R.J. Forrester is coming back to The Bold and the Beautiful, and viewers will notice a big change. On Thursday, January 15, the legacy character returns to the canvas after a yearlong absence, now portrayed by soap newcomer Brayan Nicoletti.
Nicoletti (whose first name is pronounced Bryan) steps into the role previously played by Joshua Hoffman, last seen in 2024. As the son of supercouple Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye) and Brooke Logan Forrester (Katherine Kelly Lang), R.J. is poised to play an integral role in the drama ahead.
Nicoletti’s path to B&B began with a self-tape submission that led to an in-person audition with Kaye and Laneya Grace (Electra Forrester), an experience that left the actor feeling optimistic. “The audition went great,” he reports. “Thorsten really took me under his wing, and both of them were incredible. And then the next day, my agents called me and told me that they wanted to cast me.”
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The timing of the offer couldn’t have been better. “I was actually journaling about the audition when I got the call, so it was very unexpected,” he recalls. “I didn’t know how long it would take to hear back from them, and the rest of the day I was on top of the world.”
While he grew up entertaining his family and friends, acting wasn’t always part of Nicoletti’s long-term plan. That changed during the COVID lockdown, when time at home and a steady string of movies sparked a pivotal realization. “I think that’s when the idea clicked that this could be something that I could pursue,” he says. “I remember I went to turn in a paper to one of my counselors, and she asked me what my plans were after high school. I told her, ‘I’ve kind of been looking at this acting thing,’ and she had a nephew that had just graduated from this film school in Los Angeles. She told me to take a look at it, and that led to me moving out here right after high school. They say L.A. is the land of dreams.”
Landing a contract role marks a major milestone for the Denver, Colorado native, though the genre itself was new territory. “I hadn’t watched B&B, or a lot of the American soaps,” he explains. “My family is from Brazil — I’m first generation — so growing up, my relationship with soaps were always Spanish soaps. It was more my mom would be watching them, and I’d come into the to grab something, and I’d just kind of watch with her for a little bit when the storylines were dramatic.”
To prepare for the role, Nicoletti looked back at R.J.’s limited history on the canvas. “I did all my research beforehand, but once it got to set, it was really figuring out the chemistry and the relationships with everybody,” he explains. “He’s grown into this man who’s really trying to figure out what he values and where his priorities should be.”
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Despite his unfamiliarity with daytime, Nicoletti quickly found his footing once he got past his jitters. “My first day on the show was pretty nerve-wracking,” he recalls. “It was a little bit overwhelming because I’ve never done anything like that before. I was handed a lot more than I guess I was expecting, as far as scripts and episodes, but I think, luckily, my training had prepared me for that. The first day was really the overwhelming one, but after that, once I realized how not only excited people were for me to be there, but that it really feels like a family on that studio lot, any time I was feeling nervous or questioning if I deserved to be there, everybody really took me under their wing and helped me succeed.”
That sense of belonging was reinforced by his on-screen family, including Kaye, Lang, and John McCook (Eric Forrester). “I don’t know if you can ask for two better soap parents to have,” Nicoletti declares. “They’re incredibly generous with their time, but also so talented. Same with John. I first met him on set, and he immediately took me to his dressing room and sat me down, and was asking me questions about how I was enjoying the show and how I got to where I am, and about my family, and he gave me a lot of guidance and advice. I love seeing John on set because I think everybody can learn from him. He’s a ball of energy, and I think it rubs off on people and makes it very exciting to get to work and create something new.”
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Nicoletti is also energized by the show’s new generation, from Grace to Crew Morrow (Will Spencer) and Sydney Bullock (Dylan). “I think bringing in a younger set of performers and having that young cast on the show adds so many dynamics to it,” he offers. “I’m really excited for what the future holds this year, not only for myself, but just the show in general.”
So far, the experience has exceeded expectations. “I have no complaints, honestly,” he says. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited to show up to work. It’s so much fun, and I’ve really been enjoying the liberty of figuring out this character for myself and who he is to me and understanding his perspective. There is a sense of play, which I really enjoy, on top of the family aspect. I feel like I’m living out my dream, and every day is a new opportunity to push myself professionally, but also creatively as well.”
And as his debut approaches, Nicoletti is focused on honoring the past while carving out something new. “I’m excited,” he enthuses. “There’s a legacy to this character, and to this family, so I want to make sure I uphold that and do the character justice. My main goal is to just be as truthful as I can, do my best to understand the dynamics and the history of the show, but also bring a new energy to it that we might not have seen yet.”
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