Rick Hearst is back on The Bold and the Beautiful.

After years on General Hospital, the actor has returned to The Bold and the Beautiful in the role of Whip Jones.

Hearst spoke to Michael Fairman about the role, and his return to it, this week. Here are excerpts from the interview:

On Whip Jones: Whip Jones: He is a smarmy PR guy, and an opportunist.  He does not try to get under your skin; he just calls it like he sees it, and he makes no excuses for himself.  Is he out to hurt anybody? Absolutely not.  He can be wildly bombastic and visionary in his own right, but he is a guy who knows how to pull the reigns back.

On Whip's Return: He is being brought in by Stephanie, who hadn’t decided whether she liked him or hated him, but she knew he was very effective with what he did.  Now, Stephanie is over at Jackie M. Whip has been talked up by Stephanie, and he has hit the skids and needs a job like many people in this economy. 

Whip had gone through Forrester International and done very well.  From what I surmise of the history, he had a falling out and got too big for his britches.  He thought, “I want to do something more with PR and take it to the next level.” Whip knew that Forrester was very much a family company and they had their method of doing things.  So, he goes to work for some other small independent fashion houses, and maybe they weren’t established enough, and maybe he left on his own accord from those two places. 

There is something that is burning inside of the guy to make him come back to Los Angeles.  He knows he can’t go back to the Forresters, because he knows there is too much under the bridge there.  Brooke is still there.  He still has this thing in his heart for her and maybe he wasn’t able to put that completely to bed.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.