The Daytime Emmys are coming in June and there are 4 Bold and the Beautiful actors that deserve noms

Mark your calendars, Bold fans because we are a little under three months away from the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards. The ceremony will air on June 7, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS (the west coast broadcast will be delayed). Of course, this means we're all taking to the web to voice our opinions on who should be nominated.

As always, there have been some off-the-wall storylines as well as tearjerkers and writing decisions that made us furious, but it's the performances that really sell the plots we invest in from Monday to Friday week-to-week. My favorite soap is The Bold and the Beautiful, so I'll be weighing in on who I think deserves a nomination, along with the one actor who definitely should be walking away with an award come June and that's John McCook.

John McCook was a tour de force on Bold and the Beautiful in 2023

In my book, this soap icon, this legend should have the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in the bag. The way John McCook played Eric Forrester's struggle with a mysterious illness was moving and captivating. There was so much meat on the bone for him in this storyline and the veteran actor did not disappoint. He gave us a rich performance that embodied a man wrestling with his own mortality and his determination not to be put out to pasture because the younger generation, his family, insisted he "rest" and leave the day to day grind to them.

McCook walked the line of showcasing Eric's vitality in its decline. The fear that comes with that, the anger of loss of control, and the will to persevere anyway. Though that's not to say that McCook did this by playing Eric as likeable or lovable all the time either. He wasn't. Eric was often stubborn and could come off persnickety. There was a selfishness to his decision making that was aggravating at times to watch. But McCook remembered Eric's humanity in it all. That we are not always right in how we handle things but it is about how we choose to handle them for good or for bad.

There was also quite a bit of physical acting as well during Eric's sick storyline. McCook had to believably show his character's hand tremors and weakening physicality. You could see, as time went on, that the life was draining from Eric as his illness worsened. It is a credit to McCook's expertise that he gave us a layered performance that won't soon be forgotten.

Annika Noelle's Hope Logan has grown by leaps and bounds

Love or hate her decision making, Hope Logan has been making waves on The Bold and the Beautiful and it's because she's finally stepped way over the line. I'm going to be honest, Hope is not my favorite character, and I'm usually irritated with her for one thing or another. But it's undeniable that Hope having to live in the mess she created when she formed an inappropriate emotional and then sexual/romantic bond with Thomas Forrester, gave Annika Noelle more room to play in the story.

Hope came kicking and screaming to the truth and heart of the matter the whole way through, and it was entertaining. She's still coming to terms with just what it says about her that she is willing to forgive Thomas for practically anything (Emma Barber, anyone?). It also gave us the opportunity to see more of Noelle's range. The clashes between her and Scott Clifton's Liam Spencer pre-break-up and after were must-sees. As was the time Hope started to fall apart because she was scared that Thomas overhearing the awful things she said about him to get her mother, Brooke, off her case would mean she'd lose him.

I think Noelle at least deserves a nomination for the work she put in. 2023 truly was a year of transformation for Hope. She got more complicated or, rather, she was allowed to live in the complexities we've all seen in her for years. Hope's definitely still wrong much of the time, but Noelle plays her with a deft balance of sincerity, whiplash worthy spitefulness, vulnerability, and galling selfishness that adds texture to the character. She was a standout last year and should be recognized as such.

Don Diamont brought the emotion

I have to give it to Don Diamont he committed when Bill Spencer was written as forming an unholy union with Sheila Carter. So much so that none of us knew whether we should be taking the billionaire seriously or not. Until it started to be seeded that Bill was up to something, it really did seem like the Spencer patriarch had fallen head over heels for Sheila during a time in his life when he felt especially alone. This, of course, is a testament to Diamont's delivery.

He had to play Bill on the edge of ruin. With his performance came an uprising of emotion all centered on what it means to alienate and isolate the ones you love because of your own actions. In some ways, it was like Dollar Bill was in the midst of an identity crisis that he didn't know who he was outside of the darkness he'd sown in his personal life so he decided to embrace it wholeheartedly and welcome a love with a queen of darkness.

Diamont's best acting partners have always been Heather Tom and Scott Clifton but this storyline required that he playoff of multiple actors in very intense scenes, some of which didn't include a lot of dialogue for him. Bill is a very chest out sort of man. He's arrogant to a fault, ruthless when it suits him, and incredibly imperious. Diamont has always navigated those characteristics masterfully and balanced them with Bill's love for his family and the women who have made an impact in his life.

But in this plot he got to reach deep down into his vulnerability bag to play a man unmoored and holding tight to the love he thought he deserved even if it wasn't the love he initially wanted. At times, he came off small and humbled. His pride was no longer in the room with us. Bill let Sheila speak for him, and the billionaire doesn't let anyone do that. As a fan, I was left shook and concerned. Diamont's performance was excellent and it's about time he's nominated for a Daytime Emmy!

Scott Clifton proves once again that he's the best actor on Bold and the Beautiful

The video above of Liam making Hope tell him that she cheated on him with Thomas while she was in Rome speaks for itself but let me add an addendum. Scott Clifton is one of the most talented actors on The Bold and the Beautiful, you give him a scene like this and he is going to eat. Much of his most compelling work has to do with the timing, pacing, and build of the dialogue he's given. There's a tension he knows how to skillfully infuse into a scene to get us where we need to go but not too quickly and not too late as to feel unsatisfied.

In the storyline surrounding Hope's inappropriate relationship with Thomas, Clifton played Liam as if he were a tea kettle simmering to a boil and then losing its top. I think this was achieved by really hitting home that his character has been dealing with this bond for 5 YEARS and in this later instance being gaslit because Hope couldn't find it within herself to be honest. You, too, would come unglued and unhinged if you were put in his position, and that's exactly how Clifton portrayed Liam.

There was a depth to his anger that rang true and spoke to Lope's shared history with Thomas. And when the situation soon flipped to pettiness on both sides, it felt real. It felt like two people being real with one another, not entirely honest but truthful even in the bitterness and slights. But it's not just the above scene or storyline that should get Clifton the nomination. I think he earned it during one of the most beautifully performed speeches about love that's ever been on the show as well.

The scene was between Clifton and Thorsten Kaye when Ridge Forrester came to see Liam at Spencer Publications to talk to him about his intentions toward his daughter, Steffy. Though she's very much still married to Finn, the end of Liam's marriage to Hope prompted an expected response. He made a mistake, and he wanted Steffy back. For those of us who've been on that roller-coaster far too many times, even if we are Steam shippers, it could have been stale but it wasn't.

Again, it all comes down to delivery. Monologues like this one can be difficult to convey because there's no one to act off of. No scene partner to get you there emotionally but Clifton's performance spoke to the well of love Liam has for Steffy, how deep their bond goes, the mistakes they made, the hurt they've caused one another, and his resolve to get her back. I don't care what anyone says, if you like Liam or not, whether you're for Steam or not, Clifton brought it in that speech. He would have you believing that if Liam was given one more chance, he'd do it right this time. And I do have to say my faith in their love was restored, so he did exactly what he needed to do!

The Daytime Emmy Awards air June 7, 2024 at 8 p.m. on CBS.