After gaining national prominence playing Lance Prentiss on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS from 1975 to1980, THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL’s John McCook (Eric) got his first lesson in typecasting. "When I left Y&R, I couldn’t get interviews to play a dad or lawyer or doctor," says the actor, explaining that casting directors only could envision him as a tuxedo-clad loverboy. It appeared, at the time, that McCook was forever relegated to the category of soap opera leading man. That’s when his agent hatched a plan. "He said, ‘You’re going to do nothing but comedy for the next two years. We’re going to break that mold. They’re going to have to give you a chance to read for these roles."
Thus began McCook’s run as a guest star on a number of comedies, most notably, sit-coms like WKRP IN CINCINNATI, TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT, THREE’S COMPANY and ALICE. Long known for being something of a ham in real life, the actor had no problem yukking it up for these roles. Ironically, although McCook managed to shrug off his leading man stigma, he soon got typecast in an entirely different vein! "Most of the time in those shows, I played ‘Bobby Broadcaster’ or the a--hole womanizer," he says. "I’d be the guy cheating on his wife, or the ex-boyfriend who was simply unbearable."
Nevertheless, McCook says he learned some important tips from his co-stars in those days, especially from THREE’S COMPANY star John Ritter. "After reading the material, even though it was pretty corny and silly, he never commented on the script. Never. Not at the coffee machine, not on breaks. It wasn’t him." Naturally, McCook says he was shocked and dismayed by Ritter’s sudden death last year on the set of 8 SIMPLE RULES. "My wife is actually close friends with Nancy Ritter, John’s ex-wife," he says. "So we freaked out like everybody when we learned of his death."
Like Ritter, who never bemoaned the fact that his character was going to trip and fall over the sofa again, McCook tries to be similarly nonjudgmental about what he’s asked to do on B&B. "I don’t comment on the material here," he says. "You just execute it and make it better than it is. When you start critiquing the material, you just make yourself and everyone around you very unhappy and insecure."
With all his storyline twists and turns on B&B, McCook admits it can be easy to fall into the trap of overanalyzing the show’s direction, as well as his own character. "You get so invested, but then you think, ‘What am I doing? I’m making myself crazy!’ That’s not part of my job, so I just have to let it go." —
Amy Helmes