The world of daytime drama is often a small one, and The Young and the Restless has just welcomed a familiar face to Genoa City: Lucas Adams has stepped into the role of Noah Newman. Adams is best known to soap fans for his run as Tripp Johnson on Days of our Lives, and his transition to Y&R has generated immediate buzz, especially concerning his on-screen relationships.
In this exclusive interview, Adams discusses the excitement of joining a prestigious cast, the welcoming atmosphere on set, and the unique challenges of taking on a legacy character who is the son and grandson of supercouples. Adams also expresses his admiration for soap icon Eric Braeden (Victor), calling his co-star “the show” and noting what a “class act” he is on set. Fans will also be thrilled to hear his comments on his upcoming real-life role as a new father, and the immediate guidance he has received from his seasoned co-stars.
Adams then dives into the storyline that has set the soap community ablaze: Noah’s current affair with Sienna, played by Adams’s former Days of our Lives castmate, Tamara Braun. The unusual twist? Braun played his mother, Ava Vitali, on DAYS. Adams shares the hilarious and slightly awkward moment he received the news from Braun herself, acknowledging the “mother and son” history that makes their current love-interest dynamic a definite shock for viewers. Adding to the drama, Adams also teases how Noah’s new romance makes him a direct target, as Sienna is the wife of the notorious Matt Clark (now played by Roger Howarth).
He elaborates on how he and the “absolute pro” Braun navigated the transition by thoroughly discussing their characters’ relationship, and how having a familiar “anchor” like her—along with his friend Billy Flynn – has helped him quickly submerge himself into the demanding pace and atmosphere of Y&R.
Congratulations! I hear you are going to be a dad.
Oh, yes. Thank you so much. It’s very exciting.
Have any of your new cast mates offered you any fatherly advice yet?
Mainly just like, “Don’t be afraid to ask questions!” Or “Pick our brains, any time.” So, that’s been very nice. Everybody has been very welcoming.
That’s great to hear. I know you’ve only been taping at Y&R for a couple of months.
Yeah, two months!
Let’s get to the big elephant in the room, which blew the minds of a lot of soap fans! Noah is having an affair with Sienna. Tamara Braun played your mother on Days of our Lives! It’s happened on soaps before, with Wally Kurth and Jane Elliot going from lovers on DAYS to mother and son on General Hospital. You guys are the opposite.
Right? Even with Mary Beth Evans and Josh Taylor, who now plays her brother Roman [on DAYS]. He was her love interest way back in the ‘80s [Chris].
So, I think it happens more than people think it does.
But it’s the mother and son aspect of it.
A bit of a difference!
I think it’s a shock for some of the newer soap fans. What went through your mind when you found out that your former mother is going to play your love interest?
It was definitely a kind of funny realization. Tamara called me after I booked the role and she was like, “They told me that I was able to tell you this by the way!” So she’s like, “I’ve got to stop calling you my son!”
And I was like, “What for?” And then she kind of elaborated a little it, and I was like, “Oh, okay! All right, Mom. Okay!”
So, we kind of had a good laugh about it because we’ve been so close for so long. It was definitely funny for the first few minutes, and I was like, “Man, I’ve got to wrap my head around this now!”
So yeah, I definitely had to go in there with a different outlook right away.
It’s good that you both got to navigate that together! Did it help having the news come from her?
Oh, absolutely! It definitely helped having the news come from her. She is just an absolute pro!
We just kind of sat down and talked about it, discussed their (Noah and Sienna’s) relationship together and like maybe how they met or how they’ve known each other, how well they really know each other, and how deep they could be into this or not.
We just really had a long conversation about the relationship and the feelings involved in the relationship.
Did it feel better joining a new show and having Tamara there as someone to help guide you?
Oh, absolutely – Tamara is such a vet in the soap world, so it’s like people know who is when she’s coming here. So, it’s really nice to have someone that I can lean on a little bit. [Someone who is a] bit of an anchor, for me.
Billy Flynn (Cane; soon-to-be-ex-Chad, DAYS) being here too is also nice because having people that I knew already helped me just jump in with two feet. It’s really helped me submerge myself into the cast and the atmosphere, which is cool.
