60 Seconds with Actor Daniel McVicar

Exclusive interview by Karen Beishuizen

Daniel McVicar played Clarke Garrison in The Bold and The Beautiful for many seasons. But did you know he studied acting with Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg? He lives in Milan where he teaches at The International Cinema Academy.

KB: We know you best as Clarke Garrison in The Bold and The Beautiful which you played for many years: How did you get this part and what is your most fond recollection of playing this role?

Hi Karen thanks for the interview. I originally tested for the role of Ridge in 1986, and they remembered my test and created the role of Clarke Garrison in early 1987. I joined the cast in August of 1987, airing in September in episode 137. Playing Clarke was a great ride, and now I am enjoying the early episodes of the show on the official Bold and Beautiful YouTube channel. Seeing the early days of Clarke with Margo and Kristen, and now Sally comes on the scene.

KB: Are you still in touch with cast members although you left the show in 2009?

We stay in touch mostly by Instagram and Facebook.

KB: You made 17 appearances at the Late Late show with Craig Ferguson where you were his nemesis: How did you become Craig’s nemesis?

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson shoots in the same building as The Bold and the Beautiful, so when they had an idea for a sketch, they invited me to come upstairs and shoot.
It was a little bit of magic; we got some good laughs with Craig and so the sketch just grew from there. It was a blast doing it, I love comedy.

KB: You starred in The Fourth Planet by Russian director Dimitris Astrakhan: You had to speak Russian during the whole movie: How hard was it to learn this language? And how did you learn it?

That is one of the films that I am most proud of. You can find it on YouTube, all in Russian. You must search for it by the Cyrillic spelling. I met the director Dimitri Astrakhan at the Cairo Film Festival and loved his film You are My Only Love. He invited me to join the cast of his next film The Fourth Planet, and I was the only non-Russian in the film. I had an interpreter, but studied the dialogue every night for hours, and successfully was able to put it on film. When I worked on the dialogue, I wanted to have a word for word translation. So that I thought as the character did, instead of a general translation, which sort of makes it a general interpretation.

KB: You are a member of Mensa, the high IQ society? How can one become a member and what is your own IQ?

To be a member of Mensa, you can check their website. As for my IQ, I forgot what it was.

KB: You are a former student of Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg? This was at The Actors Studio? And you are teaching acting now yourself?

I had the great privilege of studying with some amazing teachers. Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg were theatre and acting history and connected me to the work of The Group Theatre and Stanislavski in a direct line. I teach now, at the International Cinema Academy in Milan.

KB: Do you have any series or movies coming up? Any role you would like to play in a movie or series?

I just finished playing a role in Soldier Under the Moon, shot in Umbria Italy. I have an affinity for European independent productions now, but you know, a Marvel Film role comes with a personal trainer, so I am game for that as well.

KB: The world is slowly coming out of a 2-year lock down: what did you do to keep yourself busy? Any hobbies?

My hobby is cooking. I am gearing up my own cooking channel, A Curious Fork. Follow me on Instagram @danielmcvicar and when that goes live you will be in the know. See you there!