I'm going to wait for Kristen's confirmation on this one here.

So... does that mean Mick Hazen has a job in October?

Damn!! OLTL can't afford to lose any more good actors. They are hemorrhaging them over there BIG TIME!!!! I will miss Brandon. He's a cutie, and he's got lots of talent. With the Daytime Emmys looming, I find myself thinking what a BLOODY shame it is that he never was nominated for an Emmy---or won one.

With that being said, I think he's making the smart decision. He's too young to become a "lifer," and I think he's realizing that soaps are no longer the beacons of job security that they used to be. No point in going down with a sinking ship if you can save yourself first.....

And Mick Hazen doesn't strike me as a suitable replacement for Brandon Buddy---if the show decides to recast. He looks like a 16-year old boy, not a MAN who is the father of a young daughter. I hope that OLTL doesn't just grab the nearest random out of work ex-soap actor and actually takes the time and EFFORT to get it right---like AMC did with Christina Lind replacing Bianca.

This saddens me. I love Brandon and I think he has grown tremendously as an actor over the past 4 years. I hope they do not recast the role. Not that it is this ICONIC role that can't be recast but its just that I personally don't want it. Maybe he will be found guilty and sent to jail. I can't see "Cole" just leaving town or something because he has Hope. IDK I'm just really upset by this, mostly because he was robbed of his Emmy nom this year and now will most likely not get one. However, I do wish Brandon all the luck in the world as he moves on. He is a great talent.

It's been a long time since I've been shocked and truly saddened. I've been rooting for Starr and Cole since day one, and this is a real blow to the last soap on my watch list. Very, very sad.

I completely agree with everything you said. I've always loved Starr & Cole sine day one. This is a sad day for us fans and for OLTL in general. It truly is a loss.

YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! An early b-day present!!!!!!!! Sole is finished! Now I fan fully support Starr/James without fearing the Sky treatment. Sorry BB but I hated Cole!

Kill off Cole or send him to jail!

Fine I just have one question...

Can Zack Conroy play Cole Thornhart... and Oliver Jones... and Petey Courtlandt.... and Lucas Jones... and Kyle Abbott... and all four of Justin and Adrianne Kiriakis's sons?

Is Marty next? I mean what storyline does she have left if he does (and it makes sense time wise) get sent to jail. . .
Breaking Marty and John up was a risky bold MISTAKE. She has nothing left on the show.
And I am a John/Blair fan. lol

A lot of people didn't like Brandon Buddy/Cole, but I LOVED this actor and character. He always seemed like a real person to me. I am really sad to see him go.

I bet that if they don't manage to get Thorsten Kaye back, the show will get rid of Susan Haskell(Marty) AND Cole...they won't recast Cole, they will just scrap the Thornharts all together.

Jason Tam will be the next to go, mark my words!

Best of luck Brandon Buddy! I liked him the moment he came on, and I loved him with Starr.

Brandon has come a long way since his early days. I wish him the best (he knows the writing on the wall!), but the character (pretty much that "older set" of teen characters) has been ruined in the form of uninspired/cliche writing. I guess since Thorsten is a no go, Susan is out too. No Thornhart family reunion.

He'll be missed, but I'm sure he'll have wonderful opportunities in his future. I think a recast would work. I vote for Drew Garrett!

Sounds like he's leaving on his own terms so best of luck to him--I am remiss that he never got the Emmy nomination that he deserved.

Since Cole has a child with Starr, I can't imagine them not recasting this role--maybe Cole will go to jail for a while and come back a new man (literally), like GH should've done with Michael.

I thought i was the only one who hated cole i never liked him or the couple but good luck to the actor.

I don't think we can assume he's leaving of his own accord. We all know the networks give their stars a lot of latitude in how they "frame" their departure. He's leaving just after they bring in James to play opposite Starr. Who knows what led to this decision?

Brandon is a talented actor. Best of luck to him!

