Justin Morgan is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Home and Away, played by James Stewart. The actor was contacted by his agent and the head of drama at Seven Network about the role. After hearing their pitch, Stewart auditioned and won the part. He began filming in December 2015, and made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 7 June 2016. Justin was introduced to the show along with his three siblings; Tori Morgan (Penny McNamee), Brody Morgan (Jackson Heywood) and Mason Morgan (Orpheus Pledger). The family received immediate comparisons to the show's popular Braxton brothers.
Justin is portrayed as an impulsive, aggressive, "all-round typical Aussie bloke". He takes his role as head of the family seriously and is very protective of his siblings. The character's early storylines saw him clash with Martin Ashford (George Mason) and help save the life of Summer Bay stalwart Alf Stewart (Ray Meagher). The Morgans are soon revealed to be in witness protection, following the murders of their parents by a drugs syndicate, who start targeting the siblings. The storyline saw the family held hostage, threatened, and involved in a plane crash. Justin is later shot at and stabbed by corrupt police officer Ranae Turner (Sacha Horler).
During the witness protection storyline, Justin is reunited with his daughter Ava Gilbert (Grace Thomas), and he develops a relationship with Phoebe Nicholson (Isabella Giovinazzo), to whom he later becomes engaged. Following Giovinazzo's decision to leave the show, the couple break up when Phoebe leaves to pursue her music career in the United States. The character is then involved in an on/off relationship with Scarlett Snow (Tania Nolan). Later storylines have seen Justin begin a relationship with Willow Harris (Sarah Roberts), endure Ava's kidnapping, and targeted in a revenge campaign by Ebony Harding (Cariba Heine). For his portrayal of Justin, Stewart has received nominations for Best Daytime Star at the Inside Soap Awards and Most Popular Actor at the Logie Awards. The character was branded "the Morgan trouble magnet" by a critic for Soaplife.
Casting On 5 December 2015, Jonathon Moran from The Daily Telegraph reported that James Stewart had joined the cast of Home and Away as Justin Morgan, alongside actors Jackson Heywood and Orpheus Pledger who play his brothers Brody and Mason Morgan respectively. All three began filming their first scenes during the following week, ahead of their on-screen debut in 2016. Stewart was contacted by his agent and Julie McGauran, the head of drama at Seven Network, about a role in the show. After hearing the pitch, Stewart accepted the audition. Home and Away marks Stewart's second television appearance since he took time away from acting to be a stay-at-home dad. He commented, "I got to the end of three years of raising my daughter and just thought, 'Oh, I need to work. I've got to get her through school.'" New Zealand actor Benedict Wall also auditioned for the role of Justin, before he was later cast as Duncan Stewart. Stewart made his first appearance as Justin on 7 June 2016, alongside Heywood and Pledger.
Development Characterisation Ahead of his screen debut, Stewart said his character's biggest strengths are "his love for his family and the lengths he'll go to, to protect them from their past." He also described Justin as being "impulsive and aggressive", and having an "alpha mentality". Justin is a mechanic and an "all-round typical Aussie bloke" who enjoys sports and "a good laugh." Stewart insisted that Justin was not a "bad boy" character, as had been suggested by various articles about the Morgans. He also joked that Justin likes to think he is good with women.
Justin takes his role as the head of the family "very seriously". Along with Tori, he helped raise their younger brothers Brody and Mason. As a result he is "fiercely protective of them." Stewart explained that Justin makes all the decisions on behalf of the family, but he often discusses them with Tori. Justin does not want to get too settled in the Bay, and he worries what the town's residents will think of his family. Stewart liked being part of a family and compared it to his role on Packed to the Rafters, where he was "an outsider brought in." He also found that as the older brother and not the father, there were different dynamics at play. Stewart told Vanessa Williams of The West Australian that he fell in love with the Morgans from the moment they were pitched to him.
The Morgan brothers drew immediate comparisons to the show's Braxton brothers, who were introduced in 2011. Stewart commented, "Creating this family is probably more our priority than taking over the Brax boys. How do you take on Steve Peacocke (Brax)? I hope Australia is ready for it, it is the way it is." Heywood thought the Morgans had "a very different dynamic" to the Braxtons. Stewart agreed, saying that the families were "from completely different worlds".
