Since coming to The Bold and the Beautiful late last year, Matthew Atkinson is making his mark in the role of Taylor (Hunter Tylo) and Ridge’s (Thorsten Kaye) son, Thomas Forrester. But while Matthew was a recast for his predecessor Pierson Fodé, his Thomas is quite different. The new Thomas is a bad boy capable of horrific manipulations to get what he wants, and a young man who has caused so much suffering already for the Logans, Spencers, and the Forresters
But is there a heart underneath that often volatile exterior?
After all, Thomas went to great lengths to keep Hope (Annika Noelle) in a relationship with him and for her to be a “mother” to his son, following the death of Caroline. So, what did he do? He covered-up and blackmailed many people to keep their mouths shut to the truth – that his sister Steffy’s (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) little girl, Phoebe, was actually baby Beth, the child Hope and Liam (Scott Clifton) believed had died at birth!
Following the big reveal, and getting a bit of comeuppance, Thomas landed in the hospital with a questionable push from Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) after a fall. After promising to change his ways, looks like Thomas is back to scheming and conniving – this time to make sure Brooke gets payback and that her marriage to his father blows up to smithereens. Meanwhile, Thomas needs to be a better father to his little boy, Douglas (Henry Joseph Samiri), but will the Logans and the Spencers come between father and son?
Matthew Atkinson to get his take on: the emotional make-up of his incarnation of Thomas Forrester, what his ultimate takedown of Brooke would be, and how he thinks Thomas can find a way back into the family good graces, and more. Here’s what Matthew had to say about it all.
Thomas really has a vendetta with Brooke. The scene where Brooke slaps him illustrated just how deep-rooted his issues apparently are with her. What did you think about what Thomas said to Brooke that came to a boiling point with the slap, and what was it like performing the material with Katherine Kelly Lang?
MATTHEW: Katherine rocks every chance I get to be around her. She is such a sweet human being and so fun to work with and takes her job seriously and puts a lot of work in, and I think it shows. As far as the scene goes, every chance that I get to work with her is fun. She’s just a great actress. Brooke basically had this vendetta against Thomas for a while now, and she was the one who unjustifiably went a little crazy about Thomas before anybody knew Thomas was off the rails. So, it’s kind of this interesting culmination of having that where she has built herself up to hating Thomas at this point, and she is just scared of him and what he could possibly do. Then you have Thomas, who has hated Brooke ever since she came in and destroyed his family. There is so much emotion there and so many levels to it. It’s just so much fun to play around with, and in those scenes especially, it is kind of like neither one of them really has a filter. They are both just going at each other.
He is punctuating his plan by telling Brooke that she may, “Have his father tied around her slutty little finger, but her reign of terror ends with him!” I was just like, “Uh-oh.” (Laughs)
MATTHEW: Yeah, and that’s how Thomas sees Brooke. He sees her as this slutty woman who came in and kind of giggles her way into his dad’s life and flirted with him and destroyed his entire family. Thomas sees her and all of her sisters as these air-headed women who are kind of just family-destroying kind of people. They come in, they do whatever they can to get what they want, and he doesn’t care about them at all. I think he has kind of gotten to this point, especially with Brooke … considering what happened with Hope and that he has this genuine love for Hope. Brooke won’t even accept that, or think about that as a possibility with how she views him. It’s that crazy dynamic and those scenes were definitely an emotional peak for both of them.
Thomas seems to become obsessed, and laser-focused on people like Hope, and now Brooke. What has happened to him? How are you playing this behavior pattern of his that we are seeing established?
MATTHEW: Some of the most successful people in the world are people who obsess over things. I think Thomas is like that, but I think that since Caroline’s death, his obsessive nature has been so focused on things other than fashion. They aren’t his job and what his talents are, which is where he should focus all of that energy, but instead it’s been on his son needing a mother. So, getting Hope in his life was key to him, and with Brooke, it’s a woman who has destroyed his entire family. He wants his dad to be better off. He wants his entire family to be better off. He honestly feels that they would be better off without Brooke in their lives, and so that is what he is focused on. I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad attribute to have when it is focused in the right direction, but for Thomas, since the death of Caroline, his focus has been on things that are a little abstract and are not necessarily objectively sound decisions.
What was interesting was that I did not know how they were going to be able to save the character of Thomas on the B&B canvas after all that he has perpetrated. But then, there were scenes in the hospital where he is recovering from his “fall”, and Thomas is having big emotional scenes with Ridge and Steffy. In those moments as the viewer, you say to yourself: “Oh, they’re going to redeem him,” but then they don’t.
