Justin Hartley might be a strong actor with several series — Mistresses, Revenge, Smallville — under his belt but that fact did not make taking on the popular role of Adam Newman on CBS's The Young and the Restless any easier. Michael Muhney exited the role last December under scandalous allegations, a situation that to this day does not add up. His departure left fans outraged, with many ultimately deciding that Y&R was no longer worth their time. When Hartley accepted the task of bringing the character back to Genoa City, he knew he was going to have his work cut out for him. He has decided to ask the fans for feedback on his portrayal.
Hartley recently gave his first interview since joining the cast of Y&R, and he made it clear he loves that daytime television still has such a loud and vocal fan base. When The Wrap asked him his thoughts on how Y&R fans like to speak up and make their feelings known, Hartley said:
"They should! I think that's fair. They absolutely should, good or bad. That's one of the great things that comes about from watching TV and all of the social media that's happening now, is you have your opinion. And if you have four Twitter followers, you can say to them what you think about someone else. And you can talk to me! You can tell me that you hate my guts, you can tell me that you love me. It's great! I've been very, very fortunate to have had the kind of response that I've gotten, because I know it could easily go the other way.
Of course, some of Muhney's fans have wondered what a different actor would do with the character that they have invested so much time in, and Hartley is clearly his own man. He seems to know what direction he believes the character should go in and he reassures fans that he has no intention of cloning what Muhney did to make Adam Newman so popular.
"I wouldn't say that I'm going to try to emulate Michael at all. He did a great job with the character, there's no question about it, and I have a lot of respect for him and his work. My approach was, this is how I would like to play the character, and this is what I would like to do, and this is what I'm comfortable doing and this is what I would enjoy spending the next however [many] years of my life [doing], if it happens to be that, and going in there every day enjoying playing this character."
Perhaps the only way that this recast will work is if Hartley really does it his own way and makes the character his own. Fans would be outraged with a cheap imitation of Muhney's work anyway, right?
Do you like the fact that Hartley is looking for the fans to interact with him and guide him a little bit? Is his open approach something that might eventually get former Y&R fans to give the show another chance? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
