In 2025, “The Bold and the Beautiful” star Scott Clifton (Liam) was supposed to end his 15-year run on the CBS soap. A year later, Clifton is still on the show and just earned a Lead Actor Daytime Emmy nomination for Liam’s brain tumor storyline that was supposed to go a much different way for the soap star.
Scott Clifton’s Grateful for Liam’s Brain Tumor Storyline on ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’
When Liam was diagnosed with a brain tumor, executive producer and head writer Bradley Bell told Clifton that he planned to kill off the character, leaving Clifton out of a job. However, when it came down to writing the death scene, Bell couldn’t do it because he valued Clifton so much as an actor, especially after the performance he gave while Liam battled his brain tumor.
“I thought it was my swan song and really believed that Liam was going to die. There’s an extra piece of irony behind the scenes in that it was supposed to be the unluckiest year of my career, and it ended up being the luckiest,” he shared with TV Insider.
Clifton admitted to the outlet that this Daytime Emmy nomination means more than the other 10 he has been nomianted for in the past because Liam was supposed to die. The soap star called the storyline and the material a “gift” that some actors never get in their entire career.
“I’m so grateful for it. That storyline went on for months,” Clifton shared, revealing he was given a lot of juicy material to submit for the Daytime Emmy nomination.
The actor wasn’t just grateful for the storyline and what was happening on-screen, but also for what was happening behind the scenes in his life. “It’s like this perfect little encapsulation of this really special, really hard but really beautiful moment in my life,” he expressed.
On Friday, October 30, Clifton will find out if he takes home the coveted award at the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. The actor is up against his “The Bold and the Beautiful” co-star Thorsten Kaye (Ridge), “The Young and the Restless” stars Eric Braeden (Victor) and Christian Le Blanc (Michael), and “General Hospital” star Steve Burton (Jason).
If Clifton wins, this will be his second win in the Lead Actor category and his fourth win overall. Clifton also won in the Younger Actor category and Supporting Actor category, all for playing Liam.
Scott Clifton Reflects on Renewed Love for Soaps
Over the past year, soaps have been making headlines for finally receiving the recognition the genre deserves, and Clifton is thrilled.
“The more people have learned about them recently, they’re seeing that we pull off a miracle every day, and I think people are becoming interested in tuning in just to see the magic trick,” Clifton declared.
It started with the debut of “Beyond the Gates”, which made history as the first hour-long soap focused on a Black family.
Michael B. Jordan showed his love and appreciation for his time on “All My Children”, which helped jump-start his career, during awards season. The Oscar winner more than once praised soaps and what being on the show did for him and his career.
Then there was Ryan Gosling shouting out “Days of Our Lives” and Deidre Hall (Marlena) as the inspiration behind his acting career. Gosling even accepted an invitation from Hall to visit her on the set of the hit Peacock soap.
Most recently, “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” host John Oliver pleaded to be on a soap and landed guest-starring arcs on “General Hospital” and “Days of Our Lives”.
