‘The Young and the Restless’: Why Adam Is More Challenged by Victoria Than Nick

Though Mark Grossman is the latest in a line of actors to play Adam Newman on The Young and the Restless, he's definitely leaving his mark. The actor broke down some of Adam's relationships in a new interview, including the relationships with the character's siblings.

by Trey Mangum

Published on March 21, 2021

2 min read

Mark Grossman is the fourth actor to take on the role of Adam Newman on ‘The Young and the Restless’

Grossman became the fourth actor to play the adult, aged version of Adam, who is the son of Victor Newman and his ex-wife, Hope Newman. The character was born on-screen in 1995, but it took pretty much 15 years for the character to come back on the show as an adult.

The first adult version was played by actor Chris Engen, who debuted as he character in 2008. The actor in the role for about a year. Following Engen’s tenure, the role was recast and Michael Muhney took over. Muhney was in the role from 2009 to 2014. Next, the character was then recast again with future This Is Us star, Justin Hartley. He played Adam from 2014 to 2016. After this, Grossman was tapped to play the character and was recast in the role. Grossman has played Adam since 2019.

Fans typically either love or hate the character or think he is either good or evil. Despite whatever folks believe, Adam is still arguably considered to be one of the most nuanced and complex characters not only on the show but in soap opera history in general.

Mark Grossman on Adam’s romantic and family relationships

In a recent interview with Soap Opera Digest, Grossman talked about Adam’s current storyline on the show, which segued into the actor breaking down both Adam’s romantic relationships and the relationships that he has with his siblings. Right now, we are seeing what seems to be another love triangle between Adam, Chelsea, and Sharon. The actor explained why Adam is drawn to both women and shares a complex history with each of them.

“With Sharon, it’s the ‘first love’ thing for him,” he said. “I think the reason why Adam and Chelsea can relate to each other so well is because they both have this dark, manipulative, con artist side.”

Grossman was also asked if Adam felt more challenged by his half-brother Nick or his half-sister Victoria. Out of the Newman siblings (not counting his other half-sister, Abby), Grossman thinks Adam is most threatened by Victoria.

“She’s running Newman now and just because of that it seems like Victoria and Adam have a more adversarial relationship now,” Grossman explained. “They’re both gunning for Victor’s approval. With Adam and Nick it’s more of a guy thing, like, ‘Screw you man!’ ‘No, screw you!’”

While Grossman isn’t sure if Adam can find true happiness, the effort is there. “I don’t know [if Adam can find happiness]. It’s nice to hope for that but I love watching him strive for love and acceptance from his father and family. For periods of time, I would like him to have a sense of happiness, like playing catch with Connor or feeling loved in a relationship, but I do enjoy the drama.”