'The Bold and The Beautiful', interview with actor Scott Clifton

Scott Clifton plays Liam Spencer in the soap opera 'The Bold and The Beautiful'. Scott is also musician.

You recently released the album Girl Go Home. How was the project born?

I released the album on iTunes and other digital mediums a few years ago, but the truth is that most of the tracks (save for the acoustic ones) were recorded over a decade ago. I was about 22 years old and had an opportunity to record some of my songs live with a group of professional musicians at a really famous recording studio in California. It blew me away to see these guys write down the chords just once after I played them the songs on my guitar, and moments later hear basically what you hear on the album. I’d made a few CDs of the music in the years since and gave them out at fan events, but I never really knew what to do with it until digital music became a thing.

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Tv soap The Bold and the Beautiful

Q. What is your favorite musical genre?

A. I’m really not a musical person, though. I rarely listen to music—it’s just not a huge part of my life—and when I do, it’s usually the superficial top-40 type, or else it’s really inconspicuous instrumental stuff. In my teens, I figured out, with the help of a music producer and good friend (Jeff Pescetto), that I had a knack for writing really simple songs you might hear on the radio. I was proud of my lyrics, but I've never been a singer. The fantasy was always that some professional vocalist might come along and sing my songs so I didn’t have to. Alas, that didn’t happen, so you’re stuck with my voice on the album.

Q. Have you ever been in Italy?

A. I’ve been twice. It’s such a beautiful place with beautiful people, and food you just can’t get here in the States. I loved seeing little treasures like Alberobello and Tivoli, which I mightn’t have known existed otherwise.

Q. Liam's character is both insecure and decisive in his principles. What do you like most about him? Is there any affinity with your character?

A. I think I’d have a hard time being friends with Liam given the frequent temptation to choke him on all matters of love. But I admire that the character is a vegan and that he tries to live an honest and philanthropic life. Those are qualities worth aspiring to for everyone, and personally I wish I had the willpower not to eat meat.

Schede

The Bold and the Beautiful

Scott Clifton

Q. Can you tell us how the shooting takes place?

A. I usually tape about 30 pages of dialogue per day. But memorization is a muscle just like anything else, and at this point in my career—like many of my costars—I can almost always memorize my dialogue the day of. We arrive in the morning around 8 or 9 depending on the schedule, get our blocking and makeup, and then look over our material before we get called to set. They have 3-4 cameras on us at once, and keep the first usable take, so the day goes quickly.

Q. Which actor do you get along with?

A. I get along with everyone on set. It’s a great group of people, and that’s not an accident. I think Brad (Bell, the producer - ed.) values a happy work environment just as much as he values talent, so it’s rare for a new cast member not to fit right in. Annika (Noelle - ed.) and Jacqui (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood - ed.) have very different personalities, but we’re all very close with one another.

Q. Why do you think The Bold and the Beautiful is so successful in the world after so many years?

A. A couple things: I think we take dubbing very seriously, and the actors lending their voices to our characters are incredibly skilled. We owe them (and their engineers) our gratitude for making the experience as seamless as possible for viewers in other countries. Sometimes they our performance better than it was in English!

Also, unlike many soaps, Beautiful doesn’t take place in a fictional town, but a real and well-known location—Los Angeles. And there’s just something fascinating and satisfying about seeing the secret lives of wealthy, ostensibly glamorous people who are just as broken and misguided as the rest of us. Not to mention… fashion.

Q. What hobbies do you have?

A. I like philosophy and camping. And I watch way too much TV.

Q. f you could buy a plane ticket in an hour, where would you book it for?

A. Probably Portland, Oregon. I’ve never been there, and everything I’ve heard about it suggests it’s a city I’d love.

Q. What is your next project?

A. Potty training my son...