Soap opera fans were ecstatic when The Bold and the Beautiful cast daytime veteran Ted King in the role of Finn's (Tanner Novlan) dad, Jack Finnegan, last year. The actor had already wowed fans as Lorenzo Alcazar and Luis Alcazar on General Hospital, Danny Roberts on The City, and Tomas Delgado on One Life to Live, so viewers knew that whatever he was going to do on B&B was going to be good. Damn good. And they were right!
The actor immediately hit it out of the park in his brief stint on the CBS soap, which saw Jack blindsiding his wife, Li (Naomi Matsuda), with the news that their adopted son, Finn, was actually his biological son, who'd come into existence via his affair with schemer Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown). The material was strong, and naturally gifted King made it stronger -- thus, his nomination in the Outstanding Guest Performer category at this year's Daytime Emmy Awards.
Soap Central: Hi, Ted! Congratulations on your Emmy nomination!
Ted King: Thank you very much.
Soap Central: How do you feel about receiving this honor?
King: Well, it is an honor. I'm feeling really blessed.
Soap Central: Has it been a bit of a whirlwind with lots of phone calls and text messages? Today is the day all of the nominees' phones blow up.
King: And I'm sure they all are! I've sent a few messages myself to my co-cast members, and then I've been getting other emails about other, non-Emmy related things, as well, so, it's been quite a busy day.
Soap Central: How did you find out that you'd been nominated?
King: Brad Bell [our executive producer and head writer] called me, which was amazing.
Soap Central: Have you had the chance to share the news with any of your family members or friends yet?
King: I shared it with my wife; she's working at the hospital, so it took awhile for her to get back to me, but she was thrilled. And then I shared it with some very close friends of mine that I've known since college, some guys that I get together with on a regular basis, and they were all pretty happy for me.
Soap Central: Does being nominated feel anything like you imagined it would feel?
King: I honestly never imagined it -- that's not why I do what I do. But it's always nice to be recognized. I know that sounds trite, but I don't mean it to be. I do appreciate people paying attention to the work. As my teacher told me years ago, it's the only art form you can't do by yourself -- you must have an audience. So, it's nice when people are paying attention.
Soap Central: What scenes did you include on your Emmy reel?
King: There were quite a few. It started with scenes at Finn and Steffy's [Jacqueline MacInnes Wood] wedding and then moved into heavier scenes with Naomi, who's also been nominated, and I'm thrilled for her. She played my wife, Li Finnegan, and so I included a scene from [their conversation when Jack revealed the truth about Finn's parentage], and then I included several scenes with Sheila, Kimberlin Brown. And then there was one final scene with Tanner Novlan, so me and Finn, where it was basically mea culpa -- I had done bad things, and I needed to come clean to my son! [Laughs]
Soap Central: Do you remember anything about filming any of those scenes? So many of them were game-changing moments for Jack, Finn, Li, Steffy -- everyone!
King: I remember them like they were yesterday, of course! They were intense. It seemed like it started out with huge scenes with all of the Forresters at the wedding, which was pretty soon after I joined the show, and I was working with these veteran actors who have been working together for years and years and years, so there's always that trepidation on my part of stepping into an atmosphere with people who know each other so well and work so well together. But they welcomed me with open arms, and they were so gracious, and I was very grateful, because it made the transition for me much easier. There honestly isn't a bad actor on that show, so I was always working with great people and great talent and getting an opportunity to play ball, which is what we do. We throw the ball back and forth -- and hopefully we catch it!
Soap Central: I think you have, as proven by your Emmy nomination! And Naomi Matsuda was nominated, as well. How do you feel about sharing the category with her and the other talented people who've been nominated?
King: Well, I really only know Naomi's work, but I'm sure the others are amazing. Naomi hit the ground running. She hadn't done daytime before, so we had a lot of conversations early on about that and about the style of shooting and how different it is than any other acting format. She embraced it and obviously succeeded!
Soap Central: How does it feel for you to know that this year, we're returning to an in-person Emmy ceremony, where you and your castmates get to celebrate together? Is that something you're looking forward to?
King: I'm really looking forward to seeing my wife in a gorgeous formal outfit.
Soap Central: Aaawww! That's such a sweet answer!
King: I am so excited for her to get dressed up, because she really would like that and really needs that, after several years of COVID at home with the kids. So, I'm really happy that she and I can go and enjoy the event.
Soap Central: How early do you think you'll start planning what you will wear?
King: I don't know, maybe like an hour before? [Laughs] I'll probably just grab an old suit and put it on.
Soap Central: Do you think you will prepare an acceptance speech ahead of time?
King: I don't know! I really haven't thought about it. I have no idea what to do. First of all, it's been so long since I've attended an event like this, and I feel like as long as nobody slaps me across the face, I'll probably have a good time! [Laughs]
Soap Central: Well, fingers crossed! Are you going to celebrate receiving your nomination tonight or maybe this weekend?
King: I'm going to celebrate Mother's Day first and foremost with my beautiful wife and kids, and then her birthday is next week, so we'll think about that, and then somewhere in between, we'll raise a glass of wine in recognition.
What do you think about Ted King being nominated for an Emmy? What did you think of his work as Jack Finnegan? Do you think he'll take home the gold this year? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
