Jack Wagner Reveals ‘Complete Blackout’ Moment When He Was on ‘DWTS’

Actor Jack Wagner reflected on his short time on “Dancing With the Stars,” sharing one aspect he called “petrifying.” Find out why Wagner said he experienced a “complete blackout” before he even danced one step.

Jack Wagner Calls ‘DWTS’ Experience ‘Intense’

Wagner has been an actor and singer for decades, but he wasn’t immune to getting nervous as a “Dancing With the Stars” competitor. The actor and his dance pro partner Anna Trebunskaya were the second to be eliminated when they competed on season 14.

In a June 2025 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Wagner revealed what it was like to be on the dance competition show.

Despite his short time on the show, Wagner shared how “intense” the experience was. “I’ve always been plugged into the theater, always been around dance and theatrics,” he said. “So when I wound up doing ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ here I am with ballroom-trained dancers, and it was intense.”

Wagner, famous for his roles on “General Hospital,” “The Bold and the Beautiful,” and “Melrose Place,” recalled the feeling of having his name announced on “DWTS” before the performance.

“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 continued, “Paralysis sets in, you forget everything that you’ve learned for the last week. Everybody shared the same thing: ‘When they announce your name like that, right?’ It’s this complete blackout.”

Jack Wagner’s Stage Experience Wasn’t Enough for ‘DWTS’

Wagner also noted that, although he danced in professional stage productions, it wasn’t enough preparation for the rigors of “Dancing With the Stars.”

“I’m a song-and-dance guy, I’m from the theater and trained theatrically,” he explained.

Wagner continued, “So when I did three years on ‘General Hospital,’ I went right to a national tour of ‘West Side Story,’ and we rehearsed in New York, all Broadway dancers and a Broadway cast. Then in ʼ88 I did a national tour of ‘Grease,’ then ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ in 2000 on Broadway.”

None of it prepared him for the feeling of being announced at the start of each dance, as he said it “was something that I really hadn’t experienced before.”

In June 2025, Wagner returned to “The Bold and the Beautiful” for a “summer story arc.”

“To come back and just kind of lock-in with [Katherine Kelly Lang, who plays Brooke] 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 at now. But it’s also like a class reunion. You get to catch up, and you hug, and you share.”