Ian Buchanan Reveals Details of His Return to THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL! (EXCLUSIVE)
Great news! Ian Buchanan is coming back to daytime, but sadly for GENERAL HOSPITAL fans, he won’t be reprising his role of the dearly departed Duke Lavery. Nope! This time he’s returning to THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL as psychiatrist James Warwick! And as surprising as the news was to fans, the actor also never expected to see himself back on the CBS sudser. “I never thought about it,” he admitted to Soaps In Depth. I guess things happen, and great things happen, so it was a very nice surprise.”
(Photo Credit: Jim Warren)
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B&B recently brought Kimberlin Brown back as Sheila Carter, and while the villain claims to have reformed, the Forrester family isn’t quite convinced. So her former shrink, James, is brought back into the picture to try and find out exactly what’s up with her! Buchanan began taping at the beginning of July with his first episode scheduled to air on Thursday, Aug. 17.
“Not so much has changed,” the daytime vet admitted of returning to the B&B studio. “A lot of the crew are people that I know, so that makes it nice to come here. It’s lovely. It’s all very familiar. Of course, The Grove is right next door, and that’s a pleasant change. It used to just be the Farmer’s Market, which we all used to love and go to for lunch.”
In addition to GH and B&B, the daytime vet has also played Greg Madden on ALL MY CHILDREN and Ian McAllister on DAYS OF OUR LIVES. For his work on B&B, Buchanan earned five Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor, taking home the trophy in 1997.
“It’s very funny,” Buchanan said of his various soap roles. “I played a gynecologist and James is a psychiatrist with a medical background. It’s funny because it always reminds me of that commercial that said, ‘I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.’ I feel like for half of my life I’ve played these professional people that get into very dramatic situations. It’s so far removed from my own life. I tend to lead a fairly mellow, low-key life.”
Check out some classic photos from Buchanan’s impressive acting career in the special gallery below!
Kimberlin Brown (Sheila) and Ian Buchanan (James) in 1997. (Photo Credit: John Paschal/JPI)
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James first appeared on B&B back in 1993 when fellow psychiatrist Taylor helped him work through his issues with his abusive father, Damon. But when Eric brought Sheila to James to deal with her antisocial behavior, that was the beginning of a crazy roller coaster ride of kidnappings, attempted suicides, marriages, and babies! And Buchanan is hoping that the soap will offer up some fun flashbacks of James and Sheila’s colorful history.
“I met Kimberlin’s son and she said, ‘Oh, this is the one I was pregnant with when you pushed me off the roof in my wedding dress,’” the actor recalled. “I said, ‘I didn’t push you. I think you jumped.’ She said, ‘No, no, you pushed me.’ Her son was standing there watching us and he said, ‘Oh, seems like you have the same relationship with my mother that I have!’ I said, ‘Well, I actually had this relationship with your mother way before you were even thought about!’ This has been our working relationship from the get-go.”
James hasn’t been seen since 2011, but Buchanan confided to us that he’ll be available for as long as B&B needs him. “I can be,” he declared. “I’m available. I’m very happy to be here and my schedule is pretty much open.”
What will happen when James and Sheila come face-to-face after so many years? Stay tuned to find out!
For more B&B casting news, keep reading the CBS edition of Soaps In Depth magazine!
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