Thomas Forrester has conquered a few obstacles over the years on The Bold and the Beautiful. Now, he’s fighting an incredibly powerful adversary — his own inner demons as his mental health continues to deteriorate.
Matthew Atkinson on Thomas
When BB returned to production last summer, it set up safety protocols in light of COVID-19, including having the actors working with plastic dolls to help keep the virus at bay. However, Thomas (Matthew Atkinson) sharing scenes with the Hope mannequin is about him trying to make sense out of his life as he slides into mental illness.
It’s understandable that the guy is under some pressure. Over the last few years, Thomas has lost Caroline (Linsey Godfrey), the mother of his son, Douglas (Henry Joseph Samiri), fallen hopelessly (no pun intended) for Hope (Annika Noelle), and threatened people in a failed effort to keep her in his life. Plus, his treatment of Zoe (Kiara Barnes) was manipulative, at best, and cruel, at worst.
Soap Hub recently chatted with Matthew Atkinson on how he’s tackling this powerful storyline that’s shining a light on the subject of mental health.
Soap Hub: How would you describe Thomas’s condition right now?
Matthew Atkinson: Thomas is this very tortured soul. He’s trying to hold it together, but he wants to be a lot of things that he knows he’s not right now. He wants to be an incredible father to his son, Douglas. He also wants to be the best designer there ever was. He wants to make his father [Ridge, Thorsten Kaye] and grandfather [Eric, John McCook] proud. And right now, he’s not doing any of those things. He’s screwing up. He knows something is wrong and he knows he shouldn’t feel this way. It’s going to lead to everything he doesn’t want, but at the same time, he’s not able to fight it off.
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Does Thomas drop his act that everything’s okay around some people more than others? Or is it a case-by-case thing?
I think it’s on a case-by-case basis. Situations that can be so important to you aren’t always to others. When you’re dealing with a heavy issue at home, you have to go to work and realize that other people won’t see it the way you do.
On last Friday’s episode, we saw the Hope mannequin’s eyes flare-up. Is that a sign that Thomas is losing his grip?
It definitely adds a sinister side to the mannequin.
Thomas’s condition appears to be worsening. How are you pacing his journey?
It’s a hard thing to do in that this isn’t a play or a feature film. We don’t know when it’s going to end. Pacing isn’t on my mind, but rather I’m figuring out the reality of his situation as he is dealing with all this. If a person hears voices in his head for more than five days and it’s digging into the worse parts of you, how would a person feel? I think anyone in that situation would be struggling and wanting it to be over.
Will Thomas succeed as he fights for his sanity? Stay tuned to find out! The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS. Check local listings for air times.
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