The term "holy smokes" pretty much sums up the life of The Bold and the Beautiful's Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor) at this moment. Hot on the heels of finding out that his fiancée, Zoe (Kiara Barnes), had the hots for another man, he broke off his engagement and unexpectedly -- very unexpectedly -- found himself between the sheets with his boss's wife, Quinn (Rena Sofer)!
The unlikely pair is having one hell of a hard time keeping their steamy fling secret, especially because Quinn told her friend Shauna (Denise Richards), and Shauna then claimed that she was the one sleeping with Carter when Zoe almost caught Carter and Quinn having sex! It's enough to make anyone's head spin, and it's definitely enough to blow up the canvas -- which it will do in the near future, no doubt.
The big questions now are: Will Carter and Quinn be able to keep their secret? Will the pair be tempted to sleep with each other again? Why did Carter decide to get back together with Zoe? And when this massive secret comes out, will it threaten Carter's place on the canvas and Lawrence Saint-Victor's place on the show? Soap Central spoke with the actor to find out.
Soap Central: What were your first thoughts when you learned that Carter was going to be jumping into bed with Quinn? I don't think anyone saw that coming!
Saint-Victor: I didn't even see it coming! Brad [Bell, executive producer and head writer] gave me a call not too long after we finished the chapter with Zoe and Carter and said, "So, I'm thinking of a new storyline with Carter and Quinn." And I was like, "Whaaaaat?!" I was through the roof, because it is something I would never have thought in a million years, and I absolutely loved it. I loved it because I had no idea what that would be, what that would look like, and I loved that it was new. He didn't even go into details -- it was just the idea, and I couldn't wait. I knew it would be something no one would see coming.
Soap Central: Considering you've written some episodes yourself, do you have any insight as to what gave Brad and the writing team the idea to put these two together?
Saint-Victor: No, and I was so excited about it that it didn't even cross my mind to ask! [Laughs] But that is an interesting question.
Soap Central: I'd really love to know. Like, did they see you and Rena Sofer chatting on set one day and see a potential spark?!
Saint-Victor: They haven't seen us chat because, with the pandemic, we haven't been around each other much outside of scenes, and we haven't had our anniversary parties or anything like that. And before this, any scene you saw Carter and Quinn in -- and there weren't a whole lot -- we were not on the same page. A fan just put up an old video of me questioning Rick [Jacob Young], saying, "You can't hire Quinn. She's dangerous." So, there hasn't been room for sparks!
Soap Central: Either way, fans have really gotten on board with this! Many viewers are like, "This is great! Let's see more!" But will we see more? How does Carter feel about Quinn? It seems to go beyond just sex.
Saint-Victor: I don't think it's something that he can even articulate, and at this point, he won't allow himself to define it -- especially how we left off with Carter going back to Zoe, and Quinn going back to Eric. For Carter, there's this bond with Quinn, this connection, and we saw it before the sex even happened. Why is it so easy for these two to talk to each other? Why is it a breath of fresh air? They're talking about some very uncomfortable things -- Quinn is questioning whether Eric loves her, and Carter is questioning whether Zoe ever loved him -- but when they talk to each other about it, there's a sense of peace and ease. They have this bond, this connection, and it's hard to describe it or put it into words. It manifested itself in something physical, but I think the second they sat on that couch with each other, they realized, "I'm safe with you." And that did something. But I don't think they can fully articulate what that is yet.
Soap Central: The ease between Carter and Quinn really does seem so natural. Did you get that same sort of ease working with Rena, where you thought, "Wow, this is easy. We work well together!"
Saint-Victor: Yeah! When Brad told us about the storyline, we jumped on the phone the same day, just to talk. And right away, we found that the passion was on the page, the sexiness was on the page, so we just focused on, "What's the bond? What's the connection?" We just naturally found that you see Quinn completely in angst with anxiety around Eric, and you see Carter angry and frowning when Zoe comes around. But when Quinn and Carter sit with each other, they smile. And I think that is something that Rena and I found in the words. I would say that yes, through the work, Rena and I naturally connected. And we're both playful. We both have a similar play spirit.
Soap Central: Speaking of playfulness, the storyline has already led to some fun moments, like Carter and Quinn almost getting caught by Zoe, until Quinn quickly hid. What have some of those lighter scenes been like to deliver?
Saint-Victor: It's so much fun! What's so great about this storyline is it goes from dramatic "I feel lonely and lost," to hot and steamy "oh my goodness," to comedy and levity. There's levity when Zoe comes in and you guys think he's caught, and then you get a shot of Quinn under the bed, like, "How did she get down there so fast?!" [Laughs] It's amazing to be in a storyline that is constantly changing. Its tone shifts with every episode, and that is so much fun. Honestly, our directors and our writers and, of course, Brad, are the ones painting all of those scenes. It's all there on the page, and it's incredibly fun to play. Every episode is its own thing, which is so much fun.
