Justin Hartley was allegedly invited to return to the Young and the Restless but he declined due to his huge ego.
A source told National Enquirer that ever since Hartley starred in This Is Us, he became convinced that he was a huge TV star because the series became a huge success. As a result, Hartley is becoming pickier with the projects that he would accept.
“Justin wants nothing to do with returning. He figures This Is Us was such a big series, he would be getting big movie roles, and returning to soaps would be a step backward,” the source said.
The source also claimed that another reason why Hartley refuses to return to the Young and the Restless was that he felt snubbed by his co-stars when he became a huge deal in Hollywood.
“He can’t shake his reputation. He isn’t getting any big movie offers. He has developed a pilot for a TV series on CBS but if it isn’t picked up, soaps may be his only option,” the source said.
However, one should take the tabloid’s claims with a grain of salt. It’s not true that Hartley received an offer to return to the Young and the Restless and he refused.
What’s more likely is for Hartley to not have been asked to reprise his role in the soap opera because if he was asked to return, he would most likely accept it.
While it is true that This Is Us became such a huge success, there’s no indication that this got to Hartley’s head. By the looks of it, the tabloid is exaggerating its claims to make it seem as though Hartley is the bad guy even when he’s not.
According to TV Line, Hartley’s new TV show on CBS already started filming its pilot episode. In the series, the actor will play the role of an action hero.
Executive producer and pilot director Ken Olin tweeted about the project and said that he and Hartley came up with the idea for the new series two years ago. And after such a long wait, they already started filming the pilot episode.
However, the project still doesn’t have an official release date. And it’s unclear if it will be released ever. But the fact that Hartley is busy with something proves that he’s not canceled in Hollywood.