He goes right back to a new vendetta. What did you think of those plot twists?
MATTHEW: The interesting thing about this character is that I don’t think this guy is a bad guy. I think he is a guy who is doing a lot of bad things, but I think a lot of people can relate to him and the struggles that he is dealing with: being a single father and having a rough childhood with his family being broken up. This is a guy who wants his father to approve of him and respect him and he has never really felt that way. I think a lot of people out there know what it’s like to have a parent who they just want approval from but can’t get it … couple that with the fact that he let his sister down. Everybody knows what it is like to think that they are making the right decision and end up making the wrong decision and possibly hurting someone in the process … and the kind of shame that you feel from doing something like that. I think this makes Thomas an interesting character where viewers could say, “Well, he is doing bad things, and I don’t agree with anything that he is doing, but I can relate to him, and I want him to be better, and I want him to get better and become the good person we all know he can be.” Yet, Thomas just keeps making all of the wrong decisions.
MATTHEW: Okay, we shall see. (Laughs) They have aligned interests; especially at the moment, when it comes to removing Brooke from that situation. I think with Shauna, it’s fun that Denise Richards has come into this role and what she has done with this character.
Denise Richards is doing a great job in the role.
MATTHEW: She’s amazing, but I think that behind the thought process she has is this woman, Shauna, who is not so dissimilar from Thomas, and is willing to blur the lines of what is acceptable and morally sound to make sure that she gets what she wants.
When you were taping those emotional hospital scenes where Thomas admits he has lost his way, and reaching out to his dad to try to find forgiveness, how were playing those scenes with Thorsten Kaye?
MATTHEW: I respect Thorsten a lot as an actor. I just love having scenes with him because I feel like we play off of each together so well. When we enter a scene together, we are both in it. When you are both in it, something real happens from that, and those real moments are kind of magical in a way, and it makes you feel great about the work that you do. Thorsten shows up, and he’s prepared, he knows what he is doing, and at the same time, there is this connection between father and son. I think Thorsten and I have definitely done that as father and son, and Jacqui and I have done that as brother and sister.
Since the show usually has you shirtless or sneering in scenes (laughs), I was so happy that they finally let you have some crying scenes. It was at the point that the audience was able to see you bring another emotional level and dimension to the character.
MATTHEW: I think he is not a guy who breaks down and cries very often. It takes something very serious (especially for him) to get to that point. For Thomas, the most important thing in the world is family, and he has kind of destroyed his relationship with his own family with what he has done, and I think that from the inside out is what breaks him.
Speaking of shirtless scenes; in a short amount of time you have been with the show, I think you may have set a record there.
MATTHEW: (Laughs) Yep. It’s all the time because the wardrobe sends me mostly pants – no shirts (Laughs).
Obviously, there is the issue of Thomas’s son, Douglas … and will he lose him because Hope and Liam want to gain custody of him. Brooke wants Thomas out of Douglas’ life for good. This poses a major obstacle for Thomas moving forward. Agree?
MATTHEW: Sure. However, Brooke has no legal right to stand on. You can’t just take a guy’s son. There’s no legal way to do that, but they can try their hardest to either sign adoption papers or sign over custody, or something like that, but there’s not a legal way they can go and just take his son. There are a lot of people who I understandably think Douglas would be better off with being raised by Hope and Liam, but I think Thomas has a point of view too, and just because he is going through a bad part of his life at this time, doesn’t mean that he is unfit to be a father. I think Thomas will prove that he is fit to be father and all the while, a great force to be reckoned with.
But, Thomas hasn’t been so great to Douglas, either. Hasn’t he yelled at his son, manipulated him for his own gain, etc?
MATTHEW: Right, this was kind of right before the truth about Beth came out, and Thomas was on this massive downward swirl where he wasn’t thinking clearly; he wasn’t himself. I think in reality, you have a person who went off the rails, he wasn’t being himself, he found the person he wasn’t, and I think that the “accident” of Brooke pushing him off a cliff, the slip, kind of clarified his intention in life to be a good, standup person from here on out. So, I think his priorities are straight now, and I think he is thinking clearly. I don’t think he is in the same mental state that he was before, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he won’t be manipulative and that he won’t get what he wants, because he will. There was a time that he went through a headspace when nothing was really clear for a minute, and he didn’t really have any moral backbone, but I don’t think that moving forward you’re going to see a Thomas Forrester that would hurt his son. You’re going to see a Thomas Forrester who will stop at nothing to protect his son.
