Nick Sined/jpistudios.com
Global Sensation: Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) take Monte Carlo by storm.
Back in June, Bold and Beautiful‘s Thorsten Kaye (Ridge) and Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke) traipsed to glamorous Monte Carlo for a trip that mixed business (a B&B location shoot) with pleasure (attending the 63rd Annual Monte-Carlo Television Festival alongside Young and Restless stars Joshua Morrow, Nick, and Melissa Claire Egan, Chelsea — check out the photos here). Now, the gorgeous fruits of their on-camera labor are set to be unfurled on the show as the Monte Carlo remote hits the airwaves this week.
Going On Location
“Monte Carlo is the greatest place in the world,” raves Kaye. “It was so nice to be there with Kelly.” However, “It was a lot of work! We had a lot of scenes to film — and it was hot! It gets really hot that time of year. But it was fun. It’s always great to go there, and [after we wrapped], I got to go to England for a few days and check out the school that [daughter] Marlowe wants to go to and that kind of stuff.”
For Kaye’s alter ego, Ridge, a lot is riding on the success of the trip, which features the relaunch of Forrester Creations’ Brooke’s Bedroom Line. “This is not really about the company needing the success, necessarily,” Kaye explains. “The company is doing fine. This is more about Brooke needing a win, and Brooke finding her way in this company, because I think she needs that. And Ridge really wants that for her.”
Continues the actor, “I think for Ridge, it’s the same way that I am invested in my wife [Susan Haskell, a two-time Daytime Emmy-winning actress best known for her One Life To Live role as Marty Saybrooke] doing something. I think sometimes you feel that your partner may give up too much so you can do what you can do, and it would be nice to see them find something that they find happiness and success in for their own journey, you know? So that it’s not just about them supporting their partner.”
Kaye finds this a welcome turn in the dynamic between Ridge and Brooke. “I’m a fan of Kelly’s and want her to have material that she can shine doing,” he says. “And this also gives more depth to Ridge and Brooke.”
Of course, if Brooke’s success in the professional realm leaves her less time to focus on her relationship, that may require some adjustment on Ridge’s part. Kaye points out, “When someone is successful [like Ridge is], and then all of a sudden your wife becomes successful and she needs you to watch the kids, or she needs to you to go to the store or pick up the dry cleaning, it changes the dynamic. So even though it’s something you want for somebody, you’ve got to be prepared for the change that comes with that.”
As the scenes play out, viewers can expect to be treated to some spectacular backdrops. “Monaco is a pretty stunning place,” says Kaye. “There’s a villa outside the casino which is just an amazing building.” Plus, he got to reap the benefits of Ridge traveling in style. “I got to drive a nice little Porsche,” he grins. “That part was really nice!” (Click here for a gallery of behind-the-scenes photos from the location shoot.)
The actor says that it came as no surprise to Ridge that his daughter, Steffy, had such a negative reaction to Ridge’s decision to give such a prominent role to Brooke. “Is it weighing on him? Probably a little bit. But he knew that was going to happen,” Kaye shrugs. “But I think he is trying to find a way to make these women like each other. That’s always tough. It has nothing to do with him, but I think he’s trying to find situations that he can put them in where they both see the value of each other.”
