Before Beyond the Gates, Ben Gavin Auditioned Against Mark Grossman for Adam Newman

Before Ben Gavin became one of the breakout stars of Beyond the Gates, he was in the running for one of the most iconic roles in daytime television.

Ben Gavin and Mark Grossman Auditioned for Adam Newman

During a recent interview with The Soap Scene, Ben Gavin revealed that he once auditioned for the role of Adam Newman on The Young and the Restless — the role that ultimately went to his friend, Mark Grossman.

Interestingly, Gavin and Grossman already knew each other long before either actor became a soap star. “We used to do catering together,” Gavin shared. “We were living in L.A. and trying to pay rent.”

Like many aspiring actors in Hollywood, the two worked side jobs while chasing auditions. But Gavin admitted there were always a handful of people you could tell were destined to make it.

“A lot of the people doing that work were actors, quote unquote,” he explained. “But there was a small few that you were like, ‘Oh, these people are going to actually work.’ And Mark was one of them.”

“One day we both auditioned for Adam Newman. I was there before him, and then in walks Mark,” Gavin recalled. He said he took one look and suddenly had a gut feeling. “I looked at him, and I was just like, ‘You’re gonna get this, dude.’”

And he was right. Grossman debuted as Adam Newman in 2019 and quickly became one of Y&R’s leading men. Gavin, meanwhile, went on to land the role of Derek Baldwin on Beyond the Gates, where his emotional death storyline recently sparked a massive fan reaction online.

Soap Casting Coincidences Keep Coming Full Circle

The story also mirrors another soap casting coincidence involving actors Conner Floyd and Rory Gibson. As Floyd told The Soap Scene in a recent interview, both he and Gibson worked at the same gym and auditioned for the role of Noah Newman on The Young and the Restless. Gibson landed the role, while Floyd ultimately joined the soap as Chance instead.

And in true soap fashion, the connections only became more intertwined from there. Floyd has since moved to Days of our Lives as Chad DiMera, while Billy Flynn made the opposite move — leaving DAYS to join Y&R as Cane Ashby.

Ironically, Chance Chancellor’s death storyline even ended with the character dying in Cane’s arms. As longtime soap fans can attest, it was the kind of full-circle moment that only daytime television can deliver.

As for Gavin, there’s clearly no bitterness about losing out on Adam Newman years ago. “I wasn’t surprised when he got that job,” Gavin said of Grossman. “You could tell there was a different level of focus that he had. Mark is an actor to his core.”

Now, after Derek’s shocking death on Beyond the Gates, many fans are already hoping Gavin’s own soap story isn’t over yet — especially with viewers loudly campaigning for an evil twin storyline.

As soap fans have learned over the years, it’s to never say never.