Soap Hub Performer of the Week for The Bold and the Beautiful: Matthew Atkinson

We admit that we kept waiting for a scene to air on The Bold and the Beautiful in which we would have learned that Thomas, played by Matthew Atkinson, was in cahoots with childhood pal Vinny regarding Steffy’s rigged paternity tests, as they paved a way for a Thomas/Hope reunion.

Matthew Atkinson — Performer of the Week

Alas, that scene never came but we learned along the way that Thomas, who plays a great conniver, also plays a pretty decent good guy! For his performances as a man who is passionately convincing those around him that he’s on the straight and narrow, Soap Hub bestows Performer of the Week honors on Thomas’s portrayer, Matthew Atkinson.

After butting heads with a skeptical Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang), a frustrated Thomas vented to his father Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) that he’s tried to convince Brooke that he’s changed to no avail.

“Just because Brooke can’t be reasonable about this doesn’t mean that I can’t be reasonable,” Thomas wisely told Ridge. “I’m not going to allow her to drive a wedge between us.”

Ridge assured his son that that’s not what Brooke was doing, but Thomas begged to differ, noting that when he was a child, Brooke tried (and succeeded) in wooing Ridge away from his family with Taylor (Hunter Tylo) and his sisters Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Phoebe (Mackenzie Mauzy).

In the hands of a lesser actor, Thomas might have resorted to snark or bitterness over this, but Atkinson is having Thomas take the high road and in the process, perhaps he’s showing those around him that he truly has changed.

Thomas is a good guy, but he’s certainly frustrated. He’s going to support Hope’s decision even if it entails her going back to Liam. But he’s not made of stone; if Hope were to give Thomas “hope for the future” (yeah, pun intended), then he’s going to be okay with that, too. And that doesn’t make him a bad guy.

If Thomas shows he’s got some hidden motives going on, Matthew Atkinson is doing a solid job of hiding that. The Bold and the Beautiful (BB) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes.