Jack Wagner on facing his fears in the ballroom: ‘It’s a complete blackout’

Jack Wagner has spent decades in the spotlight, from soap opera stardom to Broadway tours and chart-topping songs. But nothing, he says, prepared him for the paralyzing fear of live ballroom dancing. As the General Hospital and Bold and the Beautiful alum reflects on his time on Dancing With the Stars, he reveals the unexpected vulnerability behind the sequins, the spotlight, and that now-infamous moment of total mind blank.

A seasoned performer in unfamiliar territory

With a career spanning more than 40 years, Jack Wagner is no stranger to live performance. From national stage tours in West Side Story and Grease to iconic daytime roles on General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful, Wagner is the picture of showbiz professionalism. So when he was asked to compete in season 14 of Dancing With the Stars, it seemed like a natural fit — or so he thought.

“I’ve always been plugged into the theater, always been around dance and theatrics,” Wagner told Entertainment Weekly. “So when I wound up doing Dancing With the Stars, here I am with ballroom-trained dancers, and it was intense.” Despite his decades of experience in front of live audiences, Wagner quickly learned that ballroom dancing, especially in a televised competition format, was an entirely different beast. And the most terrifying part wasn’t the footwork or lifts — it was the moment right before the music even started.

The blackout moment

According to Wagner, the scariest part of the experience came not during the dance itself, but in the seconds leading up to it. “All of the contestants, we would say the most petrifying thing of all is when you’re ready to do your dance, your partner’s on the left side, you’re on the right of the curtains, and the announcer goes, ‘Dancing the samba: Jack Wagner!’” he recalled. “Paralysis sets in. You forget everything that you’ve learned for the last week. It’s this complete blackout.”

That visceral moment of dread — hearing your name called as the spotlight hits — was something Wagner hadn’t encountered in any of his other work. Despite being a “song-and-dance guy” with a deep history in musical theater, including Broadway’s Jekyll & Hyde in 2000, the high-stakes live broadcast format brought a unique and unexpected pressure. “I love live anything — live concerts, theater — but being announced like that was something that I really hadn’t experienced before,” he said.

Dancing with the stars — and with future co-stars

Wagner was partnered with professional dancer Anna Trebunskaya, a seasoned pro who had already led two celebrities to the Dancing With the Stars finals: NFL legend Jerry Rice and Olympic skater Evan Lysacek. Wagner didn’t make it quite as far, being eliminated second. Still, his time on the show wasn’t without lasting impact.

Among the season 14 cast was Little House on the Prairie alum Melissa Gilbert, who would later appear opposite Wagner in Hallmark’s When Calls the Heart. In a two-episode arc in 2024, their characters shared a romantic storyline — a poetic reunion for two stars who once competed against each other under the ballroom lights.

Although his run on the show was short, the experience left a mark. “It was humbling,” Wagner admits. “You’re stripped down in a way. All that training and experience doesn’t mean you won’t freeze. And I did.”

A familiar return — and a quick-paced world

These days, Wagner is returning to more familiar ground — reprising his role as Nick Marone on CBS’s The Bold and the Beautiful. The character, who debuted in 2003, will step in to support longtime love interest Brooke Logan (played by Katherine Kelly Lang) as her relationship with Ridge Forrester begins to unravel once again.

“To come back and just kind of lock-in with Kelly was great,” Wagner said. “It’s like we haven’t missed a beat. I compare it to hopping on a moving train, because of the speed soaps work now. But it’s also like a class reunion. You get to catch up, and you hug, and you share.”

Despite the breakneck pace of daytime television, Wagner says the emotional connection to the characters and cast has remained strong — and so has the excitement of returning to the set.

The art of stepping into discomfort

What’s most revealing about Wagner’s reflections isn’t just the vulnerability he describes, but the candid way he embraces it. For an actor so closely associated with poise and polish, his admission of “complete blackout” on national television is a refreshing reminder that even seasoned stars experience fear — and growth.

“It’s about stepping out of your comfort zone,” Wagner said. “That’s when you find out what you’re really made of. Whether it’s dancing in front of millions or stepping back into a soap after a decade away, you just keep moving forward.”

From the ballroom to the soundstage, Jack Wagner continues to reinvent himself — sometimes scared, sometimes surprised, but always ready for what comes next.