Photo Credit: Gilles Toucas/Courtesy Bell-Phillip Prods

Over the last several months, The Bold and the Beautiful’s longtime stalwart, John McCook has been front and center as Eric Forrester, the patriarch of the fashion empire clan.  While viewers witnessed the twist and turns as Eric’s wife, Quinn (Rena Sofer) and his son, Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) found themselves in a clandestine attraction, the audience was waiting with bated breath to see how they would be busted, and Eric would find out about their betrayal.

What fans of the series did not know was that behind-the-scenes they plotted the return of super-villain, Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown) into the mix, which set the stage for two women to vie for the attention of Mr. Forrester.  Now, while Quinn is known for some manipulative machinations in the past, it’s a tall order to go toe-to-toe with vengeful, Sheila, who has set her sights on becoming Mrs. Forrester once again by any means possible.

On-Air On-Soaps chatted with John to find out what it was like to film those pivotal scenes, including when Eric disowned Ridge, his reaction to learning Kimberlin Brown was coming back to the CBS Daytime drama series, how Eric feels now with Sheila and Quinn  in the picture, and much more.  Could this be the year that Mr. McCook is remembered once again come Daytime Emmy time? Stay tuned! For now, here’s what he had to say about all the recent melodrama on B&B! 

A few months back, Eric found out about Ridge and Quinn’s lip-locks, and attraction to each other which devastates him.  What did you think about getting that material, which not only was a showcase of your co-stars, but you as well? 

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JOHN: I look at Thorsten, and Rena, and myself and we are journeyman actors, and are confident in our skills, and what we know about good material gives us a chance to shine.  We don’t look at it as: “Oh, here is material that I can show what I can really do!”  We don’t need that.  But when we get a moment like this in a story that is so big and important to us, we get excited to come to work, because here it is. Here are our moments to be touched by each other, and to really get involved in a scene together.  That is the joy in doing scenes like that for us. 

When this all went down on-screen, little did the audience know that Sheila would be back in the picture, and a catalyst for the truth to come out.  What did you think of the twist? 

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JOHN: I thought it was a great twist.  It brought the story to a climax, and not only that it was twisting and turning it, but audience is clapping their hands with glee that Sheila is there! I have to admit, Thorsten, Rena and me, were like, “Why is she in our scenes?” (Laughs)   We didn’t want anyone else there with us, and we were very jealous of it, and very protective of our scene. But in fact, it was written, directed, and discussed with all of us that Shelia would not interfere, not change the chemistry of the scene, and that she was merely observing. That is the way that Kimberlin played it.  When she came in I have to say, I was very impressed by how respectful she was of the story we were playing, and how it must have felt for us to have her injected in there, and she actually called attention to it in rehearsal. We were running lines, and she said, “You guys, I don’t want to step on this at all. This is your scene the three of you, and I don’t want to encroach on that.”   It was a very sophisticated and helpful thing for her to say.  So, I give her credit for that. Then of course, Sheila takes advantage of the scene at the end and the punch line of it is she then begins to get close to Eric, and that opens the door.  Kimberlin knows how to do that kind of scene better than anybody. 

When you learned Kimberlin was coming back to B&B, what was your initial reaction?

JOHN: I knew it would be story for me, whatever it is. (Laughs)  I am Kimberlin is here, and to be fought over by two powerful characters played by wonderful actresses (Brown and Sofer) like that makes it so fun for me to be there every day.  Once again, I am stuck in that Eric place, which is trying to be believable and intelligent, and sensitive to the two of them without appearing to be dumb as a rock. 

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Often, we have seen Eric in story where he is the last to know, or completely miffed to the situation at hand.  After all, he is a very smart man underneath, or he would never have become so successful in business and building his own fashion empire. 

JOHN: I have to be careful in how I play it in that; I am not too supportive of Sheila, and condemning of Quinn.  What I want Eric to say is, “The two of you have got to stop this, and be more adult!”  So when he chastises one, he has to chastise the other.  I have to constantly keep him between them, and not leaning one way or the other.  

