Thorsten Kaye reflects on some of his storylines as B&B’s Ridge

MAKING AN ENTRANCE, 2013

When Ridge returned, he drove up in his Tesla to romantically offer Brooke a rose. What did you think of your entrance to B&B? “Yeah, it was very romantic. There are a lot of stairs along that waterfall, though. I wasn’t ready for that. When they’d say, ‘Let’s do it again,’ I’m thinking, ‘Geez [laughs].’ ”

You had scenes early on with John McCook (Eric). What was that like? “Any story with John McCook is a great thing, and getting to watch him do what he does is a real treat. He is such a kind person and such a good actor and when he gets going, I’m just thrilled to be in the same room with him.”

What was your initial impression of Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke)? “I wasn’t afraid that she’d be a diva; I just assumed that she would be. I’ve worked with plenty of them in my time. I was prepared for this woman who was going to tell me what to do and where to stand and what to say, and I was completely wrong about her, which was so, so nice. She couldn’t have been kinder to me, and aside from being absolutely gorgeous and extremely talented, she’s just a kind person. That is not a combination you find very often.”

HER SISTER’S KEEPER, 2013-14

Ridge’s romance with Katie was unexpected, and it incorporated some of your real-life poetry. Tell us about that. “I think there’s a reason why Heather has 314 Emmys, because she can have chemistry with anyone, so I take no credit for that. I do take credit for the poetry stuff. I talked with Brad [Bell, executive producer/head writer] about romance and poetry and wine, and he took the poetry and made her do it, so I’m sorry, Heather. She had to learn some of that to recite and for that, I apologize.”

And on their date with their sons, Ridge and Katie danced to street musicians, one of whom was Tom’s real-life spouse, James Achor. “Oh, yeah, that’s right. That was a fun day on the set. There’s nothing better than dancing with a woman while her husband is watching.”

Ridge gave Katie an engagement ring, which was basically a string tied around her finger. What was up with that? “Listen, I take all responsibility for that. There was a little teddy bear standing there and the romantic notion of that was, Ridge wanted Katie to be with him so badly that he can’t wait to get a ring. He just wants to put something on layaway right now so no one else grabs her, and that was the only thing that was there.”

SWEET CAROLINE, 2014-16

How would you describe the love story with Caroline? “First of all, it’s all the present to me, and that’s one of the tough parts about taking over a role from somebody else. You can do research but you really don’t know what the relationships were. You really don’t and that one, to have a beautiful young woman, who is twice as young as the guy is old, was interesting. I do think it worked but yeah, it’s all about the age. I did have people say, ‘You’re too old for her,’ so even though it was fun, it made me feel like I’d turned the corner many years before that.”

You did have chemistry with Linsey (Godfrey, ex- Caroline). “Yeah, the word chemistry, I don’t know what that is but if you write a good story and you get actors who kind of know what they’re doing, you can create that stuff.”

Their wedding at the beach was lush and very B&B. What did you think? “The team we have directing and shooting stuff, it’s amazing what they pull off with the time constraints and budgets that they have. First of all, there is no bad day on the beach as far as I’m concerned. It was neutral space that just keeps changing with sand and water.”

Ridge played a bit of a villain by not acknowledging Thomas was the father of Caroline’s baby’s. “First of all, I always seem to play the bad guy so I don’t know when that went away. It’s so much more fun than playing the good guy. But, I’ve got to tell you, I didn’t see him as the bad guy. I felt that Thomas took advantage of this poor girl when she didn’t want to be with him at all. He just took what he wanted and I think Ridge also knew that this would be the end of their relationship. If Thomas knew it was his baby, he would never go away. He did what he thought was best for the kid.”

IN LIKE QUINN, 2016-17

Next up is Ridge’s affair with Quinn. What did you think of that twist? “Betraying your father is a tough one. I don’t know what to say about it. When I first heard about it, I thought, ‘This is going to be a rough road for everybody,’ and it was, but it has to be a rough road to be a great payoff. It is good drama but I have to say, some of it you just want to wash your mouth out afterward.”

This story culminated with Eric disowning Ridge. You cried. How’d you prepare for an emotional scene like that? “In a situation like that, with all that emotion behind them, the words just take over and you just say what’s written. Some situations, you know when you hear a song on the radio and it just makes sense to you? I think scripts are similar to that and if something makes sense to you, you don’t have to go to your vocal coach or your piano teacher. It just becomes a part of you.”

MY NEW BRIDE, 2020

In your current story, we’ve got a new triangle now with Denise Richards (Shauna). “You’ve got to keep in mind that the ‘Bridge’ fans are divided on top of that division because they want Ronn Moss back. Denise [Richards, Shauna] is a lot of fun and listen, I think that’s a storyline we have to talk about when it’s over because I have no idea where it’s going. I have no idea.”

What was your reaction to the Ridge/ Shauna quickie wedding in Vegas? “I think Ridge was definitely over-served, and chose to be over-served, and still made decisions. No one was forcing him. Yes, the texting was a little dodgy but for the most part, this was something he did, and he needs to take responsibility for that.”

Quinn is preparing for a big re-wedding. “Quinn has always been a meddler. This is not news. Quinn wants what Quinn wants.”