Mark Grossman almost joined Y&R’s sister soap.
Since 2019, Mark Grossman has been wowing fans as Adam on The Young and the Restless. But before playing Genoa City’s bad boy, the actor auditioned for The Bold and the Beautiful. If things had turned out differently, Grossman might’ve played this iconic B&B character.
Key Takeaways
- Grossman started playing Y&R’s Adam in 2019, taking over from Justin Hartley.
- Before Y&R, Grossman auditioned for a big role on B&B.
- A B&B casting director revealed Grossman was in line to play Thomas Forrester.
Journey Into the Soap World
In 2019, Grossman was on the casting list for many soap operas. B&B was one of the soaps that was interested in the rising actor.
Christy Dooley, a casting director for B&B, revealed that Grossman was in contention to play Thomas. “He tested for us. Mark came in and read for the role of Thomas Forrester, and he was my choice for the role,” Dooley explained to moderator Jim Halterman during a recent panel for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.
Despite being a hit with Dooley, the role went to Matthew Atkinson. However, Grossman eventually got his big break when he was cast as Adam later that year, taking over for Justin Hartley, who’s currently on the hit CBS drama, Tracker. Y&R casting director Greg Salmon, who was also on the panel, discussed the difficulty of casting Adam.
“That was a really tough role to recast,” Salmon recalled. Aside from Hartley, Michael Muhney, and Chris Engen played the Newman bad boy. “Adam Newman is central to the show. This is Victor Newman’s son, so it’s an incredibly important character.”
Although many actors auditioned for the part, Salmon said Grossman’s “energy” made him stand out. “I remember Mark came in and read with Eric Braeden and a few other members of the Newman family. His energy was just off the charts. It felt like this is how Adam should be.”
What Could’ve Been
Grossman had big shoes to fill, but he has excelled in his role as Adam. His work has been praised by fans and, in 2020, earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for Supporting Actor.
It’s hard to imagine him as anyone other than Adam. But one has to wonder how he would’ve faired as Thomas.
Grossman has proven he can play a flawed, bad-boy character that fans root for. There’s no doubt he would’ve been a great Thomas, fitting in with the Forresters, and creating problems for Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) and Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang).
Then there’s Thomas’s romance with Hope (Annika Noelle). Grossman has astonishing chemistry with his Y&R leading ladies, so he and Noelle’s Hope would’ve been electrifying as Thope.
But fate had other plans for Grossman, who’s found his home at Y&R. Meanwhile, Atkinson’s been doing a tremendous job as Thomas, even if fans don’t see him much these days. Watch the entire SAG-AFTRA panel below.
