Interview: B&B’s Winsor Harmon Returns So Thorne Can Visit A Dying Eric

Winsor Harmon is reprising his role as Thorne Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful. While it’s good news the actor will be seen again, the reason for the character’s return doesn’t look good for Eric Forrester, who appears to be dying of an unnamed illness. Soap Hub chatted with Harmon about his return to B&B.

Winsor Harmon: Back to B&B

Harmon is happy that B&B agreed with viewers who’ve been wondering where Eric’s firstborn has been in light of his recent medical maladies. The actor, who pops back up on screen on Tuesday, December 5, says he was unfamiliar with Eric’s current situation. “I walked in with a blind eye. I had no idea what was going on,” Harmon tells Soap Hub. “I got the scripts, and I thought, ‘Oh, wow!’ John [McCook, Eric] has been doing some good stuff. Thorsten [Kaye, Ridge], too.

Thorne Forrester: First and Second Place

“I think Eric and Thorne have grown closer since the passing of his mom [Stephanie, Susan Flannery],” Harmon theorizes. “Thorne was always trying to get across that he was just as good as Ridge. Eric saw that more. Thorne came to accept the fact that in order to live his life and find peace that there was this ‘second child’ syndrome [he’d have to live with].

“That’s what drove Thorne more than anything,” the actor continues. “What’s made him so interesting to play is that he has to deal with that stuff from his childhood and show everyone he’s not second best. It gives you a lot of room to play. He can come across strong and not just be all ‘woe is me.'”

The Write Stuff

Harmon teases there was a line that was about to be cut from an upcoming scene, but that removing it would have lessened the character of Thorne. “I put it back in. I said to Ed [Scott, Supervising Producer] you can’t cut this line. It’s loaded.” Scott agreed, “so we put it back in.

“I told Thorsten about the backstory [between our characters],” Harmon says of the long-running dynamic between the Forrester men, which dates back to the first year of the show when Ridge and Thorne vied for the love of Caroline Spencer (Joanna Johnson). “I told him why I wanted the line back in. Thorsten’s such a giving actor. It was really great to be back. The material was great.”

Viewers can expect to see Harmon sharing screen time with Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke), Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy), Joshua Hoffman (RJ), Luna (Lisa Yamada), and others. “I was impressed with all of them,” Harmons says, noting that the show’s new, young cast members are grounded and prepared. “It was a good positive feel.”

Harmon says that he’s done five films since leaving contract status with B&B, and he’s worked in other genres, too. But nothing is quite like being on a soap opera, given the long-running interpersonal relationships among the actors and their characters. “In films, you do five pages a day,” he says. “When I came back to B&B, I shot three shows in one day!”