In just two weeks, soap legend Ted King will be making his debut on The Bold and the Beautiful as Finn's (Tanner Novlan) father, Jack Finnegan. And though the actor is a pro -- he's known for his roles as Danny Roberts on Loving and on The City, Luis Ramon Alcazar and Lorenzo Alcazar on General Hospital, and Tomas Delgado on One Life to Live -- he admits that it's still a nerve-wracking experience to create a brand-new character.
"Please be patient while I figure this man out!" he begs of B&B fans in a Soap Opera Digest feature. "Hopefully day 30 is not going to look like day one. As the audience is getting to know him, so am I. I'm trying to bring a lot of different colors to the character. The character is very young for me, so every day I show up and I'm trying to bring new levels to the character."
Both King and B&B are keeping tight-lipped about the particulars of Jack, but the actor did give a subtle tease about what viewers can expect from him and Finn's mother, Li, who is being played by Days of our Lives alum Naomi Matsuda (ex-Tori).
"[Naomi] has been a total pro. I think her first words to me were, 'Hello, Husband,' and I said, 'Hello, Wife' -- and then you actually have to go and be those people! But she's ready," he praises, adding, "Of course, we're getting new scripts all the time and realizing, 'Oh, this relationship is a lot more complicated than we thought it was when we first started,' and that will play out as they write more."
All in all, King shares that he is extremely pleased to have joined B&B, especially because the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult for him to practice his craft, and the fashion-centric CBS soap has given him the chance to work again.
"I was able to see some of my friends on daytime and watch their work -- and they were doing great work -- and I was jealous for sure," he says of being an outsider looking in before B&B came calling. "I like to create new characters all the time and when that gets cut off, you feel like a limb has been cut off; you're not exercising your creativity enough."
As Soap Central previously reported, King is set to make his debut as Jack on Friday, July 30, while Matsuda will arrive on the canvas on Monday, August 2. For more from King on his new B&B gig, check out SOD's full interview with the California native here.
What do you think about Ted King joining B&B as Finn's father, Jack Finnegan? What do you hope to see from the character once he arrives in Los Angeles? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