Introduction Justin is driving his brothers to Summer Bay to meet up with their sister Tori, when they are almost involved in a car crash with Martin "Ash" Ashford (George Mason), who swerves across the road. Neither Justin or Ash are willing to back down when they come face to face. Mason admitted that Ash knows he is in the wrong, but he thinks Justin is "a hothead". Brody and Mason stop Justin and Ash from getting into a physical fight, and the brothers continue their journey to the Bay, where they later come across Tori talking with Ash and Alf Stewart (Ray Meagher) on the beach. Before another fight between Justin and Ash breaks out, Tori defuses the situation by revealing that Justin, Brody and Mason are her brothers. Justin is glad that his family made it to the Bay safely. Stewart told Stephen Downie of TV Week, "It's not so much that Justin is angry at Ash because he was an idiot. It's that he almost killed the one thing he's been trying to look after." Tori warns Justin about his run in with Ash and they wonder if they will be able to stay in their new home this time.
Tori secures Justin a job as a deck hand with Alf. Justin is initially annoyed that his sister interfered in his life, but when he gets out on Alf's boat, The Blaxland, he eventually sees that the job is a good opportunity for him. Stewart commented, "Justin is reluctant to go on the boat with Alf in the first place. But once he's there, he does start to enjoy it." Justin bonds with Alf over their shared love of the water and the fact they each have "bossy" sisters. While they are out on the water, the boat breaks down and Justin struggles to fix it. Alf then starts having chest pains and he collapses when he suffers a heart attack. When he realises there is no phone signal, Justin jumps in the water and swims to the shore to fetch help. Stewart called his character "an accidental hero".
Witness protection secret Upon their introduction, an Inside Soap columnist stated that the Morgans appeared to live a normal life, but they had "a dangerous past" and no one was allowed to know who they really were. The family initially keep to themselves, and Justin warns Tori against befriending local doctor Nate Cooper (Kyle Pryor). He is worried when she admits to telling Nate that their parents are dead, as he does not want Nate looking into it. Stewart explained, "There are a set of rules the Morgans have to live by, which relate to their secret. If Justin has to live by them, then so does the rest of the house." When Mason's former girlfriend Lara Adams (Elle Harris) visits him, Justin asks her to leave. But when she returns, Mason tells her that his family are in witness protection. Brody later reveals that he is being followed, and when Mason says that he spoke to Lara, Justin feels that the family need to leave the Bay.
Guest character Spike Lowe (Jason Montgomery) was soon introduced to the storyline. He drugs Nate, before going to the Morgan's house and threatening Tori. Justin arrives home soon after and Tori worries that he might put them in more danger, as she knows he is "a hothead." McNamee commented, "she's trying to keep Justin calm and make sure he doesn't do anything irrational to escalate the situation." The family are soon moved to a safe house by their police liaison officer Atticus Decker (John Adam). They agree that they are tired of running from the drugs syndicate who killed their parents. While Brody, Justin and Tori are arguing, Mason leaves the house to meet Lara, who has been working for Spike and Blaine Varden (Ashley Lyons), the man who killed the siblings' parents. Spike and Blaine trick Mason into telling them the location of the safe house and they hold the family hostage at gunpoint. As Blaine threatens to kill them, he reveals that Justin played a part in their parents' deaths.
Spike later returns to the Bay to confront Justin about his father's book. He threatens both Justin and Phoebe Nicholson (Isabella Giovinazzo), warning them that the Morgans will die. Stewart explained to Ali Cromarty of TV Week that Justin was "heavily involved" with his father's activities, but he has no idea what book Spike is talking about. Spike forces Justin and Phoebe to search through several boxes of the Morgan's belongings, and Justin worries about Phoebe's safety. Stewart stated, Justin knows he needs to get the precious cargo, Phoebe, out of the way. But, they both don't want to detach. She desperately wants to help Justin and Justin doesn't want to lose her." Spike eventually leaves, but not before warning Justin that if he goes to the police, his family will be in danger. Justin and Phoebe continue looking through the boxes and they find a clue that helps them locate the book.
The scriptwriters later devised a large stunt storyline involving a plane crash. Justin receives a warning from Spike that he has sabotaged the private plane Duncan Stewart (Benedict Wall) has chartered for Tori's birthday trip. Justin gets to the airport just as the flight takes off, and he attempts to chase it down the runway. Stewart spent most of the day filming the chase sequence, and it took nine times to get the scene right. Stewart said he had plenty of rest in between, as it took a long time to turn the plane back around. Justin breaks into the radio room and tries to contact Duncan. However, the passengers are passing out from carbon dioxide leaking into the cabin, and he struggles to get the coordinates. After receiving an incoherent response from Duncan, Justin contacts the police for backup. Stewart told Ellis (Inside Soap) that Justin initially thinks he can do it all by himself, but he soon realises he needs help. The actor also said, "Until he has an answer, there is always a moment of hope. But he's also prepared for the worst happening, too." Duncan manages to crash land the plane in the bush, and everyone survives.