Jack Wagner on ‘Bold and the Beautiful’ Return, Nick and Brooke Reunion

Jack Wagner’s iconic soap-opera character, Nick Marone, is a man on a mission as he prepares to return to “The Bold and the Beautiful.”

It’s been three years since the actor made a brief appearance on the CBS daytime drama to mark the show’s 35th anniversary. Before that, Wagner played Nick from 2003-2012.

So, what brings the character back this time around? Love, naturally.

“Nick is coming back because he heard that Brooke’s (Katherine Kelly Lang) heart is broken and what’s happened in this triangle with Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) and Taylor (Rebecca Budig),” he tells TODAY.com during a video interview.

For those not in the know, Brooke Logan’s relationship with her longtime love, Ridge Forrester, has hit a rough patch in recent months.

The on-again, off-again couple are currently on the outs after a series of unfortunate events, including a power struggle at Forrester Creations and the return of Ridge’s ex-wife, Taylor Hayes.

Despite Brooke’s best efforts to win Ridge back and pry him away from Taylor, she has yet to succeed. And that’s where Nick, another one of Brooke’s former flames, comes in.

“He’s decided that he’s going to step in and try to wake Brooke up to this toxic pattern she’s been in with Ridge for years and years,” Wagner explains. “That is his primary motivation. (It’s like he’s saying to Brooke), ‘I am back to try to get you to wake up and realize that I’m still in love with you, and I want you to step out of this insanity.'”

Brooke and Nick also have a complicated history. Over the years, Nick has been romantically linked to Brooke’s two sisters and one of her daughters, in addition to Taylor. But Wagner says his character keeps coming back to Brooke since she was “his initial love.”

In the years since viewers have last seen Nick, he’s had a lot going on, and fans will get to learn a bit more about his backstory.

“I really felt he needed to upgrade from living on the Shady Marlin (his boat). Like he wasn’t this scruffy, bearded, smoking sea captain anymore. This guy is now a shipping titan. He runs Marone Industries, an international shipping company,” Wagner says.

While preparing for his return to the show, Wagner advocated for an upgraded wardrobe that was fit for his character’s advanced professional status. He also had a say in how his character would present himself when he reunited with Brooke.

“I told Brad (Bell, executive producer and head writer of the show), ‘I think the key here is masculine. This has to be real masculine, confident energy from Nick,’” he says.

While shooting on location on Italy’s Amalfi Coast and Capri, Wagner and Lang re-created a famous scene from their characters’ past: the moment they first saw each other at Forrester Creations.

“We tried to re-create that as best we could with Kelly trying on some lingerie, and all of a sudden I’m kind of like, ‘Who’s there?'” he recalls.

Talking some sense into Brooke is Nick’s main goal, but he will briefly interact with a few other characters, including Taylor and Ridge, his rival and half brother.

“When Ridge comes into the scenes, he’s surprised. ‘What are you doing here?’ Nick is unmoved and doesn’t have one ounce of fear when it comes to Eric Forrester (John McCook) or Ridge or anything that has to do with the powerful Forrester family. He is unmoved, confident and fearless,” Wagner says.

Viewers won’t get to see Nick and Brooke’s son, Jack, on screen, but they will get a quick update on how he’s doing.

“It’s a reference because we didn’t feel we had time to really explore that storyline. That could be (a) future (storyline). But for right now, we needed to just kind of focus on Nick trying to wake Brooke up out of this toxic pattern with Ridge and the Forresters,” Wagner says.

Returning to the show after all these years felt like “jumping on a moving train” for Wagner in the best possible way.

“Kelly and I love to work together, and we collaborate very nicely,” he says of his co-star. “And Brad (Bell) collaborates with the dialogue and things I want to do for the character.”

In recent years, Wagner has starred as Bill Avery on the Hallmark series “When Calls the Heart,” and he was able to squeeze in his “B&B” story arc just before he’s set to return to Vancouver to film the latest season of the show.

The actor has a packed schedule but is still leaving the door open to returning to “B&B” for some more action.

“We talked about it, and (Bell) said, ‘I really would love to maybe keep this character alive. How do you feel about it?’” Wagner says. “So I just got the script for my final scenes with Brooke after the whole location shoot in Italy, and it looks really promising.”

Viewers will have to tune in to see exactly what happens, but Wagner is happy to give a little teaser, saying, “It’s really a big deal how he leaves it and Brooke’s reaction to what Nick presents for her.”

Looking ahead, the actor says it “might be possible” to pull double duty on “B&B” and “When Calls the Heart.”

“I’ll dust off my charming guy and my romantic guy on both shows. Who knows?” he says.

Wagner’s first “Bold and the Beautiful” episode will air Monday, June 16, on CBS.