Scott Clifton looks back at the highlights of his run as B&B’s Liam
Best Thing About Getting The Job: “The excitement of not actually knowing who I would be playing. The audition process was shrouded in secrecy. Eventually, Brad [Bell, executive producer/head writer] told me but I really didn’t know what I was walking into. All I knew was I was a character coming to town with a big secret and I was going, ‘What’s the secret? What’s the secret?’ There was a brief moment where I was convinced I was an undercover FBI agent, but it didn’t nearly end up that Arnold Schwarzenegger.”
Best Line Of Dialogue: “My favorite line in my entire history with the show is this line in the very beginning, within the first few weeks of me being cast, where I say, ‘Handsome is as handsome does.’ It’s a line from [former B&B scribe] Patrick Mulcahey, and it was when Liam and Bill had taken the paternity test. They just found out that they are father and son, and they are circling each other like wolves, and Bill asks what his mother said on her deathbed, and Liam said she smiled and said, ‘Handsome is as handsome does,’ and Bill says, ‘That is what she always used to say to me,’ so that’s why I love that line. It was so beautifully done, and so simply done. I always appreciated it.”
Best Thing About The Early Years Of Playing Liam: “The travel! In the early years, the first aspect of this was this privileged access to things you would never otherwise get to see. At one point, we were at the No. 1 rated spa in the world, and we showed up and the manager ends up telling us, ‘Just so you know, all my masseuses, they’ve done everyone. They’ve done Justin Timberlake and Brad Pitt and they are the best there is. But they could barely contain their excitement at having you all here,’ and I’m going, ‘Really? Us?’ That was the other aspect of it, was how huge we were all over the world because you don’t know that. You can hear it intellectually, like, ‘Oh, you’re big in France. You’re big in Italy.’ But those are just words. They don’t mean anything until you go over there and you experience it yourself, and it just blew my mind, to taste that world for just a week and then go back to my life. It’s like the best of both worlds. I get anonymity at home and don’t have to deal with fame, but I also get to taste it every now and again when I go overseas. Just amazing.”
Best Of Liam’s Weddings: “Ajax Mountain in Aspen [Colorado, in 2011], freezing our asses off. That was great. It’s actually not the wedding that anybody thinks of first. I’ve been asked this before, because Liam has been married quite a few times, and they’re like, ‘Was it the one in Puglia [in 2012]? Was it the one [in Australia in 2017], where Steffy came flying in on that zip line?’ and when I say Aspen they all go, ‘Really?’ It was cold and dark on top of a mountain but I have a different association with it. We were so cold and miserable that it was actually so fun [laughs].”
Best Thing About Annika Noelle (Hope): “She never, ever, ever phones it in. I don’t know if it was luck or Brad just saw something that he just knew but I remember they brought in three girls to test me with [when B&B recast the role of Hope] and I’m like, ‘Just three? This is a huge character!’ and it was one quick little audition. One little scene. Kim [Matula, ex-Hope] had huge shoes to fill and Annika just came in, Brad gave her this almost-impossible [Beth] storyline, consisting of months and months of crying and agonizing, and she never once phoned something in.”
Best Thing About Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy): “She has the same approach to scene work and preparation as I do, which makes the work feel effortless. I have so much fun with Jacqui and we totally get each other. If I’m working with Jacqui, it’s going to be an easy, smooth day and I know we’re going to knock it out of the park and it’s going to be great.”
Best Thing About Don Diamont (Bill): “The lighthearted energy he always brings to set.”
Best Thing About Darin Brooks (Wyatt): “His collaborative spirit. He always brings a scene to life beyond what’s in the script.”
Best Scene Partner From Your B&B Past: “Ashleigh Brewer [ex-Ivy]. Her character was cool. She’s obviously a very talented actor. We got to go to Paris and to Amsterdam. We got to do all these fun things together, but it really wasn’t about any of that. She just had this energy that was so fun and she’s such a kind person. She really cares about people and being around her just makes you happy. I just really enjoyed hanging out with her because of who she is.”
Best Location Shoot: “Hard to choose a favorite, but Puglia [Italy] will always have a special place in my heart. The show put out a Facebook ad saying, ‘If you want to be an extra, just show up,’ and hundreds of people showed up. We created this parade walking through town and everyone was singing that famous Italian song, ‘Volare’. It was incredible.”
Best B&B Guest Star You Got To Work With: “Bob Barker [in 2014]. That was such a fun day.”
Best Set: “Liam’s office at Spencer Publications. R.I.P. I loved that set!”
Best On-Screen Adversary: “Wyatt Fuller, pre-bromance, of course.”
Best Comedic Moment: “Dry-heaving after walking in on Bill and Quinn having rough sex [in 2014]. Just thinking about that scene still makes me laugh.”
Best Emmy Moment: “Bonding with Kristoff St. John [ex-Neil, Y&R] the year we were both nominated for Lead [Actor in 2017]. What an incredible guy.”
Best Dramatic Moment: “Liam learning that Steffy slept with Bill [in 2018]. That whole reveal sequence was shot at three different locations over three different days, and it was obviously very emotional material. Jacqui and I can be really emotional but as soon as they called cut, we were fine. We didn’t carry it with us.”
Best Plot Twist That Really Shocked You: “Liam shot Bill [in 2018]! And then, he didn’t! I was a little bummed that it didn’t play out further, but I get it.”
Best Thing About Playing A Father Now That You Are One In Real Life: “Not being scared to hold babies. Give me all the babies, I don’t care. I’ll juggle them! I absolutely love it.”
Best Story You Ever Played: “Adam and Eve in the cabin [in 2016], hands down. Rena [Sofer, Quinn] works exactly the opposite of the way I do, and that was some of the best work that I think either of us has done. The variety of working with someone who works totally different than the way you do is the gift. It is the variety that I treasure. I was kind of sad when that storyline ended.”
