Thirty Nine Years, One Original Forrester, and John McCook Finally Said Out Loud What Every B&B Fan Has Been Thinking About Eric Forrester’s Screen Time

JOHN MCCOOK DESERVES MORE SCRIPTS AND HE KNOWS IT

TL;DR: John McCook is about to celebrate 39 years as Eric Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful and in a candid new interview with TV Insider, the 81 year old Daytime Emmy winner admitted he is not getting as many scripts as he used to, does not love watching episodes go by without Eric in the office, and is constantly fighting to keep Eric strong rather than defeated. He said what fans have been thinking for years and we are standing up and applauding.

John McCook Said It and We Are Standing Up and Applauding

John McCook is one of two remaining original cast members on The Bold and the Beautiful. On March 23, the show celebrates its 39th anniversary on CBS, which means McCook has been playing Eric Forrester for 39 years. Nearly four decades of building one of the most iconic patriarchs in daytime history. And in a candid new interview with TV Insider, the 81 year old Daytime Emmy winner finally said out loud what every single fan who has ever loved Eric Forrester has been screaming at their television for years.

He wants more to do. And he should have it.

McCook told TV Insider that he knows he is the older guy on the show, but he does not enjoy watching episode after episode go by without Eric in the office or involved in the story. He acknowledged that reduced screen time comes with the territory of aging on a soap, saying he has to suck it up as part of growing older in daytime. And frankly, we do not think he should have to.

Do you think Eric Forrester deserves more screen time on The Bold and the Beautiful? Send your hottest takes to [email protected] and we just might publish them!

Eric Forrester Built That Empire and They Keep Shoving Him to the Side

Let us talk about who Eric Forrester actually is. This is the man who built Forrester Creations with his bare hands alongside his late wife Stephanie Forrester. This is the patriarch. The designer. The man whose name is literally on the building. And the show decided the best thing to do with him was throw him a retirement party he never asked for, engineered by his own son Ridge Forrester, and then act surprised when he walked across the street to design for Katie Logan and Bill Spencer instead.

McCook praised the current Logan versus Forrester conflict and said he was very much into the ageism story when executive producer Bradley Bell pitched it. He applauded Bell for tackling the subject, pointing out that The Bold and the Beautiful has a massive audience of fans over 40 who can relate to being pushed aside in the workplace. He called it good conflict, a good story, and said it puts the Forresters in a very difficult place because Bill and Katie have a strong legal leg to stand on and there is not a thing Forrester Creations can do about it.

But McCook also made something clear about how he approaches the role now. He said he does not want to play into a weak or defeated version of Eric. He is constantly working to keep Eric as strong as he can, rather than having him be sad and embarrassed over what happened. That is not just an acting choice. That is a man fighting for his character’s dignity after 39 years, and the fact that he has to fight for it at all tells you everything you need to know about how daytime treats its legends.

He Is Not Victor Newman and That Should Not Mean He Is Invisible

Here is the part of that interview that should have every soap fan paying attention. McCook pointed out that Eric is not written as aggressively as some of the older patriarchs on other daytime shows. He specifically referenced the guys who are gangsters or big, rough businessmen, characters like Victor Newman on The Young and the Restless. Eric Forrester is not that man. Eric is kinder. Gentler. A creator, not a destroyer. McCook called him an embracer and a supporter of everybody around him, a wonderful character and a lovely guy.

And McCook said he loves that about Eric. But he also made it clear that being a good man should not mean being a forgotten one. The quiet patriarch still deserves storylines. The gentleman designer still deserves screen time. And the fact that John McCook has to sit in an interview at 81 years old and explain that he would like to be in more episodes of the show he helped build from day one is not a reflection on him. It is a reflection on how daytime treats its legends when they stop throwing furniture.

Thirty Nine Years and He Is Still Showing Up

McCook will turn 82 this year. He has been playing Eric Forrester since the very first episode of The Bold and the Beautiful aired on March 23, 1987. He and Katherine Kelly Lang, who plays Brooke Logan, are the only two original cast members still on the show, and McCook called that milestone sweet and kind of amazing.

He also said something that hit differently. He pointed out that playing the same part for decades is actually the antithesis of being an actor, because being an actor means playing many different roles. He thought the show might run five or ten years when it started. It never occurred to him it would go 40 or 50 or forever. And yet here he is, still showing up, still delivering, still fighting to keep Eric Forrester strong.

McCook acknowledged that only about eight or ten actors in the entire country have had a run like his, working week after week on the same show for decades, and he said he is very proud and happy to be one of them. His hopes for Eric going forward are simple: he wants him to stay healthy and happy. And that is all he wants for himself too.

We want more than that for him. We want Eric Forrester back in that office full time. We want him making decisions that shake Forrester Creations to its foundation. We want the man who built the empire to stop being treated like a guest in his own building. John McCook has earned 39 years worth of respect and the least this show can do is give him the scripts to match.

Do you think The Bold and the Beautiful gives Eric Forrester enough screen time? Or has the show been sidelining one of its greatest characters for too long? Sound off below because we have a feeling this comment section is about to get loud!

WATCH THIS: We need to talk about THIS potential troublemaker…

@soapoperamag Dylan Went From Her Car to Will's Beach House to His Lap! She showered at his place, danced into his arms, and called him her prince. Will thinks he's helping a friend. Is he? #BoldandBeautiful ♬ original sound – Soap Opera Magazine