Post by GraceBe on Nov 30, 2007 8:29:28 GMT
Catching Up With B&B's Todd McKee
— By Robert Schork
Todd McKee (Jake) made a surprise return to THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL just in time for Stephanie's whodunnit. Weekly caught up with the soap vet (ex-Ted Capwell, SANTA BARBARA) to dish about his return.
Weekly: How was your visit to B&B?
Todd McKee: It was like returning to a dream. I'd remembered it as a dream from 17 years ago. Walking in, I was like, "This really was part of my life. This really did happen!" But they're all there, the same characters and actors.
Weekly: Except Donna and Felicia! What is it like working with a new pair?
McKee: It's actually weirder seeing the other actors, who have been here for 17 years. It's like, "Here we all are again!" Everyone's aged gracefully, but is a little older. I'm sure they thought the same about me.
Weekly: Have you adjusted to being back now?
McKee: Yes. It was so weird. Everything was exactly the same, yet I couldn't figure out how to get to the set! I walked those halls for two-and-a-half years, but I was completely lost. Then, after a while, it was like an old shoe that fit perfectly. I finally got my acting legs up and running, so I feel more comfortable.
Weekly: How did this come about?
McKee: Since day one when I left, I remained friends and tennis partners with (executive producer/head writer) Brad Bell. When I was on B&B, every Thursday at 3:30 we'd show up at his parents' house and play a grueling couple of sets of tennis. It was usually four or five of us for a big doubles boys' night and that's been consistent for the last 20 years. We're still doing it and it's still about half the same people. Brad's always out there killing it on the tennis court, so after tennis a month ago, he said, "Hey, Todd, what do you think of coming on the show?" I had no idea what he was talking about. I thought he wanted me to move sets or help him with something. I had no idea he was talking about bringing Jake MacClaine back!
Weekly: When he explained himself, did you have any reservations?
McKee: I was like, "Wow, let's do it." I went into it blind. Brad was very casual about the whole thing. I received a script and said, "Here we go!" They didn't give much backstory. Jake's been around and he jumps right into the current storyline.
Weekly: How much will we see of him beyond this?
McKee: I have no idea. Brad said [it's] just for a little visit. Beyond that, it's in the hands of the fans and their feedback.
Weekly: Had you kept in touch with anyone else from B&B or from SB?
McKee: No. It's just Brad and one of the guys from B&B's financial (department), Rich Ginger. It's all about playing great tennis. We never talk shop. Over 17 years, we'd never talked about Jake coming back or what's going on with the show. We're out there to kill it on the tennis court and that's it.
Weekly: Jake's childhood molestation was part of a groundbreaking story. Do you get approached about it still?
McKee: All the time. It's amazing. People still talk about that. A director on the show, Michael Stich, came up to me. He told me he teaches classes for actors and he brings the sides from that storyline, because it was so powerful and such great stuff.
Weekly: You've popped up in prime-time guest spots throughout the years, but what else has been keeping you busy?
McKee: I've been doing the houses: building, fixing and flipping. I haven't been chasing the acting thing much lately. It's going well in other areas and I like being able to just have fun. Acting can be a bit of a roller coaster. That gets unsettling as I grow older, but I had so much fun doing the soaps back in the day. Now, I've got other stuff going on in my life, so I can dabble without any concern. I had so much fun over there. I'm curious to see what happens with Jake.
Weekly: B&B needs eligible men. Was there any flirtation with Katie?
McKee: There wasn't anything with Katie, but there's something with another person. For one day, they brought someone on and played this cute little flirtation. Brad's deep in this whodunnit storyline, so he didn't have much time for that. I'm curious what those writers are thinking.
Weekly: Did you remember where Jake was when we last saw him?
McKee: I did reflect back to who he was, what was he going through and all that. My brother, being a photographer, was like, "We have to go out and take some shots!" Jake was a tennis player back in the day, so I grabbed a bunch of tennis clothes, and Jon and I shot for a couple hours. 80 percent of it was "Jake" in tennis clothes. Then I get the scripts and Jake's a construction worker now. He's not playing any tennis. There was bad blood with Thorne, because he and Macy were having a romance. Thorne got upset and I think Jake went to jail. It was funny. I talked to Heather (Tom, Katie) and she was like, "So who are you playing?" I told her, "I'm playing this character I played 17 years ago." She was like, "What?!" It's wild, and I like wild.
Weekly: Any surprises?
McKee: The biggest surprise was how fast they shoot. We used to do three rehearsals: camera, dress and the first try. When I was called to set, I figured it was the rehearsal, but they were going for it! What? Now they're like, "We'll shoot the rehearsal on tape!" Are you kidding me?
Weekly: You're both a vet and a newbie.
McKee: You're exactly right. It was like, "I know how to do this," but then you second-guess yourself. Even memorizing the lines was a little rusty, but a week into it, I was good.
Weekly: What are your friends going to think about you popping back into B&B?
McKee: It's funny. I've made new buddies in 17 years, and I never told them (I was on soaps). I'm not the guy to talk about who I was back when, so a couple of them saw me in the magazines and heard about it and were like, "What? How come you never told me about this?" It will be very interesting to see the reaction I get in the next couple of weeks.
