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Adain Bradley Previews What’s Next for Xander on THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL (EXCLUSIVE)

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While THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL’s Xander may be wishing he never discovered the secret about Hope’s baby, his portrayer, Adain Bradley, is sure glad that he did. “When the script came in where Xander overheard the conversation in the CEO’s office, I was so excited,” he confided to Soaps In Depth. “My character had kind of been biding his time, so now, to come to the forefront and be a big part of this huge story has been very, very fun.”

While Xander may be tormented by the fact that he’s part of the cabal keeping Beth’s existence under wraps, the storyline has been galvanizing in many ways for the character. “We’re seeing him changing a lot,” said Bradley. “He’s always been a nice person, but now he’s coming into his own and becoming much more confident in himself. I think fans are going to see a very resolute, stern Xander. He’s at his wits’ end with Thomas.”

BB Xander Thomas JPI

Bradley has enjoyed sparring with new castmate Atkinson on set. “He and I have good chemistry in that we’re very good at pretending to hate each other!” (Photo Credit: Howard Wise/jpistudios.com)

Although Thomas is intent upon calling the shots where this secret is concerned, Xander’s not about to just back off and shut up. “He sees Thomas as the villain — a very bad guy,” said Bradley. “When I originally found out they were casting a new Thomas, I thought it could be a really interesting avenue for my character to go down. I didn’t know it would end up being this, but Matthew [Atkinson, Thomas] and I have gotten to really go at it — and we’re still going at it!”

As Xander tries to reason with the other secret-keepers in this storyline to come clean, Bradley appreciated getting to be the voice of sanity. “I feel like my character is almost breaking a fourth wall, in a sense, when he’s like, ‘Why does nobody understand how crazy this is?’ I get to say what the audience has been thinking for so long, but it’s a big responsibility for me, having this change and kind of being a big moral compass of the show.”

BB Xander Emma

Sweet as Xander and Emma’s romance was, it may not have been built to last. “They had a moment in time,” said Bradley, “but I think from a character perspective, Xander had never really gotten over Zoe.” (Photo Credit: Howard Wise/jpistudios.com)

In May, Bradley celebrated his first anniversary with the soap, and he admitted that the time has flown by. “I was talking to my family the other day, and I said, ‘Wow, so much has happened in six months.’ They said, ‘Adain, you’ve been there a year!’ It kind of went really fast.”

Even now, Bradley continues to adjust to the fact that he’s airing every day in millions of homes. “Being recognized in the streets is still very jarring,” he admitted. “I’m a big basketball fan, so I’ll go to [an NBA] game and someone will walk up and say, ‘Oh my goodness, so nice to meet you!’ I’ll say, ‘Um… I’m not one of the players. What’s going on?’ And they’ll say, ‘No! B&B! I watch you every day!’ So I’m still getting used to that!”

For more on your favorite B&B stars, keep reading the CBS edition of Soaps In Depth magazine.

This story originally appeared in our print magazine

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