Soap Central: A lot of fans have viewed Carter as the ultimate good guy and think that he would never sleep with a married woman, yet he did. What do you think about that shift in his moral code?
Saint-Victor: Okay, I've been thinking about this question a lot because I've gotten it a lot from fans, and even my mom, who is a diehard fan, she called me right away and said, "What is he doing?!" [Laughs] I think Carter is a morally good person, but we don't know what he can handle yet. You can't say, "He would never," because we've never seen him in that situation before. So, Carter is a good person, but that goodness takes a lot of effort -- he's not just naturally walking a straight line. He's very disciplined, and he's very responsible, but all these things take an amount of effort, and when he is pushed or pressure is put on him or he's heartbroken, then that straight line gets a little foggy for him. So, yes, you can count on him -- he's good, and you can trust him with anything -- but Maya [Karla Mosley] breaks his heart, Zoe breaks his heart, and it's hard now. It's hard. So, I'd say [to the fans] that you're being introduced to Carter: you saw what he wanted you to see, but I think you're starting to get introduced to who he really is on the inside, which is the flawed guy who has an idea of morality, but that can easily be thrown under pressure.
Soap Central: Are there any moments from his past that you can think of that kind of hinted to that?
Saint-Victor: We saw it when Ridge [Thorsten Kaye] and Steffy [Jacqueline MacInnes Wood] wanted him to do some things to make it so Quinn didn't have the power of attorney years ago with Eric, and Carter didn't want to because it was wrong, but under that pressure with people he cared about, he felt like he had to make some decisions that were not correct. And then, with Maya, Carter came on to Maya after she was with Rick and married. He told her how he felt about her, and she said no, and he respected that, but there have been moments where his goodness had a question mark.
Soap Central: What is going through Carter's head in terms of why he decided to get back together with Zoe? Does he feel like that's the best way to be "good," or is it really about love and wanting to be with Zoe?
Saint-Victor: I think it's all of the above! First, Carter never stopped loving Zoe. You can only be that cold and that angry because you're hurting, and if you're hurting, it's because you care. You saw Carter with Zoe, and he was very standoffish, and he was very, "No, no, no." That doesn't sound like somebody who's over it. Somebody who is over it is over it! So, I think that's there. And then, yeah, everything he said in the moment [of their reconciliation] wasn't conniving, and I don't think he had this plan of, "Well, if I get with you, it does x, y, and z." But I think in that moment, he was thinking, "When was I the person that I enjoyed, that I loved, who I thought was honorable?" He was that person right before Ridge told him about Zoe and Zende [Delon De Metz]! Up until that point, Carter was living his best life ever. He was COO, he was getting married, everything was perfect. And I think in this panic, this "I don't know what to do" moment, he thought, "I need to latch on to who I remember or the idea of who I thought I was." And in that moment with Zoe, he thinks, "It was with you, before all of this crap happened, and maybe if we can go back, then this bond and this connection that I have with Quinn, maybe it will be stifled. Maybe I can stifle this thing that is wrong, that I don't have control over." And I think that's what is scary about it for him, too -- he is scared! Not that he'll get caught, necessarily, but scared of how out of control he is, how he knows it's wrong, and also [knowing] that if he stands in a room with Quinn for too long, it stops feeling wrong. If he's in a room with Quinn for long enough, the guilt goes away. And that is scary! It's like you can't control yourself. So, yeah, I think in that moment, he was just trying to grab at some sort of lifeline, and Zoe is it.
Soap Central: So, are you saying it's going to be hard for Carter and Quinn to be in the same room together?!
Saint-Victor: Yes and no, and that's the problem! [Laughs] It should be hard. It should be, "Stay away from me!" But there's a chance that all of that "stay away from me" could easily disappear, and that's their problem. There was an episode when they were in bed, and they both said, "It doesn't feel wrong." And Rena and I were working on it and talking about it, and it was so interesting because they know they should both feel guilty, but they just don't. And it's not until they're back in the real world, away from each other, where the guilt weighs, and the "what have I done?" weighs. But in each other's presence, the same thing you saw on the couch, it's all of a sudden very easy. It doesn't hurt so much. So, to answer your question, I don't know! It could be easier, or it could not, and that's the problem!
Soap Central: How wracked with guilt is Carter over betraying Eric? And not just Eric, but the whole Forrester family, who have taken Carter in as one of their own?
