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Interview!

ICYMI Pierson Fodé And Courtney Hope Interview

"The Bold and the Beautiful" Set
Courtney Hope, Pierson Fode "The Bold and the Beautiful" Set CBS Television City Los Angeles, Ca. 04/13/17 © Howard Wise/jpistudios.com 310-657-9661 Credit: JPI

Soap Opera Digest: How does it feel to be B&B’s hot young supercouple in the making?

Courtney Hope: Us?

Pierson Fodé: I think you’re talking about Douglas [Thomas’s baby] and Maya’s baby [Lizzy]. They’re the ones to keep an eye on.

Hope: He’s right.

Digest: I think the “Tally” fans would disagree.

Hope: I like that they call us “Tally.” Tally it up!

Fodé: Tally-ho!

Hope: It fits.

Digest: You’ve been working together for months now. What was your first meeting like?

Hope: It was fun, at least I think it was. I can only speak for me, but I feel like there was an instant chemistry in the audition, a banter, that occurred. It just worked, which doesn’t always happen. But, I feel like instantly there was something and it just developed from there into the Thomas/Sally banter, which is really a lot like the Courtney/Pierson banter.

Fodé: Absolutely! On top of that I think Brad [Bell, executive producer/head writer] has enjoyed our banter behind the scenes because he has allowed us to improvise a bit, and get some jokes and jabs in there the way we do in real life. When I walked into the room to test the actresses, one of the cool things about Courtney was that she was super-funny and engaging in the room. She also made sure she met everybody in the room, not just Brad and not just me. She went around and said hello to everyone and that was really cool.

Hope: Pierson was very personable, as well, and when we were reading, he was so present in our scenes and that was really great for me. Because of that, I felt like I disarmed myself and I was able to play a lot more.

Fodé: You’re welcome.

Hope: Thank you, Pierson! Thank you for being such a great guy and such a good actor!

Fodé: Let’s just take this time to thank me for all the great things I do for humanity.

Hope: Yes, I thank you so much! I owe you the world! Well, not so much.

(They both laugh.)

Digest: You two remind me of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in Crazy, Stupid, Love. The first time Pierson took off his shirt, did you think he was Photoshopped?

Hope: I was totally like that! I still say that. We’ve had numerous times when I’d say, “What you mean that’s not painted on? I’m sorry, it’s real?” I feel so sad for him that he has to look at that every day in the mirror. What a horrible life [laughs].

Fodé: It’s true. I have so much self-loathing every time I look at those abs. I’m like, “You disgust me.”

Hope: I understand. It’s really unfortunate for you.

Fodé: Let’s just take a moment and remember that Courtney has almost more abs than every guy I know. She’s got a rocking bod.

Digest: How would you describe the other’s sense of humor?

Hope: What sense of humor?

Fodé: Touché. Courtney’s sense of humor is as exciting as watching paint dry.

Hope: I would agree with that. I actually think you’re giving me too much credit, to be honest with you, but I appreciate the attempt. My sense of humor is actually dark and nonexistent, but that’s okay. We can’t have it all [laughs].

Fodé: I would say, in all honesty, we are surprisingly similar in dark humor and wit and willingness to encourage each other, while at the same time poke fun at each other — and it is glorious.

Hope: Now, I completely agree, and both of us love to play these roles where it’s like all of sudden we just go into this shtick where we just keep going and neither of us feel like ending it. Before we know it, it’s been 10 minutes of bantering back and forth and we’re like, “Wait, what were we talking about?”

Fodé: Quite literally. I think we’ve gone there already in this interview. We entertain ourselves quite well.

Hope: We’re never bored.

Digest: What have been your favorite scenes together?

Fodé: Some of my favorite scenes we actually shot in Australia. I love the one where she fell into the water in Australia. That was amazing — that little laugh of Thomas’s at the end of it is genuine.

Hope: That was one of mine, too.

Fodé: It was such a natural moment, and we got to collaborate and goof around and be funny and intimate at the same time. Courtney gets to play a lot of physical comedy, like food fights and cake in the face and falling into the water. She does that so well and I think it has brought a whole new element to the show, outside of wit. My other favorite scene was the breakup scene, after Thomas and Sally realized what had just taken place right after the fashion show.

Hope: I completely agree. Australia was fun and the breakup scene was just so raw in that moment. We talked about it before and afterward, so that was definitely one of my favorites, too.

Digest: The inclusion of your characters’ younger sibs, R.J. and Coco, has been so cute.

Fodé: I love them together. They’re super-sweet on the show and it’s been fun in real life because Anthony Turpel [R.J.] is pretty new to all of this. They had their first on-screen kiss and you could tell he was nervous because he wanted to do it the right way. When you’re seeing somebody do something for the very first time, it’s so cool for me because it reminded me of when I first came to L.A. I love getting to big brother him a bit and then the other Courtney, C.C., as we call her so we don’t get confused —

Hope: Although sometimes they’ll call me C.C. and I still answer to it. I answer to pretty much anything.

Fodé: Seriously, watch this. [To Hope] “Hey! Hey, girl.”

Hope: “What up?”

Fodé: See.

(They both laugh.)

Fodé: But C.C. also has this sweet energy, as well.

Hope: I agree. They are both great together. They are utterly adorable, but they also have this sophistication about them, which is kind of deceiving sometimes because they’re young adults, but their wisdom is way beyond their years.

Digest: Do you two ever offer them any advice?

Hope: My advice to them is, “Just keep doing what you’re doing.” They’re killing it and they’re awesome together and individually.

Fodé: To just piggyback on that, have you noticed that Anthony’s voice is deeper than mine half the time?

Hope: Yeah! He’s like [in a baritone], “I’m Anthony. Nice to meet you.” They’re both so mature. It’s so funny talking to Courtney because she’ll come to me sometimes for advice, or just talk girl to girl, but what’s funny is in the midst of conversation, it’s like I’m continuing to learn things from her because she’s very wise, and has great advice to offer, as well. I don’t see an age difference with them.

Fodé: I think we can learn a lot from them.

Hope: Our characters certainly can learn from their characters.

Fodé: So, maybe there’s hope for us?

Hope: You think so?

Fodé: Doubt it.

Hope: Yeah, me, too.

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