John Thomas McCook (born June 20, 1944) is an American television actor. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of the character Lance Prentiss on the television soap opera ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

'' (from 1975 - 1980)''.'' Since March 1987, he has played the role of

Eric Forrester Eric Forrester is a fictional character from the American CBS Daytime soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', played by John McCook. He made his debut screen appearance on March 23, 1987, the show's first episode. The character appeared bri ...

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 ''Th ...

'', winning the

Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an act ...

in 2022 after four nominations.

Career

McCook was discovered by Jack Warner while performing in a production of ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

''. He signed to Universal Studios before spending two years in the US Army. McCook portrayed the character of Lance Prentiss on ''

'' from October 1975 to February 1980, leaving when the show moved to the hour format. Since March 1987, he has played the role of

on ''

''. Currently, McCook and

Katherine Kelly Lang Katherine Kelly Lang (born Katherine Kelly Wegeman; July 25, 1961) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Brooke Logan in the CBS soap opera '' The Bold and the Beautiful'' of the CBS Daytime programming block. Early life L ...

(

Brooke Logan Brooke Logan is a fictional character from ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', an American soap opera on the CBS network. She has been portrayed by Katherine Kelly Lang since the series's debut in March 1987. The character is part of the original fo ...

) are the show's two longest-serving actors, and both debuted in the first episode. McCook is only eight years older than

Ronn Moss Ronald Montague Moss (born March 4, 1952) is an American actor, musician and singer/songwriter, a member of the band Player, and best known for portraying Ridge Forrester, the dynamic fashion magnate on the CBS soap opera ''The Bold and the ...

, who formerly played his

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

on the show. He has performed in musical theatre, and has appeared as a guest on dozens of primetime series. ''B&B'' co-star

Winsor Harmon Winsor Harmon (born November 22, 1963) is an American actor best known for his role as Thorne Forrester on the American soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautiful''. He took over the role from Jeff Trachta in December 1996 and stayed with the show ...

once starred with McCook on an episode of ''

Acapulco H.E.A.T. ''Acapulco H.E.A.T.'' is a 1993 syndicated television series. It follows the adventures of the "Hemisphere Emergency Action Team" (H.E.A.T.), a group of top-secret agents based in Acapulco, Mexico, recruited by "C-5", a secret, inter-governmental ...

'' filmed in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Harmon told ''

Soap Opera Digest ''Soap Opera Digest'' was a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It featured onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional ...

'' about their guest stint on ''H.E.A.T.'':

"I hung out with John McCook the whole time and I kept watching all these people from other countries asking for his autograph. I'm thinking to myself, 'Who the hell is this guy?' So one night, we were drinking Coronas and I asked him why he had so many fans and he explained how '' B&B'' was so popular around the world. I had no idea. The more he talked about it, the more I was thinking, 'I want to be on that show.'... The first time I drove into the parking lot, there was John, just pointing at me and laughing. He asked what I was doing here and I told him that I was Thorne. That's when he told me that he was going to be playing my dad. That was just too wild."

In 2001, 2012, and 2018, McCook received a Daytime Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Lead Actor category for his portrayal of Eric Forrester. In 2022, McCook won the

for the same role.

Personal life

John McCook has been married since 1980 to former actress Laurette Spang, with whom he has three children, Jake Thomas (born 1981), Rebecca Jeanne (born 1983), and Molly (born July 30, 1990) who is also an actress. He was married twice previously, including to dancer/actress

Juliet Prowse Juliet Anne Prowse (25 September 1936 – 14 September 1996) was a British-American dancer and actress whose four-decade career included stage, television and film. She was born in Bombay (today's Mumbai) then of British India, raised in South ...

(1972–1979), by whom he had one son, Seth (born in August 1972). John McCook lives with his family in the

Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, ...

Filmography

Television

Film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCook, John 1944 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors American male soap opera actors Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winners People from Ventura, California