On his experience on the popular daytime drama series The Bold and The Beautiful, he said, “It has been incredible! It is completely different from what I expected. Going into it, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. We are doing these plays every single day, and we are getting training, while working with some of the best actors I’ve ever worked with in my life. You are working at a caliber and at a pace that I’ve never worked before. On a normal day, I’ve memorized 40 pages a day. On a tough day, I’ve memorized up to 80 pages in a day. We are shooting between two to five episodes sometimes a day, and you get a heavy amount of dialogue to memorize, especially if you are one of the main characters. That was huge for me. Over the past 2.5 years, that I’ve been there, it has been incredible. I couldn’t ask for a better crew to be there with me.”
Two-time Emmy nominee
Particularly impressive about Fodé is that over the last two years he garnered two consecutive Emmy nominations for “Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series.” “That was great, and something I didn’t expect. I went into it, wanting to do my best, so to be able to get two Emmy nominations was really cool and such an honor. I was very pleased with it, and everybody has been so nice,” he said.
He had nothing but the kindest remarks about his colleague, Scott Clifton, who won the 2017 Emmy award for “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series,” for his acting work on The Bold and The Beautiful. “Scott is a great, great guy,” he said. “As a human, he’s one of the most genuine people that you can walk up and have a conversation with, and at the same time, have a really fun time with. He is so down-to-earth, and he has an Emmy for every category that he was in (Younger Actor, Supporting Actor and Lead Actor), and that’s impressive, especially with his humility, and the excitement that he has for life,” Fodé said.
Each day, Fodé is motivated by the art of acting itself. “I love my job. I love getting up and creating something, and sharing experiences with the world every day. That is really what excites me,” he said. “Getting to tell somebody a story in their home, in their vulnerable space, and hopefully change their view or their concept on an idea that they had a little while ago, and challenge them to think a little broader and a little bigger. I love that job as a storyteller,” he explained.
Advice for Hopefuls in Acting
For aspiring actors, Fodé’s advice is as follows: “Don’t be afraid to be as weird as possible. The biggest thing about you is your uniqueness. Take that with you everywhere you go.” “I am a farm boy from Washington state, I am weird, I’ve done some modeling and I’m kind of all over the place. I’m pretty eclectic,” he said. “Follow your dreams until you die. Be happy along the way, and the journey.”
When asked how he balances it all, he said with a sweet laugh, jokingly, “Alcohol.” “I have a very Type A personality. I like to have it all and do it all, and push myself to my limits every single day. If I love it, I’m going to put everything I have into it. I don’t sleep very much,” he said.
Digital Transformation
Fodé also opened up about the digital transformation of the acting and entertainment scene. “Technology has been good. Social media and the Internet have changed acting in a way that is so different than what anyone has expected. It has given us an opportunity to really connect with the fans out there, and to really give them a look in our lives on what we are doing on the behind-the-scenes level,” he said.
The heartthrob actor shared that he is an avid user of Instagram. “I’m always trying to communicate with somebody on some level, but most importantly, I always try to keep it in my pocket, when I am sitting down with somebody who is right in front of my face,” he said.
Over the last three years, looking back, Fodé has seen a lot of hard times, cool experiences, and great things that have happened as a lot of those relationships and friendships. “I don’t want to stare in the rear-view mirror too long. I’m ready to move forward and drive straight ahead,” he said.
Health and Fitness
On staying in top-notch physical shape, he said, “50 percent of it is your diet. It really is. It’s half the battle. I’ve been blessed with good genes to where I don’t put on much weight when I eat bad food. Even then, if I am not gaining weight, I break out in acne, and it reflects. That’s half the battle. Eat healthy and watch some good documentaries on the way to eat. It’s actually cheaper to eat raw fruits and vegetables than to go out and eat all the time. Also, exercise. I exercise all the time, but I do it in a way that doesn’t feel like exercise. I go out and play sports, and I would weight-lift. It keeps me in the zone.”
Dream Acting Collaborations
He listed Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Kate Beckinsale and Gwyneth Paltrow as his dream female acting partners. “I want to work with Viola Davis so bad. She is so brilliant in every scene. In Fences, she was amazing. She killed it,” he said.
Fodé defined the word success as actively pursuing his dreams, paying his bills and spend time with his friends and family, all while being at the top of his game, and creating stories that change lives and people’s thoughts. “Success means that I am to help somebody and encourage them to change their thought process in a way that gives them life,” he said.
For his fans, he concluded, “Keep dreaming hard. It doesn’t have to be acting or TV. Be out there and be living your dream. Be pursuing it in every way that you possibly can. I want you all to look back, when you are 80 years old or 90 years old or 100 years old, and say ‘I did it well’ and ‘I had fun.’ Keep it up!”
