The Bold and the Beautiful star spoke about having less screen time, noting that his character isn’t written as aggressively as some of the other longtime oldies. While he’s content with how his character is portrayed, he admitted that, as he’s gotten older, he’s had to accept having less to do on screen. At the same time, he expressed pride in being part of the small, old actors’ clan in the country who have worked on a specific show for decades. As one of them, and with his 39th anniversary on the show approaching next week, he said he feels very proud.

John McCook on frustration with Eric’s recent lack of screen time

In a conversation with TV Insider, John McCook revealed that, as he’s old now, he isn’t getting as many scripts as he used to. While he has been on The Bold and the Beautiful for 39 years, the limited inclusion of his character in the present storyline isn’t sitting well with him. He wants Eric Forrester to be involved in the story in some way, rather than being excluded episode after episode.

“Eric is an embracer and a supporter of everybody around him. It’s a wonderful character, and he’s a lovely guy, but he’s not as aggressively written for as some of the older characters on the other shows, the guys that are gangsters or big, rough businessmen. I love that Eric’s this way, and that he’s thought of this way, but since he’s older now, I have less to do, and I have to suck that up as part of growing older on a soap,” he explained.

Despite complaints about less screen time, McCook looks at the positive side of the coin, noting that he will be 82 years old and is still acting in the industry. “There’s like eight or 10 actors in the whole country that have had a run like this, week after week, a paycheck for decades and decades on the same show, and I’m very proud and happy to be one of those people,” he added.

Ahead of expressing his frustration, he reflected on the two major storylines on B&B about Eric’s retirement and the Forrester fallout. As the latter storyline intensifies, he’s trying his best to keep Eric’s character as strong as he can and not fall into a weak place from where he can’t bounce back.