How much did you know about the character? I know the soap community can be really small. Were you at all familiar with Rory Gibson and Robert Adamson, who played the role before?
I was familiar with Rory more than anyone just because we’re similar in age and kind of in the same circles. I’ve never actually met him personally, but I’ve seen him in passing or at events. I knew of him and I knew of the character because the character is such a big one and has been around for a long time.
I watched whatever I could and kind of soaked up his character in a way. I knew how heavy this character was going to be when I came in. I was really excited to jump into that!
Noah is the son of a supercouple and the grandson of a supercouple! What was the audition process like? Did you screen-test with anybody?
I did. It was more of a test in this kind of mini auditorium in a way. Almost like a theatre room. I read with Sharon Case (Sharon) and Joshua Morrow (Nick) – with them both, and then separate scenes, and then like 15 or 20 people in the room just staring at you! [Laughs]
You’re not on a stage; you’re just in there. It’s kind of like this black box theatre. It’s just like doing a scene, but towards them a little bit more. It was fun, but the screen test was a little nerve-racking, just because it’s like everybody – the network heads, everybody – so, you just want to do a better job! It’s a lot of pressure. It’s the soap world, so you’ve got to make sure you nail that first take. You know, a lot of times, you might not get a second one!
It was helpful that I already kind of knew what I was getting into, but I was still just nervous.
In your first few episodes, you’re just in a hospital bed. A lot of emoting while lying down! And then you’re getting hot and heavy with Sienna, and Nick walks in, and Noah actually puts his foot down and says, “Listen, man, you really don’t need to know anything about this.” We got to see Noah stand up to Nick.
Yeah, I think Noah’s getting to that point where he’s becoming more mature. He’s like, “I’m a Newman! Y’all do this stuff all the time! I’m a part of this family, and I’m able to do this. I’m not a kid anymore. I can handle my own now.” I guess he’s trying to stand on that business.
Standing on business with Nick is one thing, but with Victor, that’s a whole other story, right? Have you had a chance to act opposite Eric Braeden yet?
I have, and he’s awesome. I love acting with him.
I will say that I don’t know if Noah has necessarily stood up to Victor just yet as he has with Nick, but yeah, Eric’s great.
He’s also a class act. He’s somebody you want to watch for a while. He is the show. He carries himself so well and he really treats the crew so well. He’s someone that you can really admire and watch the whole time [when you are on set with him]. You can just get lost by just watching him do his thing.
You’re thrown in a huge storyline with the return of Matt Clark (who is now played by Roger Howarth). What can you tease about what could be coming up with a showdown between Noah and Matt?
It’s going to be fun. I think everybody’s going to have a good time with this.
Let’s just say that Noah definitely picks his love interests, if you know what I mean! He definitely chooses the right ones because if Noah is going to have an affair with somebody, then definitely the wife of Matt Clark is an interesting choice!
How much does Noah know about Matt Clark and what he did to his parents?
He definitely knows [the history] about this guy. He might not know the full extent, at least at the start of it, but everybody in the Newman family, I think, has heard about this person – at least in some capacity.
It would be easy for Noah to just tell Sienna, “You know what, I’m backing off. This is too much!” Or will he be protective of her?
Well, he’s a Newman. I think he will be protective because we’re very protective of our family and the people that we care about it. So, I think that he’s definitely going to almost double down in a way, instead of backing off.
I’m not sure how much you know about the last time Noah was in Genoa City but he rode off into he sunset with his love, Allie – who is still calling Sharon to check up on Noah. Will there be some closure for the Noah and Allie relationship?
I’m not sure yet! I think it’s possible. I’m not trying to reveal too much here, but I think Noah is still very conflicted on that as well because he’s a good person. I think he still obviously feels bad about the affair, and I think that’s why he’s being very secretive about that. Maybe not necessarily the affair itself, but maybe with how things ended with Allie or how things necessarily didn’t end right away. He’s keeping that close to the vest right now.
How much can you reveal about how long we’re in LA? When does Noah get back to Genoa City?
Ooh, I don’t know if I can tease that yet… We’re going to have a good time in LA! Be ready for it, but Genoa City is going to be a good time, too.
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on Global and CBS. Canadians can catch up with episodes on demand, the Global TV app, STACKTV, and at GlobalTV.com.