Saint-Victor: I think the guilt is heavy. It's unimaginable. He can't even believe he's this person or that he did this. The idea of hurting Ridge and Eric, for no reason other than a lack of self-control, is something that is hard for Carter to even fathom, and it's getting more real every day. I loved that scene when Ridge told Carter about Zoe and you just saw how much he loves his friend and he hated that he was putting his friend through this, and the thought that Carter is about to do this to Eric? Carter feels awful. But the problem is, those feelings of feeling awful fade when he's in Quinn's presence! [Laughs] All of a sudden, he's telling her, "You had a need, we had a need!" And then, before you know it, they're so close, and their breath is in each other's face, and yeah... But away from her, he hates himself. The closer he gets to her, I don't know...
Soap Central: It will be interesting to see how Carter handles his guilt in comparison to how Liam (Scott Clifton) has handled his, because Liam has been falling apart these past few weeks. I mean, obviously, these are two very different things that they've done...
Saint-Victor: I didn't kill a guy! [Laughs]
Soap Central: I know! But it has been entertaining to watch Scott Clifton as Liam, just drowning in all this guilt and falling apart. Do you think we'll see Carter react in a similar way?
Saint-Victor: I don't know yet, and we'll have to see. I think the difference between Carter and Liam is [family]. There's something very lonely about being guilty when you don't have family around, when you go home to your loft and it's you by yourself; you don't have children, you don't have a wife, your parents aren't nearby. So, there's a loneliness in what Carter is dealing with that makes it different than what Liam has... There might be moments of desperation for both of them, but there is something about the loneliness, and I think that is what drew Carter to Quinn, is that loneliness. I mean, it might come out exactly the same way as with Liam, I don't know! Scott is amazing, so if it looks anything like he's doing, then I'm winning! [Laughs]
Soap Central: As you just pointed out, Carter really doesn't have family on the canvas, and I think there is a worry that when the secret comes out, it will explode the ties he does have, which are his job and the family aspect he has with Eric and the Forrester clan. I'd love to hear your opinion, particularly from a writing perspective, if you think Carter is being written into a corner that he cannot get out of that might threaten his future on the show?
Saint-Victor: Yeah, some fans have told me that they are concerned about Lawrence's employment after this! [Laughs] Honestly, I love that. I love that in a fictional story, the stakes are so high, it transcends the story. But I don't know how it will all turn out, I honestly don't, but I love that it has those kinds of stakes to it. Because Carter doesn't have family, and because Quinn isn't a Logan or a Forrester or a Spencer by blood, what they stand to lose is so great. It would be different if I was a Forrester and she was a Spencer, because you would know, at the end of the day, that they could always fall back on that, but they can't. So, I think it makes it very interesting -- and scary! [Laughs]
Soap Central: But a challenge the writers will be able to handle, I imagine, because you are just too damn loved!
Saint-Victor: Oh, yeah -- Lawrence isn't concerned! But I do think those stakes are wonderfully high.
Soap Central: I wanted to ask about Shauna [Denise Richards] and her involvement in all of this. She tried to be a good friend and cover for Quinn, but she actually ended up making a very complicated situation way more complicated! What was Carter's reaction to Shauna claiming that she was the one sleeping with him, and how will he feel about that turn of events in the long run?
Saint-Victor: I'm going to give you two reactions, because there were two reactions I had on set. Lawrence's reaction was, "Whoa. They don't make 'em like you anymore! You are a ride-or-die friend." The way she grabbed that jacket, so cool and smooth, I was like, "Wow." I was in awe over the type of friend she is and how smooth she was about it. That was Lawrence, thinking, "Wow, that's dope." Now Carter, he is standing there, and this thing is getting so out of hand. First, the fact that Shauna even knows, it's like, why? [Laughs] "You made me promise not to tell anyone, and literally, that night, you went and told Shauna?! Like, what is happening?!" [Laughs] So, the fact that Shauna knows and was talking to us about it in that moment before Zoe came in, it makes Carter uncomfortable. It's easier if the secret is between us, and when it's exposed, even if it's someone you trust, it affects you, and it affects the way you feel like you're viewed. And then, when she took the jacket, now the lie is getting bigger. Now, it's like, what does that mean? Does that mean I have to be your boyfriend? Does that mean I have to go out with you? It's public now, you know? But I do think he's happy that Zoe didn't find out in that moment, above all else. At least that part is still in our control, for now. But I think it's also scary, because Shauna grabbed the jacket, Shauna came up with the way to save us. Quinn didn't come up with it, and I didn't come up with it. The two people that needed to come up with it didn't! [Laughs] So, it's like, we are unreliable! We are unreliable, and this is getting out of hand.