Is Eric truly, madly, deeply in love with Quinn after all that has transpired in recent months? 

JOHN: Absolutely, and they are together.  For the last few years, I have been playing two stories which define who Eric is.  One is with my oldest son, Ridge, and the other is Eric’s love story with Quinn.  No matter what happens that is the story, and that is what I am playing. If Sheila is there that’s fine, but my story is about my relationship with Quinn.  My story in business and in my home is Eric’s story with Ridge.  Those are the stories that go deep for my character and for me as an actor. Everything else is ancillary to that. 

What Quinn and Ridge did behind Eric’s back with their shared closeness, attraction to one another, and passionate kisses was on the surface a pretty costly thing to do to a man they both love.  B&B does moves fast through story, which often keeps the series completely entertaining, as you may never know what’s going to happen next.   What do you think is the true state of Ridge and Quinn’s relationship at this point? 

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JOHN: I think there is a new level of connection between Ridge and Quinn.  I think it’s been tempered.  They both realize they need to keep it in check and recognize it for what it should be … which is a powerful friendship based on their experiences together, and what they have revealed to one another. Other things are more important than that: Quinn’s marriage and her love for Eric, and Ridge’s love for his father, too. 

Do you think Eric moved to fast back into a relationship with Quinn?

JOHN: The fact that this thing happened between Quinn and Ridge is not something he is going to erase from his brain, but he is not suspicious of her, or fearful of it happening anymore.  He absolutely sort of tested her with divorce papers, and all of that.  Eric saw her regretfulness, and how much she loves him.  He also is completely at this point past what happened between Ridge and her.  If it comes back again at all, I think that would be the end of everything, because he believes in his relationship with Quinn. 

Courtesy/CBS

One of the most moving scenes of the soap season in 2017 has been the emotional moments when Eric disowns Ridge, after his son comes to see him in the motel room he is staying at, and a lot of their complicated history is talked about.  Take me through how you felt about those scenes, and working with Thorsten Kaye in them that delivered two knock-it-out-of-the-park performances.

JOHN: Thorsten and I are very deeply affected by father/son scenes in a generic way, and I see those in other shows, as well.  Father/son things really move me.  I know Thorsten feels the same way.  So when we have had an opportunity over the years to have moments of father/son stuff – whether it is affection, advice, or fear – we have loved those scenes.  However, this one was so deep and so visceral that we were just so happy to get the scene to play, and we were so happy it was with each other.  He and I love each other so much as men and as actors, and as these characters, and so it was very painful for us, and it should be in a good way.  It was very, very touching for us, and we were very happy with the end results. Thorsten often says, “I don’t want to see these scenes, because I don’t want to know if they looked as good, as they felt to do.”  When I asked him if he had watched the scene, he said “No. I don’t want it to look less than how good it felt to do when we did it, because I don’t want to spoil how it felt.”  I respect that.  

Did you watch back your work with Rena, Thorsten and Kimberlin in the major moments in the story arc?

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

JOHN: I did watch them back. I thought they were great, and we got to go to those important places, and got to execute the material as well as we wanted to, and that is not always so.  We don’t always achieve as actors what we set out to do.

You must submit some of this work for the upcoming Daytime Emmys! It is a great example of what you can do, and some best work you have ever done.  Knowing you over the years, much of what I saw on-screen touched me so much and was heartbreaking.

JOHN:  You can come be my PR person anytime! (Laughs).  I have had many opportunities in my career, but for this to come together now is sort of the perfect storm – my experience, my age, my time on our show, the characters coming together, and the story coming together at this time, and all converging on these points.  I thank you for the wonderful compliment you gave to me, but I got to do the scenes with people I love on the show, and we all grow very close when we share these kinds of scenes.

Then, Ian Buchanan came back!  This poses another overriding problem for Eric, since James and Sheila are in collusion, too. 

