Ryan Ashton On Y&R Exit

Ryan Ashton knew that his character was not long for Genoa City.

“The writing was on the wall,” he points out. “The second I learned that Zack was involved with a sex ring, I knew it wouldn’t end well for him. Honestly, I’m surprised it even lasted as long as it did.”

He got the news he was out from Executive Producer/ Head Writer Mal Young. “I had just finished shooting the scene where Abby and Zack decide to move in together when Mal called me up to his office to tell me that he had officially figured out when and how Zack would make his big exit,” Ashton recalls. “Of course, I knew it was coming, but it’s still a bittersweet feeling. You make such a family while working on the show. I was sad to think that I wouldn’t be seeing them as much, but killing off Zack is the right call for his character arc. I left the office knowing it was time to go back to work to make sure I did justice to the writing and gave the audience the payoff they deserve.”