Clint Howard Recalls His ‘Exhilarating’ Experience Working on The Bold and The Beautiful: ‘It Was Go Time’ (Exclusive)

The Bold and the Beautiful on CBS 0 

Clint Howard is used to poring over "tons of dialogue," but for the veteran actor, starring in The Bold and the Beautiful means 
returning to the fast pace at which he works. haven't experienced it since it appeared in Santa Barbara in 1987.

Howard, 64, discussed with PEOPLE his new role on The Bold and the Beautiful, appearing in the April 26 and April 29 episodes as the 
mysterious homeless man Tom, who provides Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan) and Dr. John Finnegan (Tanner Novlan) with pivotal clues to a
 mystery.
Clint Howard joining 'The Bold and The Beautiful.'

Howard shot his scenes with Kanan and Novlan just weeks before the episodes are set to air, which he says proves to be an 
“exhilarating” experience, partly due to the show’s brisk pace of production.

“You're handed a lot of scenes to do and you'd better be prepared,” Howard told PEOPLE. “I was taught by both my mother and dad, 
Rance and Jean Howard, since I was a little kid that my primary responsibility is to be prepared to show up to work, even as a very 
young child… And then knowing that soap operas, it's possible to get handed boatloads of dialogue, and you've got to learn it. 
You've got to understand it. You got to be able to deliver it. You got to be light on your feet.”

In PEOPLE's exclusive first look of the scenes, Howard looks almost unrecognizable as Tom, sporting long hair, a beard and a hoodie
 over several shirts while talking to Novlan and Kanan.
Clint Howard and Ron Howard during an interview with host Seth Meyers on October 11, 2021

When the actor was first approached for the role, Howard notes he already had long shaggy hair, which suited the role of Tom
 perfectly.

"There was this homeless guy that the team over The Bold and The Beautiful has invented. They looked at me and they said, 'homeless
 guy,'" he jokes about his appearance on the show.

Howard's return to soaps is a long time coming. In 1987, the actor appeared as an orderly named Marshall in three episodes of Santa 
Barbara, which ran for nine seasons from 1984 to 1993.

"That was a freedom. That was another lifetime ago,” he recalls of the project. “I didn't have as much to do on Santa Barbara as I
 did on Bold and The Beautiful, and I haven't gone back and looked at it. I don't even know if I could.”
The actor joins a long list of surprise guest stars who have popped up on The Bold and The Beautiful over the years, including Bob
 Barker, Drew Carey, Gina Rodriguez and Betty White. Last fall, Marie Osmond appeared as the wealthy Countess Von Frankfurt — a role
 she told PEOPLE at the time that she "enjoyed" for its unusual nature. ("It's not one [character] that I've played before," she
 said then.)

Howard, for his part, hints his character Tom could return in future episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful. In the meantime, the 
actor is keeping busy in other ways, appearing recently on Pauly Shore's podcast The JITV Show, spending time with wife Katherine
 Cruz (who visited him on set of The Bold and the Beautiful) and enjoying quality moment with friends like Dee Wallace, helping the
 E.T. star celebrates her 75th birthday in December.
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