Thorsten Kaye (born Thorsten Ernst Kieselbach, 22 February 1966) is a German-British actor. His best known roles include Patrick Thornhart on ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'', Dr. Ian Thornhart on ''

Port Charles ''Port Charles'' (commonly abbreviated as ''PC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from June 1, 1997, to October 3, 2003. It was a spin-off of the series ''General Hospital'', which has been running since 1963 and takes pl ...

'',

Zach Slater Zach Slater is a fictional character from the American drama, ''All My Children''. He was portrayed by actor Thorsten Kaye from May 20, 2004 to November 19, 2010; Thorsten returned to the role on August 5, 2011 to September 23, 2011. In 2006, the ...

on ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...

'' and Ridge Forrester on ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...

''.

Acting career

Kaye was born in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

. He appeared in many classical theater roles, including ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some cri ...

'', ''

Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; french: Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur, ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical thea ...

'', ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'', ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'', ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'', ''

Love's Labour's Lost ''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and his three companions a ...

'', ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

'', and ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunk ...

'', both in London and with the Hilberry Repertory Company in Detroit. Kaye then moved to Los Angeles, where he acted in many television shows, including the miniseries,

Sidney Sheldon Sidney Sheldon (February 11, 1917 – January 30, 2007) was an American writer. He was prominent in the 1930s, first working on Broadway plays, and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy '' The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxe ...

's ''Nothing Lasts Forever,'' before moving to New York to play Patrick Thornhart on ABC's ''

'' (1995–1997). The character gained quite a bit of popularity, and it is where he would meet his real life partner, Susan Haskell. After completing a two-year stint on ''OLTL'', Thorsten did some guest starring work for other shows, as well as starring in a few feature films. In April 2000, Thorsten accepted the role of the dedicated physician Ian Thornhart (Patrick's older brother) on the ABC daytime soap (and the

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

show of ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after '' ...

''), ''

'' (2000–2003). He appeared on the soap until its run ended in October 2003. Thorsten received two Daytime Emmy Award Nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor for his portrayal of Ian in 2003 and 2004. In April 2004, Thorsten returned to New York to join the cast of the ABC soap ''

'' in the role of casino owner,

. He was nominated for two

Daytime Emmy Awards The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

in 2006 and 2009. Thorsten portrayed Slater until December 2009. He returned three times in 2010, and again in 2011 to bring Zach's storyline to a close when ''AMC'' came to an end after 41 years, in September 2011. Thorsten Kaye has one of the lead roles in a new psychological thriller (feature-length film) titled ''Occupant'', which was released in the U.S and Canada in October 2011 on demand in many cable/satellite markets as well as on most digital platforms, including iTunes, Amazon, Blockbuster, and PlayStation. In 2012, Kaye began appearing in the role of Nick, a recurring character on the NBC series '' Smash''. In October 2013, it was announced that Kaye was cast to portray Ridge Forrester on ''

'', replacing originator Ronn Moss, who departed the series in 2012 after 25 years in the role.

Personal life

When not working, Kaye enjoys music, literature and riding American motorcycles. He is a fan of the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

and the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and are ...

. While appearing on ''

'', he met his partner, Susan Haskell, who played his on-show love interest ( Margaret "Marty" Saybrooke). The two currently have two daughters, McKenna (born February 2003) and Marlowe (born January 2007). Kaye was an active blogger for the Detroit Red Wings at NHL.com during the 2008 and 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs.''Thorsten Kaye – Time to flip the switch'' – NHL.com
/ref>

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Thorsten Kaye profile

ThorstenKaye.com – The Official Thorsten Kaye Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaye, Thorsten 1966 births Living people Wayne State University alumni German expatriate male actors in the United States Actors from Frankfurt German poets United States International University alumni German male film actors German male television actors German male poets German male soap opera actors