What Other Soap Characters Has The Bold And The Beautiful's Thorsten Kaye Played?
When Thorsten Kaye took over the role of Ridge Forrester in 2013 from Ronn Moss, who had played "The Bold and the Beautiful" character for 25 years, Kaye came to the role as a seasoned soap opera veteran (via Michael Fairman TV). However, in the past, Kaye had not stepped into the role of an iconic character who was associated with one actor for such a long time. Still, Kaye managed to create his own brand for Ridge, and fans eventually ignored the fact that the Los Angeles-born character suddenly had a touch of a British accent.
Kaye, a German-born actor, grew up in London but moved to the U.S. to pursue an athletic college scholarship. However, his sports career hopes came to an end after a motorcycle crash, and Kaye turned to acting after this, earning a graduate degree in theater from Michigan's Wayne State University (via Soap Hub). That degree eventually led him to the world of soap operas.
Thorsten Kaye created the role of Patrick Thornhart
In 1996, Thorsten Kaye joined ABC's "One Life to Live" and his character swept Marty Saybrooke off her feet when he snuck into her room in an Irish inn while he was running from terrorists. Marty instinctively knew he was one of the good guys and helped him. They fell in love during this magical time, which included poetry and wine in Ireland, and Patrick Thornhart (Kaye) later moved to Llanview where they met up again and married (via Soaps.com). It was a whirlwind time on "OLTL," and it changed Kaye's life, too. First, it established him as a bona fide soap star, and second, it gave him a life full of love.
"OLTL" is where he met Susan Haskell, who played Marty. The two fell in love both on-and-off screen, and they've been together ever since. The pair are raising two daughters together named McKenna and Marlowe (via Soap Hub). The role of Patrick also gave birth to Kaye's second soap opera role. The character — and actor — were remembered when another ABC soap needed a brand-new doctor on the scene.
Thorsten Kaye played Patrick's twin on another soap
The "General Hospital" spin-off "Port Charles," a half-hour show that aired from 1997 to 2003, was the next soap Thorsten Kaye landed on (via IMDb). On the spin-off, Kaye played Patrick's twin brother, Dr. Ian Thornhart. Kaye made his debut on "PC" in 2000 and stayed with the soap until 2003. Ian was a doctor who had been working in third-world countries and didn't like everything he saw back in U.S. hospitals. He also got involved with some of the soap's vampire stories, a hallmark of the short-lived "Port Charles" (via Soap Central).
Ian was romantically paired with both Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring) and Eve Lambert (Julie Pinson), as was Dr. Kevin Collins (Jon Lindstrom). As such, the two men were never friends. However, all four characters remained on "Port Charles" until the soap left the airwaves, with Kevin and Lucy returning to "General Hospital," where they remain favorite characters in 2022.
Thorsten Kaye landed a new role on another ABC soap
Thorsten Kaye made it back to New York-based soaps after three years in Los Angeles-based "Port Charles" when he created the role of Zach Slater on "All My Children." In 2004, Kaye made his "AMC" debut and remained with the ABC soap until its last days in 2011 (per Soap Central). As Zach, Kaye became the love of Kendall Hart's (Alicia Minshew) life, thus making him Erica Kanes' son-in-law. Erica, of course, is the iconic soap opera character brought to life by Susan Lucci for the entirety of "AMC's" four-decade run (via Soaps.com).
After "All My Children" came to an end, Kaye was ready for soaps again. When "The Bold and the Beautiful" came calling in 2013 (via IMDb), Kaye took on the challenge of playing a recast. Nearly a decade later, he has made Ridge Forrester his own and is still going strong on the last remaining 30-minute soap.