Denise Richards returns to iconic acting role amid OnlyFans success: 'It feels like I never left'

Denise Richards will be returning to her iconic role after taking a four-year hiatus from acting and finding success with adult content creation. 

The 55-year-old actress will be reprising her role as the former showgirl, Shauna Fulton, on The Bold and the Beautiful in an upcoming episode airing on Thursday, May 28. 

She portrayed the character for almost three years before departing the long-running soap opera in 2022. 

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum — who has busy on OnlyFans after being inspired by her 22-year-old daughter Sami Sheen's posts on the X-rated platform — opened up about returning to the role after multiple years.

'It's nice to be back,' she told People. 'It feels like I never left. It's such a great family environment, and I love my character. She likes to cause a little trouble.'

She also reflected on her experience returning to set after almost half a decade and said it felt natural. 

She noted that it 'can be very intimidating going into a set where people have worked together for so long' and said that was not the case on The Bold and the Beautiful. 

'Everyone's just very embracing and very supportive,' the Wild Things star said. 'The actors I was working with made it so much easier to step back in.' 

Per the outlet, a preview of the forthcoming episode will see her character Shauna making a grand entrance and reuniting with her former flame Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) and his son Wyatt Spencer (Darin Brooks) at the offices of Spencer Publications. 

'The Spencer men are so handsome,' Richards's character Shauna was heard saying as she greeted the father-son duo. 

'Especially you, Bill. Congratulations, by the way, I heard about [your company] Logan. You are a real player in the fashion world now.' 

Shauna continued in the preview: 'I mean, too bad things didn't work out with Eric Forrester. Katie must be on the hunt for a new designer. Remember, Bill, I ran some very high-end boutiques in Vegas, and it just so happens I'm available now. 

'I can just imagine getting in on the ground floor of the newest game in town. Wouldn't that be something?' 

In her recent interview, Richards gushed about the opportunity to work again with Brooks, who plays her character's ex-lover, Wyatt.

'I loved that Darin was returning too,' she said. 'I like that with Wyatt and Shauna, our characters, we're light and fun, so we'll see where we go. 

'A lot of times we have no idea what's going to happen too, which is so fun getting the scripts every Friday,' she continued before recommending working in daytime television because of how much one can learn in the fast-paced environment.

'Every actor should do a soap at one point or another in their career, especially if they are starting out,' she explained. 'It is the best place to learn. It moves fast.'

'The pages, there's so much dialogue and we try to do one or two takes, which can be overwhelming,' Richards added.

'I mean, if you don't get it, you don't get it and you have to do more takes, but you don't want to be that person that throws the whole schedule off and make everyone be behind,' she continued. 'It's a very well-oiled machine.' 

She also reflected on playing Shauna for the first time in 2019, which was years after she turned down a part on the show. 

'I tested years ago when I first started acting for General Hospital and I didn't get it,' she recalled. 

'I'd had friends on soap operas and always thought it was such a great experience no matter what level you are at in your career.' 

She said she later got offered another part on The Bold and the Beautiful; Richards recalled feeling 'terrified' but knowing she 'had to do it.' 

'I'll never forget my very first day I had over 50 pages and all my scenes were back to back,' she said as she remembered her first day on the set of the long-running soap opera. 'I had a little bit of a panic moment of, "How am I going to do this?"' 

She recalled getting a call from Rena Sofer, one of the stars on the show at the time, who advised her to 'think of it as one scene at a time.' 

Richards said: 'And so I did, and somehow I was able to memorize all the pages.' 

About her entertainment career and other upcoming projects she has in the works, she added: 'I love being on set and working with all different people. I've always just had such a passion for it and glad I'm still working. This is just a whole new chapter for me in general.'