Roger has to be embarrassed to be playing this again after Franco and Todd. Say what one will about Todd but they put in a ton of work on that storyline in the '90s, and he still vowed he'd never do it again. Now you have this weak material for Matt Clark of all dudes. Can he not get a gig playing a funny uncle on the Disney Channel?

Edited 13 hours ago13 hr by Vee

Roger Howarth has gushed about the role and Josh Griffith in interviews.
(sigh)

Here are excerpts from two formerly spoilerish interviews

March 31, 2026, SOD (link)

there was a window where they hoped for Matt to return,” he explains. “So we scheduled ourselves to be back in Los Angeles for when that might be.” And once back in the studio, he hit the ground running.”It’s a really well-written role with very clear dynamics, so I felt very comfortable getting back to work. Comfortable and excited! I was definitely excited to get back to work.”
_ _ _

“It’s a very fun part to play,” he grins. “And part of what makes it so fun is that it seems every character in the story [surrounding Matt’s return] seems to have an agenda that is not completely transparent to everybody else in the story. .”
_ _ _

This time around, hints Howarth, “There’s a shift coming up in the story that’s been a lot of fun. They’ve given me some new people to bounce off of and I really appreciate what Josh [Griffith, executive producer/head writer] is doing. I hope the fans like it!”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

April 27, 2026, tvinsider (link)

For Howarth,. . . . . He is no stranger to playing soap villains but didn’t know what to expect when he first spoke with head writer and executive producer Josh Griffith last year. “I wasn’t told the specifics of what it would be, but I could read a sense of excitement in the voice of a guy who I totally trust, and Josh seemed really enthusiastic about it,” recalls Howarth. “I was just really pleased that he thought of me at all. It was kind of alluded to that Matt was a villain in the best sense, but I didn’t really realize the scope or the magnitude of his evil until I got until I got here, and then I was really happy to see just what a colorful past he’s had. It’s a great part.”

- -

putting his own stamp on the role came naturally. “I trust the writing and I think that the writers have a clear vision of who this guy is,” Howarth says. “I really just try to stick to what I could figure out from what they were writing rather than try to do what the other two actors who’ve played the part did.”

That trust is rooted in a long-standing creative relationship with Griffith, whom he previously worked with on One Life to Live, where Howarth played the deeply complicated Todd Manning. “Josh Griffith was a really big part of the team that created Todd Manning, and he has a really good understanding of the darker parts of humanity and how they intermesh with the classic soap villains,” Howarth points out. “But he never loses sight of what motivates people and the human side to all humans.”

Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by janea4old

How many interviews have we read where the actor praises the writer to high heaven even when the story stinks?

1 hour ago, Paul Raven said:

How many interviews have we read where the actor praises the writer to high heaven even when the story stinks?

Too many, and this one is particularly bad.

On 6/1/2026 at 6:15 PM, ranger1rg said:

Since Josh Griffith gave an interview and said that Matt Clark is absolutely redeemable, it wouldn't surprise me to see Matt running the place in 6 months 😂

-- I personally don't think Matt Clark is redeemable, but the awful Josh Griffith is writing this show, so there you have it. I knew he was enamored with Roger Howarth.

Thank you for saying this! That came across my feed and I just thought he must truly be delulu to think Matt Clark is redeemable. He better check Matt's resume.

Idiot.

I do like that Vivica A. Fox agreed to stick around. It's nice to see some kind of dedication to redeveloping Stephanie after so many years of being off-canvas. And I do enjoy seeing Holden and Lily developing a nice sibling bond, much to the clear displeasure of Devon. Some jealousy there? I sense it.

It is hilarious to me that Phyllis likely thought saving Nicholas' life meant she would be absolved of having to give Newman Enterprises back to the Newmans. Hilariously delusional of her. And of course she has her "woe is me" epiphany to end the episode. Hilarious.