An opportunity assembly late final yr led to Jack Wagner‘s return to The Daring and the Lovely to reprise the function of Nick Marone, starting June 16.
“I ran to Brad Bell [B&B‘s executive producer and head writer] on the golf course about six months in the past,” Wagner begins. “I mentioned, ‘Pay attention, I’m going to Italy within the spring or summer season. Would you like me to do any press for the present? I do know I haven’t been on for some time.’ He mentioned, ‘Let me take into consideration that.’ ”
Six weeks later, Bell obtained in contact with Wagner with an attractive provide. Relays the actor, “He mentioned, ‘Hey, what do you consider a summer season story arc earlier than you return to Vancouver for When Calls the Coronary heart [where Wagner has played Bill Avery for 13 seasons]? I believe we will do a location shoot in Naples and tie it into Nick and his outdated delivery firm.’”
Wagner, who portrayed Nick, a sea captain turned delivery magnate, from 2003 to 2012, made his most up-to-date look in 2022 for a particular episode commemorating the present’s thirty fifth anniversary. Time away from B&B made him much more wanting to play his alter ego with new depth. “I wished this character to be completely different, as a result of he lived on the Shady Marlin after I was on the present, and I had slightly beard and I smoked,” Wagner factors out. “I mentioned, ‘Brad, I believe this man’s obtained to be extra subtle. He owns and runs Marone Business. I believe his costume code is extra stylized. He’s a delivery tycoon. He’s assured. When he comes again, he has the power to appeal Brooke [Logan, Katherine Kelly Lang]. He has the power to take moments and be very intimate together with her in regards to the reality. And when Ridge is available in, it’s obtained to be like a fly on his shoulder. He fears nothing.’”
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The actor additionally welcomed the possibility to fall again into the cleaning soap’s acquainted rhythm. “Getting again into the circulate of a present like Daring and Lovely is leaping on a shifting prepare, as a result of soaps go so shortly now,” he notes. “And I used to be prepared. I wish to work quick.”
Wagner says his on-camera reunion with Lang was a standout second of the go to. “It was nice to work with Kelly, and that was a part of the deal,” he reveals. “I don’t wish to dilute the character and be in a bunch of storylines. Nick’s major motivation [of] why he’s again [is that] he tells Brooke, ‘I’ve heard that your coronary heart’s damaged once more, and I’m right here to attempt to wake you up out of this poisonous sample you’ve obtained happening with Ridge and the Forrester household,’ which gave me quite a lot of completely different layers to play, not solely with Kelly, but additionally with Thorsten [Kaye, Ridge Forrester]. I beloved it.”
He additionally beloved filming overseas with the present for the primary time, as he obtained to witness B&B‘s international reputation up shut. “It was superior,” raves Wagner, who’s newly married to singer-songwriter Michelle Wolf. “What was nice is I used to be in a position to tie in a honeymoon for the primary six days after which simply bounce proper into manufacturing and have Brad pay for all of the dinners [laughs]. However to shoot with Daring and Lovely in Italy, it’s like The Rolling Stones over there. That’s what the actors are like.”
And the chance to absorb the native sights and sounds was one other memorable spotlight. “We went over to Capri, we shot everywhere in the island, particularly the romantic locations,” Wagner previews. “We had been in a position to get out on boats. Then we got here again to the port of Naples, there the place we stayed for 4 or 5 days as an organization and shot across the metropolis of Naples. It was nice to be with a gaggle of folks that had been all in since you don’t know what you’re going to face. It was fast, as a result of that’s what it was supposed to be, however I believe we captured some lovely stuff, and the storyline goes to be terrific.”
Whereas filming on location introduced its personal challenges, Wagner took them in stride. “I name it guerrilla TV, as a result of you’ve a plan of what you wish to do, and it’s ever-changing, like quite a lot of issues, since you don’t actually have set crews and places you’re employed with on daily basis,” he explains. “It was a collaboration, and it was float and capturing on the fly and having the ability to roll with the punches.”
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One scene that was particularly notable concerned a candy deal with as Nick and Brooke explored town. “So, we’re operating out of time, however they’re alleged to shoot Brooke and Nick in numerous spots in Naples, and we’ve obtained actually eight minutes,” he remembers. “I mentioned, ‘Effectively, get some gelatos that Brooke and Nick can have.’ So, they’d chocolate and pistachio and handed Kelly and me these gelatos. It was sizzling. They’re dripping. So, we’re utterly ad-libbing. She’s like, ‘Oh, there’s nothing like gelato in Italy.’ And I am going, ‘Oh, my favourite flavors.’ And we do it once more, as a result of it’s dripping extra now and happening our arms, and we’re laughing and laughing like youngsters. It wound up being the director’s favourite scene of the entire shoot. When issues are slightly messy, I believe it humanizes the characters.”
That Brad Bell finds methods to convey Nick again to the canvas for visits means loads to Wagner, who cherishes his reference to the CBS cleaning soap. “This enterprise is about relationships, and I’m simply fortunate to have just a few relationships with folks that have actually been good to me, and I believe I’ve been good to them,” he says. “It’s about belief and collaboration.”
And reconnecting with the forged is at all times a rewarding a part of his daytime journey. “It’s nice to return again,” he concludes. “While you get again to set, it’s at all times like household; it’s like a category reunion. Severely, it truly is. After which the shifting prepare begins, which I really like, in order that’s the chance I get on Daring and Lovely.”
The Daring and the Lovely, Weekdays, CBS. Verify native listings.