‘Very mysterious’: Who is Ian Ward on ‘The Young and the Restless’?

Soap operas are timeless since you can put on any episode and sometimes not even be able to guess the date. That’s because some actors play their charming and fabulous or evil (and still fabulous) characters for decades. But since others appear for a few episodes only or pop in and out, viewers get used to playing guessing games. In a sea of well-written characters, there is one who every The Young and the Restless fan always thinks about, and that’s Ian Ward.

Since tuning into a soap like Y&R is both soothing and exciting, it’s truly the perfect show. As fans catch up on the latest episodes, let’s talk about Ian’s time on The Young and the Restless and learn more about him.

Who plays Ian Ward on The Young and the Restless and what is the character like?

Ray Wise plays The Young and the Restless character Ian Ward, who is one of the meanest characters in the soap opera’s history. Wise portrayed the character from 2014 to 2016. He manipulated Mariah Copeland (Camryn Grimes) and Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott), and fans thought his reign of evil was over when he was arrested after he abducted Mariah. Most importantly, Ian was the New World Cult leader, which is how he got so much influence and power over people like Nikki. Ugh!

Controlling a cult would be enough on most TV dramas, but this is a soap, so of course, Ian had to do even more damage to Genoa City. He started a fire at Newman Enterprises and left prison in 2016, which was terrifying to watch since he then abducted Nikki.

Ian came back on The Young and the Restless in Nov. 2024 after fans hadn’t seen him since 2016. Now, Ian is here to play with the Newman family. Josh Griffith, the soap’s head writer, told Soap Opera Digest that he was inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock movie Strangers On A Train when he decided that Ian and Jordan Howard (Colleen Reed) would kill Heather Stevens (Vail Bloom). Griffith said, “We always knew going in that there was going to be another killer. Sharon was not going to be a murderer.” Everyone was led to believe Sharon (Sharon Case) was the villain here, so this was a massive surprise!

In an interview with TV Insider, Wise explained that his 2024 homecoming was a surprise to his co-stars, and his parking spot had a sign proclaiming him “Mr X.” He said of the more recent cast members, “I had to introduce myself to them, and they didn’t quite know how to take me and this ‘Mr. X’ business. It was very mysterious to all of them.”

To hear Wise describe his character is to hear an actor who is truly having the time of their life. He told TV Insider, “I did a variety of nasty things the first time I was in town. I started fires and I kidnapped people and I did all sorts of things and enjoyed all of it.”

So, if Wise can come back to The Young and the Restless and play Ian when so much time has gone by, can Sam McCall (Kelly Monaco) return, too? Oops, wrong soap opera. Maybe Ian can figure out a way to bring the General Hospital character back from the dead. I wouldn’t put it past him.