After several decades in the entertainment industry, Tom Arnold is accustomed to long hours on set and numerous pages of dialogue. But the actor was humbled to see just how hard soap opera stars work when he recently filmed a guest appearance on “The Bold and the Beautiful.”
"They were shockingly good at their jobs. I don’t know how they do it, but they do it very well," the 65-year-old tells TODAY.com in a recent interview.
Arnold appears in two upcoming episodes — airing July 30 and 31 — of the CBS daytime drama and plays Captain Deuce Stevens, a pilot tasked with transporting Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye), Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) to Monte Carlo for the relaunch of their company's fashion line, Brooke’s Bedroom.
Throughout his career, Arnold has had a wide range of TV and film roles, but this is just his second time appearing on a soap opera. He was in three episodes of "General Hospital" in 1994.
While describing how his guest role on "The Bold and the Beautiful" came about, Arnold explains that he's been friends with Brad Bell, the executive producer and head writer of the show, for years.
"(He) finally came through with our friendship. It finally paid off," he jokes.
When Bell told Arnold he could film two episodes in two to three hours, the star was pretty skeptical at first.
"I was like, 'He’s lying to me. There’s no way. It would be impossible,'" he recalls.
After Bell told Arnold his character was a pilot named Deuce, the actor was sold on the role.
“That’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of,” he teases.
Once Arnold arrived for his day of filming, he saw just how much of a well-oiled machine the set is.
"They really do shoot quickly, and not just quickly but efficiently. So it was better than I imagined," he says.
Arnold brings his signature sense of humor to the scenes, and his character has a funny interaction with Steffy, who forgets her passport.
“She had to start rifling through her $25,000 purse and look for a passport, and (she's) throwing clothes around. She had her stuff packed in there, and she's throwing (everything) on my head. But she went for it. It’s comically very, very funny," he says.
Like other daytime dramas, "The Bold and the Beautiful" is on five days a week, with new episodes airing most of the year. Watching the efficient production on set was enlightening for Arnold, who was used to a different pace while starring on "Roseanne" with his ex-wife Roseanne Barr.
“I remember one year ABC wanted 25 episodes of ‘Roseanne.’ And then the writers and everybody were like, 'We can't do it. Twenty five episodes?!' But (daytime soap operas) do hundreds. So I have even more respect for Brad Bell and his team over there because that’s a crazy thing to do," he says.
After he wrapped up filming for the day, Arnold took home a small memento to remember his time on set.
"The first thing I did was I took the star off my dressing room. It says 'Tom Arnold, "Bold and Beautiful."' And I put it in my house in my office so the kids could see it. I’m a single dad. They’re 8 and 11 and, they’re always like, 'Dad, you’re old.' (Now) I go, 'Come in here kids. See that sign? You have to be bold and beautiful, and that’s what your dad is.' So it was great fun," he says.
Arnold shares son Jax, 11, and daughter Quinn, 8, with ex-wife Ashley Groussman.
Arnold is the latest big name to guest star on the soap opera. Most recently, Clint Howard appeared in a series of episodes before being killed off in dramatic fashion.
Joking about the potential of following in Howard's footsteps, Arnold says, "It'd be an honor to be killed on 'The Bold and the Beautiful.'"
Though his time on set was short, Arnold says he’s eager to come back for more episodes if the opportunity presents itself.
“I have four ex-wives and two little kids and so I have to work forever," he jokes.
All kidding aside, Arnold thoroughly enjoyed the experience and hopes to reprise his role again. Until then, he's busy doing stand-up comedy on the road and recently wrapped up a film role.
“I’m looking forward to coming back. Deuce is looking forward to coming back,” he says.