User:Livelikemusic/Rick Forrester

Casting and creation
The role of Rick Forrester was originated by child actor Jeremy Snider, who remained in the role from 1991 to January 1995. The character was aged to a teen with Steve Hartman from playing the role on a recurring basis from December 1995 to December 1997.

In December 1997, actor Jacob Young took over the role. He remained in the role of Rick until the fall of 1999, when the actor decided to leave the series. For his portrayal of Rick, he received a Daytime Emmy nomination In 1999 for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series.

Following Young's departure, the role was recast with then-unknown actor Justin Torkildsen. During Torkildsen's run, he holds the record for being the longest actor to portray Rick, holding the role from Fall 1999 to November 2006. In December 2006, it was announced that former star of the NBC Daytime series Days Of Our Lives, actor Kyle Lowder, known for his five-year portrayal of Brady Black, would join the cast in January 2007. Lowder remained with the series until in January 2011 when it was announced that Lower and executive producer Bradley Bell had reached a mutual decision to write the character off due to lack of storyline and creative direction.

Later that year, it was confirmed that original adult actor Jacob Young would reprise the role of Rick, twelve years after departing the role. Since departing the series, Young went on to portray Lucky Spencer on ABC's General Hospital, and became most recognized as JR Chandler on All My Children, until the serial's end in September 2011. Young first began airing on September 26, 2011. When asked about how his return happened, Young stated:

Brad [Bell, executive producer/head writer] contacted my manager and basically asked him if I would be interested in coming back and [said] that the character of Rick Forrester hadn't been the same since I left. He basically put it out there and that's how it started. My manager called me, we talked about it a bit and just kind of threw around some possibilities. They seemed excited. There have been times where some people from the production staff over there kind of dropped hints over the years, but I was very happy playing JR and being on ALL MY CHILDREN and living in New York and I really wasn't prepared to make that change. But now that there's uncertainty and change happening, it was pretty easy for me to be able to make that choice.

Though originally intended to be a 13-week engagement, Young agreed to extend his stay. He further confirmed in interviews that he did not go onto the planned online version of All My Children due to the insecurity it could potentially have job-wise, something he would not have with his return to The Bold and the Beautiful.

Following the departure of original cast member Ronn Moss, it was announced that Rick would become the new focal point of the series, becoming the so-called "new Ridge".