Roger Howarth popping up as Matt Clark recently on The Young and the Restless was the kind of curveball only soaps can throw — the sort that makes long-time viewers blink twice

and wonder if the earth just tilted. A character presumed dead for nearly a quarter of a century suddenly breathing again, and breathing through the face of a former General Hospital powerhouse?

That’s the kind of twist that lands with a thud or a thrill depending on who you ask. But Rick Hearst, who last played Matt before the millennium flipped, has thoughts of his own —

and he’s not shy about how wild it felt to watch the resurrection happen from the outside.

Key Takeaways

• Hearst says Matt’s death wasn’t ambiguous — it was as final as soap deaths get.
• He admits he only learned about the recast when fans sent him a mash-up video online.
• His first reaction to Howarth playing Matt was shock, and then called it “a brilliant choice.”
• Hearst says Howarth’s unpredictability makes him perfect for a character as chaotic as Matt.
• Hearst believes Howarth can revive Matt without making the resurrection feel hollow.

A Death So Final It Shouldn’t Have Been Reversible

Hearst spoke about the moment he realized the character he left buried in 2001 was suddenly walking around Genoa City again. And the first thing he addressed was the obvious: Matt wasn’t “sort of” dead — he was dead-dead. “We all know that dead is never dead on soaps,” he said, “but that guy was dead! It was just short of, like, [15th-century Scottish knight] William Wallace being torn to pieces and different pieces of him being put on different spikes on London Bridge and whatnot. That’s how dead he was!”

The shock didn’t ease immediately. Hearst didn’t even know Howarth had been hired as Matt until fans started circulating mashups online. He remembered seeing Howarth’s face next to Sharon’s (Sharon Case) and the words “Matt Clark is back!” stamped across the screen. “And I went, ‘What?!?!’”

But once the initial jolt faded, the casting clicked into place. For Hearst, the choice made perfect sense — maybe better than anyone expected. “I think it’s a brilliant choice,” he said, calling Howarth the kind of actor who thrives in that dangerous, unpredictable lane Matt Clark occupies.

Memories of Chaos, Chemistry, and Going Up on Live TV

Part of Hearst’s instant endorsement comes from firsthand experience. The men shared time together on GH, including the high-wire act of the show’s 2015 live episodes. Hearst remembered how nerve-racking those rehearsals were, how he tried to treat the run-throughs like the real thing — only to blank mid-transition. He powered through the moment, sweating bullets, while Howarth watched with that offbeat grin.

Hearst cracked up retelling it: “He’s very unpredictable, and you’ve got to stay present when you work with him,” he said. It’s that unpredictability — that ability to throw a curve mid-scene without breaking the truth of the moment — that convinced Hearst that Howarth was the right man to revive a villain who once terrified half the canvas.

And for a character whose death was written in all caps and underlined twice, maybe that’s exactly what it takes to pull off a resurrection that doesn’t feel hollow — someone who can bring the madness back with a pulse. (Has Ric really changed his ways?)