Soap Central: Back in January, I asked you about writing for B&B and you said it was something you wanted to do again, and since that time, you have written some episodes! How did that come about?
Saint-Victor: Actually, it was in the same conversation with Brad about Quinn and Carter! So, my mind was spinning that day. He approached me about it and asked if I was interested in jumping back in, and I said, "Yeah!" The producers got me the outlines so I could catch up, because we are ahead of the scripts that are being shot... and I just jumped in. The first episode that I did was the episode where Quinn came to Carter's loft for the first time, and they had a slight moment that, of course, we know eventually will grow. So, that was a lot of fun.
Soap Central: What is it like to write for your own character? That must be quite a trip.
Saint-Victor: It is! It's interesting. You don't do anything that hasn't already been written or done -- you don't go into business for yourself, you know? It's always about the story. But it was fun, because I got to write something new that was happening to Carter; I got to be a part of something being established, which was fun. The story was already there -- what Brad laid out was already there -- so whether I wrote it or not, it would have played out in a similar way, I imagine. But it was fun to kind of interpret it, and then you're on set doing it and seeing it reinterpreted, because the way it's in your head when you're writing it isn't necessarily how it comes out on set, so that's a fun experience, too. Writing for Carter is fun, but sometimes it's hard because you get ahead of what you're shooting sometimes. You show up on set, and you [have to remind yourself], "Oh, no, you don't know this yet. That doesn't happen for a long while!" That part can get a little confusing sometimes, but it's fun. When I'm writing, in my mind, I'm all the characters: I'm Ridge, I'm Steffy, I'm Brooke, I'm all of them, equally so. Even when I get to Carter, I'm as much Carter as I am Quinn when I'm writing. And that's the fun of it; you get to play all the characters when you write.
Soap Central: Since you sort of play everyone as a writer, is there a character that you particularly feel close to, outside of Carter?
Saint-Victor: Man, that's a good question! Writing Thomas [Matthew Atkinson] is fun when I get the opportunity and I get those episodes. You get to write a guy who is constantly trying to prove himself to be good, which is a similar thing to Carter, being good. So, like, the interactions with Brooke [Katherine Kelly Lang], how she only sees the old Thomas, and then dealing with Vinny's death, what if he had reached out instead of blocking his calls? He's dealing with regrets and wanting to be good, but he's still got that thing in the back of his head. I can relate. I mean, I haven't gone through what Thomas has gone through. I haven't chased a woman and did all of that...
Soap Central: Made out with a mannequin, all of that...
Saint-Victor: Well, I have made out with a mannequin! We do have that in common. [Laughs] But there's just something about Thomas' desire to be good, but he has all this baggage, and I enjoy that.
Soap Central: My final question, because inquiring minds want to know, you mentioned on social media that Carter has a gym-body and has to be all hot and sexy, but Lawrence just wanted some carbs! Did you ever get those carbs?!
Saint-Victor: [Laughs] Listen, yes and no! Every time I have a scene or a storyline like that, I am not enjoying food as much as I used to. So, it's been an on-and-off relationship with me and carbs for a few months now -- which is fine! It's healthier. I'm a burger and fries guy, but that is being tapered a bit.
Soap Central: So, what do you eat now? Salads and protein shakes?
Saint-Victor: A lot of protein, very little carbs, fat kind of moderate, mostly low calorie. I'm going to get real geeky right now: I make sure I'm in a caloric deficit, which means I'm burning way more calories than I'm eating. That way you shed water, you shed whatever fat you can shed in a short amount of time, and if my workouts were good and my eating was good before this, then I shouldn't lose too much muscle. So, that's kind of the broad strokes. Oh, and a lot of chicken! Lots of poultry. I'm sorry, chickens! I feel bad for all the chickens out there.
Soap Central: That does sound like a boring diet, but at least the payoff is you know that your story is not boring. There's gotta be a reason for Carter to be taking off his clothes, right?!
Saint-Victor: [Laughs] I like the way you think! Yes, steaminess aside, it is fun to be in this type of story, where the romance is at a high, and the sexiness and steaminess is also at a high. I haven't gotten a chance to do that here [on B&B] in this way, so to be a part of that story is great, and if that's part of the story, then let's go for it, let's do it. I will not eat candy for a year if that means that we get to have the fun we're having! It's a worthy sacrifice.
Photo by Gilles Toucas/Courtesy of Bell-Phillip TV Productions, Inc.
What do you think about our interview with B&B's Lawrence Saint-Victor? Are you hot on Quarter (Quinn and Carter), or would you rather see Carter work it out with Zoe? Do you think this storyline will back Carter into a corner and destroy Saint-Victor's future with the show? Why or why not? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
