Why The Bold And The Beautiful's John McCook Dyed His Hair To Play Eric Forrester
John McCook has been playing Forrester patriarch Eric Forrester on "The Bold and the Beautiful" since the show first began airing on CBS back in 1987. Before that, McCook had made his mark on daytime on "The Bold and the Beautiful" sister soap, "The Young and the Restless" as heartthrob Lance Prentiss from 1975-1980 (via IMDb) and remained popular with soap opera fans who would have loved to see him back in the fictional town of Genoa City.
As Eric Forrester, McCook has been the heart and soul of the show for decades, taking the character from the father of young adults in a long marriage to a man who has cheated multiple times, married multiple times, and now has grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
But at one point, McCook didn't think he would be the right person for the role despite Bill Bell, the creator of both "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful" (via IMDb) wanting him for the role.
John McCook wanted to look the part of Eric Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful
When "The Bold and the Beautiful" premiered in 1987, John McCook wasn't even sure he wanted to do another soap opera. "I was on the fence about it," McCook told She Knows Soaps in March. "But they kept calling my agent and saying, 'Bill Bell really wants to see you.' We hadn't seen each other in seven years, and the first thing he said was, 'I thought you'd be older!' I suggested perhaps I wasn't right for the part."
At the time, McCook was 42 years old and just seven years older than Ronn Moss, the actor who created the role of Eric's adult son, Ridge Forrester, according to IMDb. To look the part of an older man, McCook dyed his hair to add gray streaks and give Eric the salt and pepper look he had for decades until he became the silver fox he is today.
All these years later, McCook doesn't regret stepping into Eric Forrester's big shoes. "Being on this show and, to back up even further, to be able to be an actor all these years and be able to make a living at it ... It's such a cliché to say it's been a blessing, but it has" he told She Knows Soaps. "The very definition of a stunningly good job in show business is a long run on Broadway, a TV series, or a soap opera."