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Follow the links to our archive of Thorsten's print interviews and articles about the characters he's portrayed.
Above: On the cover of the June 26, 2007 issue of Soap Opera Digest.
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Llanview's Romantic Hero
OLTL's Thorsten Kaye Gets to the Heart of Patrick Thornhart - Then and Now
Soap Opera Magazine
by Sheila Steinbach, Published January 21, 1997
Llanview has changed Patrick Thornhart, says his portrayer, Thorsten Kaye. He's not the same dashing romantic who rushed into a pub in Ireland, met Marty Saybrooke and forever changed the course of their lives - and Thorsten's not sure those changes are for the better. Now that Blair is pregnant with Patrick's child and involved in a custody battle with her husband, Todd, her problems are spilling over into Patrick's life.
"I'm not sure what Patrick's appeal is now," Thorsten candidly admits. "His appeal when he first got here was as a romantic hero who'd fight for all women - but now he's fighting for something he doesn't understand. He's not like other soap people. He's not a hunky California guy who can dazzle people with his smile. He's an intelligent man who knows the classics, who fights with his heart and his head, not his hands."
While Patrick is confused by his current situation, Thorsten
can be
more objective. "Regardless of how he feels about Blair and the love he
feels for Margaret, this new life is there and he has to deal with
that," says the actor.
But Thorsten doesn't think Patrick's desire to help Blair in
her
custody fight with Todd has anything to do with him worrying about the
future of his unborn child. "I think they have Patrick fighting for
something he doesn't need to fight for. They've taken a lot of weapons
away from him and, hopefully, they'll give them back, because this man
can't fight in this manner. That's not where he came from. That's not
his strength. His strength came from somewhere else - and that's what
made him different," Thorsten explains. "He's no longer passionate. He
no longer has the ability to make his life and other people's lives
better by who he is."
A far cry from the Patrick of a year ago, whose situation was more clear-cut. When Patrick first appeared on the scene, he was on the run for his life. At that time, Thorsten described Patrick as a "poet who understands language, a teacher. He's a passionate guy who has ideas about what things are and aren't - and he gets caught in something he has to get out of. He's not perfect. He doesn't have a lot of money. He's a man on the run - and all he can do is reach out to a woman he thinks understands who he is."
Once in Llanview, Patrick finally proved he wasn't involved with an Irish terrorist group, Men of 21. He helped Bo Buchanan save the lives of many Llanview citizens from a bomb threat, he made friends and got a job teaching at the university. But he lost the woman he loved, Marty, when she married Dylan Moody. Although Patrick became involved with Blair Manning, his heart still belonged to Marty and, eventually, they were able to be together.
Thorsten isn't angry about the changes in Patrick, just disappointed. "I don't know what it is about romantic heroes, if you want to call them that. They believe in something that doesn't exist - and believe in it with all their heart. When you lose that, you lose the character."
SIDEBAR: WHAT MAKES PATRICK TICK
Just as a soap character often changes, so do the people who write the shows. OLTL's executive producer, Maxine Levinson, shares her thoughts about what's ahead for Patrick Thornhart now that Head Writer Claire Labine is set to join the show.
"We don't begin to know everything there is to know about Patrick," reveals Maxine. "He came to us on that fateful day in Ireland and presented us with all sorts of stories. He told us one thing and we found out another. W know he loves Margaret and that he's a poet, a man of words. But I also know there are things we have yet to find out - that's what we want to bring to the screen over the next few months. We want to find out what made him who he is. I think he's a man who is keeping his rage in check, a man who feels passionately about things - and that's what we want to explore. He's a man of principle, but I'm not sure what those principles are."
While Maxine promises that we'll be finding out just who Patrick is and what makes him tick, she also says, "Obviously, what we find out will affect Marty and everyone who has dealings with him."