B&B Star Naomi Matsuda Explains Li’s Motivations for Staying Silent

Viewers of The Bold and the Beautiful have wanted a showdown between Finn’s biological mother Sheila Carter and his adoptive mother Dr. Li Finnegan, played by Naomi Matsuda since Sheila crashed Finn’s wedding to Steffy Forrester Finnegan last summer. Soap Hub chatted with Matsuda about this inevitable confrontation that’s about to now take place.

Naomi Matsuda Talks Li’s Motivation

Li mistakenly used the present tense when referring to Finn (Tanner Novlan) during her visit to see Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown) in prison. It’s likely not a coincidence that once Sheila reconnected with old pal Mike Guthrie (Ken Hanes), she got a ‘get of jail free’ card and hightailed it over to Li’s hotel room to find out if her suspicions are true or not. Get the scoop from Naomi Matsuda about what’s going on in Li’s mind and why she didn’t tell anyone that Finn is alive!

Soap Hub: It sure looked like Finn was a goner. There was speculation he might be alive, but once Li referred to Finn in the present tense to Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye) at the hospital, we had hope. What were your thoughts on Finn being alive?
Naomi Matsuda: I was relieved and happy for [Tanner]. I was over the moon for him.

Soap Hub: Li has kept it a secret from everyone that Finn’s alive. Why?
Naomi Matsuda: She didn’t tell anyone because right now, everything is about Finn. She doesn’t care about anyone else’s feelings – including her own. She’s not going to tell anyone. Li, in a way, put the blame on the Forresters. That family has a history with Sheila. If he hadn’t married into that family then he wouldn’t have gotten shot. Li is upset.

Soap Hub: When Li came back to Steffy’s house, she saw Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Liam (Scott Clifton) embracing. How did that make her feel?
Naomi Matsuda: I think that completely justified it – seeing them hug like that. It was a red flag. On top of that, Li’s thinking is [Steffy] good enough for my son? Li is all about her son right now. In a way, Li’s not thinking rationally, but she is thinking about her son.

Soap Hub: Do you watch the air shows? The camera is capturing these strong, powerful reactions from Li. Your expressions often tell the whole story.
Naomi Matsuda: No, not all of them. But thank you. I am having a wonderful time.

Soap Hub: Many actors don’t. We’re seeing different sides to Li right now. She’s being deceptive. It speaks to her wanting to keep her son safe.
Naomi Matsuda: I love Li’s intensity. I’m having the best time. I love this stuff. I love being on set and being able to play whatever emotion the show and the story needs. I want the audience to feel – if they don’t, I’m not doing my job!

Soap Hub: Even though Li is lying to so many, do you feel the writers have given Li proper motivation to make the choices that she’s making?
Naomi Matsuda: Yes! And I appreciate that. I appreciate the writers.

Soap Hub: We’ve been wanting to see a Li v. Sheila showdown since Sheila showed up at the wedding reception.
Naomi Matsuda: Yes. I think so. I see a lot of #TeamLi and #TeamSheila out there right now.

The Bold and the Beautiful (BB) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Los Angeles, check out all the latest that’s been posted on B&B spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.

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