— By Robert Schork
Todd McKee (Jake) made a surprise return to THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL just in time for Stephanie's whodunnit. Weekly caught up with the soap vet (ex-Ted Capwell, SANTA BARBARA) to dish about his return.
Weekly: How was your visit to B&B?
Todd McKee: It was like returning to a dream. I'd remembered it as a dream from 17 years ago. Walking in, I was like, "This really was part of my life. This really did happen!" But they're all there, the same characters and actors.
Weekly: Except Donna and Felicia! What is it like working with a new pair?
McKee: It's actually weirder seeing the other actors, who have been here for 17 years. It's like, "Here we all are again!" Everyone's aged gracefully, but is a little older. I'm sure they thought the same about me.
Weekly: Have you adjusted to being back now?
McKee: Yes. It was so weird. Everything was exactly the same, yet I couldn't figure out how to get to the set! I walked those halls for two-and-a-half years, but I was completely lost. Then, after a while, it was like an old shoe that fit perfectly. I finally got my acting legs up and running, so I feel more comfortable.
Weekly: How did this come about?
McKee: Since day one when I left, I remained friends and tennis partners with (executive producer/head writer) Brad Bell. When I was on B&B, every Thursday at 3:30 we'd show up at his parents' house and play a grueling couple of sets of tennis. It was usually four or five of us for a big doubles boys' night and that's been consistent for the last 20 years. We're still doing it and it's still about half the same people. Brad's always out there killing it on the tennis court, so after tennis a month ago, he said, "Hey, Todd, what do you think of coming on the show?" I had no idea what he was talking about. I thought he wanted me to move sets or help him with something. I had no idea he was talking about bringing Jake MacClaine back!
Weekly: When he explained himself, did you have any reservations?
McKee: I was like, "Wow, let's do it." I went into it blind. Brad was very casual about the whole thing. I received a script and said, "Here we go!" They didn't give much backstory. Jake's been around and he jumps right into the current storyline.
Weekly: How much will we see of him beyond this?
McKee: I have no idea. Brad said [it's] just for a little visit. Beyond that, it's in the hands of the fans and their feedback.
Weekly: Had you kept in touch with anyone else from B&B or from SB?
McKee: No. It's just Brad and one of the guys from B&B's financial (department), Rich Ginger. It's all about playing great tennis. We never talk shop. Over 17 years, we'd never talked about Jake coming back or what's going on with the show. We're out there to kill it on the tennis court and that's it.
Weekly: Jake's childhood molestation was part of a groundbreaking story. Do you get approached about it still?
McKee: All the time. It's amazing. People still talk about that. A director on the show, Michael Stich, came up to me. He told me he teaches classes for actors and he brings the sides from that storyline, because it was so powerful and such great stuff.
Weekly: You've popped up in prime-time guest spots throughout the years, but what else has been keeping you busy?
McKee: I've been doing the houses: building, fixing and flipping. I haven't been chasing the acting thing much lately. It's going well in other areas and I like being able to just have fun. Acting can be a bit of a roller coaster. That gets unsettling as I grow older, but I had so much fun doing the soaps back in the day. Now, I've got other stuff going on in my life, so I can dabble without any concern. I had so much fun over there. I'm curious to see what happens with Jake.
Weekly: B&B needs eligible men. Was there any flirtation with Katie?
McKee: There wasn't anything with Katie, but there's something with another person. For one day, they brought someone on and played this cute little flirtation. Brad's deep in this whodunnit storyline, so he didn't have much time for that. I'm curious what those writers are thinking.
Weekly: Did you remember where Jake was when we last saw him?
McKee: I did reflect back to who he was, what was he going through and all that. My brother, being a photographer, was like, "We have to go out and take some shots!" Jake was a tennis player back in the day, so I grabbed a bunch of tennis clothes, and Jon and I shot for a couple hours. 80 percent of it was "Jake" in tennis clothes. Then I get the scripts and Jake's a construction worker now. He's not playing any tennis. There was bad blood with Thorne, because he and Macy were having a romance. Thorne got upset and I think Jake went to jail. It was funny. I talked to Heather (Tom, Katie) and she was like, "So who are you playing?" I told her, "I'm playing this character I played 17 years ago." She was like, "What?!" It's wild, and I like wild.
Weekly: Any surprises?
McKee: The biggest surprise was how fast they shoot. We used to do three rehearsals: camera, dress and the first try. When I was called to set, I figured it was the rehearsal, but they were going for it! What? Now they're like, "We'll shoot the rehearsal on tape!" Are you kidding me?
Weekly: You're both a vet and a newbie.
McKee: You're exactly right. It was like, "I know how to do this," but then you second-guess yourself. Even memorizing the lines was a little rusty, but a week into it, I was good.
Weekly: What are your friends going to think about you popping back into B&B?
McKee: It's funny. I've made new buddies in 17 years, and I never told them (I was on soaps). I'm not the guy to talk about who I was back when, so a couple of them saw me in the magazines and heard about it and were like, "What? How come you never told me about this?" It will be very interesting to see the reaction I get in the next couple of weeks.