How does Thomas feel about Hope now, especially since Hope wants to raise Douglas?
MATTHEW: Well, here is what I will say; I think that Thomas has always had a love for Hope. I think he respects her as a person, I think he has seen her be a mother to his child, and that is undeniable … how much of a connection that she has to Douglas, and she is incredibly important to him. Thomas can basically discard any Logan except Hope. Hope is kind of his kryptonite. So, going forward, I think you’ll maybe see a guy who wants to discard Hope as a person who he cares for (her and the rest of the Logans), but he may not be able to do that, because she has got a place in his heart that he can’t compartmentalize and leave behind.
What can you say about working with Annika Noelle, because you as Thomas had been terrorizing Hope for many months?
MATTHEW: Well, she’s a sweetheart, but also, secondly, she is a badass. She could kick my butt any day of the week. So, I just had to make sure that in between takes I said, “You understand that I wouldn’t do this to you.” She’s so sweet, and she was actually one of the first people to talk to me about taking over a role on the show, because she had been one of the most recent people to take over a role, and that was something that was really hard for me. Coming into a character that has already been there for 30 years, you have a lot to live up to. She was amazing from the beginning just helping me through that process.
On that note, what did you think of the epic fight scene on the rooftop opposite Scott Clifton; right before all the truth came out to Hope that Beth is alive and Thomas was lying to Hope and up to no good?
MATTHEW: So much fun. The shots they got were incredible. Shooting those fight scenes was so much fun and I love Scott to death. So, every time we get to work together it’s fun, but just getting outside and literally pretending to beat the crap out of each other is a blast. We got to go out to Malibu, and I got to fall over a cliff. What else can you say about that? (Laughs)
There is another interesting relationship Thomas has on B&B, and that is with his friend, Vinny. How has it been creating the on-screen dynamic with Joe LoCicero (Vinny) as these two scheming dudes?
MATTHEW: I like it, and I love Joe. This dynamic between these two guys is really funny because you have this shrewd, alpha male, Thomas Forrester, who is extremely driven, and insanely smart, but also very manipulative and he has got a thousand things going on. On the flipside, you’ve got Vinny, who is just this guy who he has been friends with for a really, really long time, who just kind of lives life. He is living in his apartment in Venice, he sells some not so legal substances just to his friends, and he’s a decent guy. It’s just fun when we have these scenes together, because essentially you’ve got him looking at me like I’m an alien creature, and thinking, “I don’t understand this guy. I don’t know why he is acting this way, but who cares; I’m going to eat my Chinese food.” (Laughs) I think it kind of grounds some of those scenes especially when you see Thomas going off that rails, and his friend doesn’t even seem to notice. (Laughs)
I know! (Laughs) Thomas has got his own sidekick.
MATTHEW: I think Vinny wants to give sound advice, but he gives all the worst advice. He’s like, “Well, the way you described it Thomas, it sounds like a good idea, so yeah, go ahead with that,” but maybe doing a little behavioral cognitive therapy and questioning would be good for Vinny. He just kind of goes, “okay,” (laughs) but I think that’s what makes those scenes so much fun.
Have you had any interactions with fans, or are you checking out on social media what the viewers are saying about Thomas? Do they love him? Hate him? Is there a great debate going on? What is your take on where Thomas sits with the audience?
MATTHEW: Oh, yeah. I definitely pay attention. The fans are the reason I have the job that I have. All the feedback that I have seen is positive, and by positive, I mean that it is emotionally effective. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that people are happy with Thomas because most people are not happy with Thomas. They don’t like what he is doing, and that obviously gets them angry or sad or whatever, but that is kind of the point of the show. If you’re watching a bunch of characters who are all great people and who all do nice things, then it wouldn’t be that much fun to watch. You’d be watching 40 Liam’s talk to each other, and it would be like, “Yeah, it’s just another day in Happy World.” (Laughs) I think that Thomas especially has been such a driving force in the last couple of months and caused a lot of drama. I think there are a lot of storylines that people have connected to in the past that are really making people enjoy the drama happening now.
You have the people who hated Ridge getting together with Brooke in the beginning that are happy with what Thomas is doing now. You have the people who are pro – Liam and Steffy. Thomas has been a big advocate of that since the beginning. There are some people who just can’t stand Thomas and don’t like him, and he makes them mad, but the reality of it is that there is a thin line between love and hate. So, as long as they love me or hate me, I’m happy.
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