I agree that this does not bode well for Susan's future with the show. There are also doubts about whether David Fumero will re-sign.

The truth is that the show has an extremely bloated cast and could stand to lose a few players.

I haven't been feeling Cole lately but I do like BB. I wish him the best of luck in the future.

I don't see the writers killing off Cole--atleast not without a possible return. Marty just lost a baby, to lose her first born would be too much. I can see Cole heading to prison or something of that sort.

Good Riddance

Sorry to hear he's gone, because if there's one example of amazing on the job training, it's Brandon Buddy. I'm still in awe of the episode where he went through withdrawal, along with so many other examples where he showed naturalism and nuance in his work.

That said, I can't blame him for wanting to go - he's been stuck in jail so long, I literally can't even remember what he's in there for! So for him to see what greener pastures there are career-wise and just to enjoy life as a young adult, he'll be missed, but good on him and best of luck!

I wish Brandon good luck and future success. Having said that, I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to Cole being gone. I have never really liked the character. and I was over Sole two years ago. They were interesting at first as a Romeo and Juliet type couple, but that got old. Starr with James this past week has been the best she has been since she was younger and sneaking taxis to get all over town.

I hope they do not get rid of Jason Tam. Maybe they can make his character have a bigger role and not just a sidekick part to play. He is the better actor of the two, and I don't hate his character.

Oh wow...

Can't believe one of the core 4 is leaving

I've really enjoyed SOLE. I'm kind of shocked right now. Maybe they can just put Cole in jail so that if BB decides to come back, he can. I don't want to see a recast. I really thought they were going to bring back Daddy Thornhart. I guess not..

Not shocked. Probably sees the writing on wall. Smart boy, he's young and should jump ship now before it sinks.

Sucks for all the SOLE fans, I'm not one, but I know there's a lot of them.

I would imagine that we will see more and more daytime actors trying to get out and moving on. Daytime is dying, they know it and the talk about OLTL's issues are probably speed that up a bit.

He's does ok with the crap dialog that he's given. Give him something good and I bet he's really good actor.

That was the first thing I thought of LooseLipsLiz. I thought I saw a blind item where another actress was being let go. What is the purpose of Marty now? Maybe that's why TK never signed with the show. Then again they could recast the role so we'll have to wait and see.

I'm kinda glad he's going,(good luck to him though), this will gave the writers something new to write other that that Todd vs. Cole crap they keep throwing at us since he start going out with Starr.

And maybe Starr will FINALLY start having problems with that perfect baby that she has.

Although I do really like BB as Cole- I dont think he is irreplaceable for the show - and they could totally recast if they have future storylines planned for the character. I think it would be much harder to replace Starr then Cole-- but Gosh if they could replace JESSICA- most legacy children could be replaced!

I truly think the show was planning on the return of PATRICK- and if that does still go through as planned the role of COLE needs to be on canvas. Plus if Patrick doesnt come home- and Cole leaves-- this could be the end of the line for Marty too! As lately most of her story lines involve Cole and the dynamic with the Mannings.

I could actually see maybe GL's Jesse Lee Soffer taking over the role of Cole. He is in the right age group & could totally hold his own with Kristen A (Starr).

I completely agree with mrsa1107. The character's future probably lies in whether or not Thorston Kaye returns. I wonder if the soap oracles have any news on Patrick's return.

OLTL Is Mulling Recasting

OLTL has a history of replacing rather ordinary-looking actors with more phyically attractive people. This was done in the cases of Blair, Rachel, Jessica, and Christian. I wouldn't be surprised if a new, hunkier Cole turns up soon.

Thorsten Kaye is returning?? And I'll bet you good money that OLTL is gonna pull a GH and bring on Roger Howarth as a "new" character, pitting him against Trevor St. John. Between RH and Kaye, there won't be money left to hire ANYONE else. That means OLTL will have to do more house cleaning...........may I offer some suggestions????