“The Bold and the Beautiful” star John McCook got candid about the show’s storyline focused on Eric being ousted from his own company by his son because of his age. McCook also shed light on his retirement plans while discussing this important storyline.
John McCook Weighs in on Eric Ageism Storyline on ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’
For months, the CBS soap has been focused on Eric (McCook) being pushed out of Forrester Creations by Ridge (Thorsten Kaye), kicking off with Ridge throwing Eric a surprise retirement party. Eric had no intention of leaving his own company, but his son had other plans, leading Eric to work for Katie (Heather Tom) and Bill (Don Diamont) at Logan.
McCook spoke with TV Insider about the storyline focused on ageism, admitting he was all for it when “The Bold and the Beautiful” executive producer/head writer Brad Bell approached him about it.
“It was a good story, and it was emotional, and it was very timely. We have a lot of fans who are more than 40 years old, let alone in their 50s and 60s and 70s, so I think it was something they could really get into and really relate to. I applaud that,” he stated.
The soap star was also on board with Eric going to work at a competing fashion house and the chaos it created. When Ridge and Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) found out Eric was working for Logan, they freaked and ultimately insisted Eric come back to Forrester Creations.
Now that Bill and Katie have opted to continue using Eric’s designs, the drama between Katie, Brooke, Ridge, and Bill has reached a new level. The fallout has McCook keeping a close eye on how Eric is portrayed.
“I don’t want to play into this old place or this weak place where he has no strength to come back or to fight this. I am constantly working to keep Eric as strong as I can, rather than him being defeated and sad and embarrassed over what happened,” the soap star shared.
Is John McCook Retiring From ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’?
There’s no question that Eric isn’t being used as much on the show as he was when it debuted 39 years ago. McCook admitted he gets frustrated when there are lapses in which he isn’t getting scripts or going into the studio to film.
However, he knows that at age 82, he’s extremely lucky not just to still be gainfully employed but to be working somewhere he truly loves nearly 40 years later.
“There’s like eight or 10 actors in the whole country that have had a run like this, week after week, a paycheck for decades and decades on the same show, and I’m very proud and happy to be one of those people,” McCook declared.
The actor has no plans to stop playing Eric anytime soon. In fact, all McCook hopes for is that both he and his character stay happy and healthy, so that he gets to keep doing what he loves, playing Eric.
