thrown out on the street." Morrow's first scenes as the fresh-from-boarding-school Nick were with his TV sis Heather Tom. "I was so nervous and absolutely certain the producers were thinking they'd made a terrible mistake by hiring me. But Heather couldn't have been cooler or more professional. She held my hand through it all." And things came off without a hitch. "I started shooting at 7 am and was done for the day half an hour later," he says. "I got in my little Isuzu pickup and was back home before my mom and stepdad had left for work. They were, like, 'What happened? Did you get fired?'"

Nick Goes to Prison (January 10, 1996)
When Nick was wrongly convicted of shooting Matt Clark, he found himself behind bars with creepy badass Larry Warton, who seemed intent on making Nick his little prison bitch. "We liked to call it 'Pretty Boy Prison' because everyone — even the extras — were really good looking and in great shape," says Morrow. "Their clothes were never dirty. We all just stood around folding laundry all day. It was a very interesting place — and that Larry definitely had some 'ulterior motives' where Nick was concerned." Forget "Shick" and "Phick"! If Victor hadn't shown up at the prison in time to head-butt Larry, the next daytime supercouple might have been "Lick"!

Nick and Victor Visit Albert (November 21, 2003)
Oscar winner George Kennedy made a memorable guest appearance on Y&R as Victor's deranged, abusive father, Albert. "I was so honored that they allowed me to be in those scenes because it so easily could have just been the two of them," Morrow says. "I will always get to say I worked with George Kennedy and that means a lot to me. To watch him and Eric Braeden go at it was the greatest experience. I remember thinking, 'I never want this to end. Could we do six or seven more takes?'" Victor's meltdown after the faceoff was a profound moment for Morrow's character. "At the time, Nick didn't want to be around Victor but it killed him to witness his dad — the great alpha male — so broken and vulnerable. Nick's not a mean idiot. Seeing Victor sob like that made him realize family is everything and he knew he had to fix things between them. That scene started the rebound in their relationship."

Nick and Sharon Leap From a Plane (August 11, 2004)
"Who knew private planes just happen to carry three parachutes?" says Morrow. "Where were they hidden...under the peanuts?" This wacky setup finds Nick sneaking aboard a mini jet to rescue his wife, Sharon, from her kidnapper, Cameron. Nick needs Cameron alive to clear Sharon of criminal charges, so he straps them both into parachutes and shoves them out the exit door while the plane is mid-air — but not before laying a swoony lip lock on his gal. "I love that Nick beats the crap out of Cameron and calls him a 'bitch' which I'm not sure was scripted — it might have been the passion of the moment," Morrow says. Alas, we never got to see Nick take the leap. "They cut my falling shot because they claimed I was smiling the whole time. [The episode's director] Mike Denney said, 'You looked like you were having fun.' I said, 'I was having fun. That was a blast!' And Mike goes, "Well, sorry, it looked like so much fun we can't use it."

Nick and Sharon Say Goodbye to Cassie (May 23, 2005)
The car crash-related death of Nick and Sharon's teen daughter Cassie did not go over well with the viewers — in fact, they're still crabbing about it — but it sure made great TV. "It remains one of the saddest things I've ever witnessed in my life," Morrow says. "I was in shock when I found out what the writers were going to do, and really angry. Cassie was such a beloved character and I couldn't believe they wanted to kill her off. We were as livid as the fans." When the scenes were taped, Morrow wasn't yet a father in real life. "If I had been a dad back then, I think it would have slaughtered me," he says. "I didn't have the foresight to see what that decision would do for our show as we moved forward, how it would lead to some really emotional, gripping stuff that is still playing out today with [Cassie lookalike] Mariah. It's not something I look back on fondly, but I do respect the choice. And, I have to admit, it's one of the best stories we've ever told."

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