How Many Actors Played Thorne On The Bold And The Beautiful?
"The Bold and the Beautiful's" Thorne Forrester has always lived in his older brother's shadow since the soap first premiered 35 years ago. He always seemed to pine after a woman after his brother, Ridge Forrester (first played by Ronn Moss, now Thorsten Kaye), would also show an interest and Thorne went so far as marrying his brother's exes at one time or another, per Soaps In Depth.
Of course, Thorne has also had his own loves through the decades, and he has lost them in tragic ways. The character has come and gone from the soap's fictional version of Los Angeles over the last several years, but in 2022, he made an appearance in Brooke Logan's (Katherine Kelly Lang) man fantasy that celebrated the show's 35th anniversary, per TV Insider. Thorne could always return for real one day, but who might play him as several actors have made the role theirs since 1987?
Clayton Norcross was the original Thorne Forrester
From 1987-1989, Clayton Norcross played Thorne Forrester, Eric (John McCook) and Stephanie Forrester (Susan Flannery) younger of their two sons. Norcross' Thorne was infatuated with his brother Ridge Forrester's fiancé, Caroline Spencer (Joanna Johnson), but she desperately loved Ridge. However, when Caroline caught Ridge cheating with Brooke Logan, she impulsively married Thorne. Still, their marriage was not meant to last because she always had feelings for Ridge. It didn't help that Thorne also shot his brother, with Stephanie taking the fall for her son and calling it an accident, per Soaps In Depth.
Norcross was a relative daytime newcomer when he landed the role of Thorne, having only played the part of a lifeguard on the NBC soap "Santa Barbara" in 1986. He only played Thorne for a brief two years and later went on to amass a number of credits over the next several decades, including appearances on shows like "Hawaii Five-O," "Baywatch Nights," and "Agent Carter," per IMDb.
Jeff Trachta was the second actor to play Thorne
In 1989, Jeff Trachta took over the role of Thorne Forreter from Clayton Norcross and Thorne finally found a woman of his own to love. A singer who appeared on Broadway in a revival of "Grease" while playing Thorne in 1994, per Broadway World, Trachta turned Thorne into a singer who frequently performed his music on the soap along with Thorne's love and singing partner, Macy Alexander (Bobbie Eakes). Thorne and Macy were also star-crossed lovers as their families hated one another. Macy's mother, knockoff fashion designer Sally Spectra (Darlene Conley), was a direct rival of high-end fashion designer, Eric Forrester, per Soaps In Depth.
Trachta left the role of Thorne behind in 1996 and seemed to fall off the face of the earth as he has very few acting credits listed after that, according to IMDb. However, in 2017, Trachta had a comeback of sorts when he competed on "America's Got Talent" as The Singing Trump, according to Soap Opera Digest. Unfortunately, Trachta's Donald Trump impersonation did not make him the overall winner that season.
Winsor Harmon was the third Thorne Forrester
Perhaps the most well-known and best-remembered Thorne was Winsor Harmon, who remained in the role for 20 years. Harmon had already made a name for himself on daytime television as Del Henry, the long-lost half-brother of popular heroine Dixie Cooney (Cady McClain), on "All My Children" before assuming the role of Thorne in 1996, per IMDb.
Harmon's Thorne also shared a star-crossed love with Macy Alexander, but that didn't stop him from having relationships with his brother's women, particularly Brooke Logan and Taylor Hayes (then played by Hunter Tylo). After Macy was tragically killed, Thorne finally became a dad when he fell for Darla Einstein (Schae Harrison). After Darla died, he was a single dad who raised his daughter, Ally, on his own, per Soaps In Depth.
Harmon remained in the role until 2016, but didn't appear often his last few years on the show. In 2018, TMZ reported that Harmon was arrested for public drunkenness twice within a few month period. In 2022, he again brought Thorne to life, but only in Brooke Logan's fantasy.
Ingo Rademacher was the fourth Thorne
In 2017, "General Hospital" alum, who had played Jasper 'Jax' Jacks on and off since 1996 was surprisingly cast as Thorne Forrester and nobody noticed he had developed a thick Australian accent. Thorne oddly fell for Katie Logan (Heather Tom) and on a whim they got married so she would have a better chance of winning custody of her young son from Bill Spencer (Don Diamont). But, things did not work out for Katie and Thorne, and by 2019 Rademacher was out and Thorne left town, per Soaps In Depth.
Rademacher ended up on "GH" again within a few months, where he stayed until 2021. The actor was let go from the ABC soap for refusing to comply with Disney/ABC's COVID-19 vaccine mandate and in December, he sued the network claiming that it violated his constitutional rights by letting him go from the soap, per Variety.