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

JOHN: I love that, and he brings a wrinkle back into her plans … very nicely.  I am sure that Sheila’s jaw-dropped when he walked in to the room.  This expands the challenges of her particular charade. 

In story, Eric contacted James to bring him to look at Sheila’s “head” injury and to have her psychologically evaluated, but little does he know Sheila blackmailed James! 

JOHN:  Yes.  Eric brought him in and says to keep it private, but he wanted some confirmation that she really needed more time at the mansion to recuperate, and Eric will abide by what James says. 

When I was putting together The Bold and the Beautiful’s 30th Anniversary Daytime Emmy montage earlier this year, and looking through years of memorable scenes and footage,  one nugget that was so soapy and wild was when Sheila shoots at Brooke, while Eric is standing there, and then he wrestles her for the gun, and then Taylor gets shot!  The things that Sheila has perpetrated over the years to this family!  For her to be infiltrating the Forresters again, you have to suspend belief as the audience … a wee bit!  Wouldn’t you say? (Laughs) 

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

JOHN: You have to suspend belief!  Oh, my God! (Laughs)  When they told me Sheila was coming back, and that not only does he run into her, but Sheila was wrongly accused of being the shooter of Quinn, Eric then puts her in his house.  I called Brad Bell (executive producer and head writer, B&B) and Michael Minnis (writer, B&B), and I said, “There is no way Eric would have her in his house, least of all to apologize for her maybe committing a crime!” (Laughs)  I said, “How can I justify this?” (Laughs)  So I said, “You cannot have me do this, without her leaving the room in the scene, and I then need to go to Ridge, and say, ‘Do this with me’.  He says, ‘What?’ Eric says, ‘I know what she is capable of, but she is back.  I want to keep a close eye on her.  So do this with me.” And so Ridge says, ‘OK.’”   That took the onus off of me, and the curse off of me of being so hospitable towards Sheila. At least, it showed the audience that I understood who she was, but we had to get over that hump to get her back into story. They let me explain it in the story, so it was all good. 

Have you ever examined why Eric chooses these incredibly screwed up, difficult women to have romantic relationships with i.e. Stephanie, Sheila, Quinn?  What is that all about? 

JOHN: Maybe he gets bored with sweet, wonderful women?  He also had a relationship with Lauren, and she was not crazy, nor was Donna.  We can go back and try to examine what Eric’s mother was like, or what his father was like.  However, I think you are right. Stephanie fits in that group.  These are pistol-packing mamas! (Laughs) They are really crazy! (Laughs) 

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

As Sheila is attempting to sink her claws into Eric with new and continued machinations, and Eric hope’s he can keep his relationship with Quinn intact, what do you think the audience should keep an eye on? 

JOHN: I think the audience needs to watch how much Eric loves Quinn.  She wants to be a better person, while Sheila never did.  Now that Sheila is back, Sheila says she does want to be a better person, or so she tells Eric. That’s’ what he believes.  So, I think that is why Eric is accepting her better than he would have before.  Sheila is trying to assimilate herself back into society, or you can substitute “Eric’s bedroom”, if you want to.   In story, we are right back to where we were before, which is a good place, for Quinn and Eric, and everybody else on the show that comes in contact and has to deal with Sheila.  I would have liked to have seen Sheila not revealed to be evil right away and let people wonder a bit more.  It’s like Quinn.  People think, “When is her evil side going to come back?”  I don’t foresee any of Quinn’s evil coming back, but I do foresee Quinn’s capabilities rising to the occasion. So when Sheila slaps her around, Quinn can give it back.  It’s predictable in some ways, but so really fun to watch.  I salute our show and what is good about what we do every day.

So, are you rooting for Eric and Quinn to weather the storm of Hurricane Sheila? Would you like to see Sheila become Mrs. Forrester … again? What did you think of John’s performances when he found out about Ridge and Quinn’s betrayal of Eric? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!