Scott Clifton revealed he was prepared for The Bold and the Beautiful to kill off his character, William “Liam” Spencer III, before the writers shocked him and viewers with an epic comeback twist.
Clifton, who has played Liam on the show since 2010, told Soap Opera Digest on Wednesday, October 29, that executive producer and head writer Bradley Bell warned him that Liam was going to die this season — but it never came to fruition.
“Brad was really honest and generous with me and we had a conversation where he told me he felt that Liam had been written into a corner,” Clifton, 40, recalled. “He said, ‘Liam has gotten married and divorced so many times and he’s sort of ping-ponged back and forth between these two women [Hope and Steffy] so many times and I don’t know where to go from here. But please know that I still value you as an employee and an actor.’”
The actor confessed he’d been “worried” about his story line “for at least the last decade,” noting that Liam going back and forth between Hope (Annika Noelle) and Steffy (MacInnes Wood) made him “more unlikable” every season.
Clifton said he “totally got” where Bell was coming from since he felt like Liam “never” learned his lesson while juggling his two love interests.
So when Bell informed Clifton that Liam would have an inoperable brain tumor to end his character’s time on The Bold and the Beautiful, the actor wasn’t surprised.
Annika Noelle and Scott Clifton as Hope and Liam on ‘The Bold and the Beautiful.’ Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images
“Brad was kind enough to call me into his office and sit me down and have a whole conversation with me about why he was [killing Liam off],” Clifton remembered. “He was a total prince about it. He was like, ‘I love working with you and you’re an asset to the show, but I’ve figured out what I want to do with Liam.’”
According to Clifton, Bell planned to give Liam a “really poignant send-off,” and he began to prepare for his swan song on the show.
“I had every reason to believe that they really were going to kill me off on the show,” Clifton mused. “It was a very real conversation that I had with Brad — I really was supposed to kick the old soap opera bucket.”
Liam, however, didn’t die. Instead, it was revealed in July that Dr. Grace Buckingham (Cassandra Creech) faked Liam’s brain scan to extort millions from his father, Bill Spencer (Don Diamont). Bill paid for Liam’s experimental treatment and Grace’s plan was exposed after a deranged Luna Nozawa (Lisa Yamada) shot Liam. (Grace wanted the money to pay off her ex’s gambling debt.)
“I don’t know exactly what it was that changed his mind,” Clifton told the outlet of Bell’s switch in the script. “But I got a phone call at home from Mr. Bell and he said, ‘You know what? I changed my mind. I’m going to figure out a way to [spare Liam]. I have this idea, and it has to do with Luna and tying these two different storylines together. I think I’m going to shoot you.’”
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Bell proceeded to tell Clifton that Liam would get shot, but would survive. Clifton, however, confessed he was skeptical about his comeback.
“I was so thrilled to be employed again, but I was kind of going, ‘How on earth are you gonna pull this off? I mean, yes, it’s a soap opera, but you have established beyond any question that this dude is dying!’” Clifton explained. “But sure enough, he figured out this very complex, elaborate way to save Liam!”
Clifton confirmed he is excited to continue his journey on the soap, joking, “I would trade 100 goodbye deathbed speeches for an ongoing career.”
The Bold and the Beautiful airs on CBS weekdays at 1:30 p.m. ET and 12:30 p.m. PT.
