As Bold & Beautiful’s Matthew Atkinson Lets Loose on Thomas’ Confounding Storyline, His ‘New’ Mom Joins In: ‘It’s Time You Had Full Custody’ of Douglas
Friday, November 12th, 2021
Star has his say on his alter-ego’s parenting problems *and* his dating life.
Bold & Beautiful star Matthew Atkinson hopped onto his Instagram account to repost an adorable photo of his character Thomas holding his onscreen son, Douglas (Henry Joseph Samiri), in his arms. But the sharing didn’t stop there — it turned out the newly shorn actor had a few things to say about his alter-ego’s storylines as well…
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It all started out cheerily enough as he asked his followers, “Who’s happy to see Douglas back in his dad’s arms?” Why all of us of course… right? But we did a double-take when the next question he posed seemed to take aim at the boy living with Hope and Liam. He queried, “Who also thinks he should be back living with his actual father and not pawned off to our resident daycare?”
“Who thinks Hope isn’t his actual mom?”
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
Taking it a step further, Atkinson poked the bear — or the Liam as the case may be — who just happens to be Thomas’ onscreen rival, with his next zinger: “Who thinks Liam needs to focus on his own kids first?” Liam currently has his hands full dealing with Hope’s yen to bring her ex-con father into the family fold, so again, we’d have to agree that Douglas may be better off out of that particular fray.
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In a fun twist, other Bold & Beautiful actors responded to the post. Jennifer Gareis (Donna) dropped a row of hearts, and it was revealed that at least one other “character” shared “Thomas’” views on Douglas’ living situation — his mother Taylor, who just happens to be set to return to the canvas after an extended absence. Daytime vet Krista Allen, who was recast in the role formerly played by Hunter Tylo, jumped into Atkinson’s comments to agree, “Darling, it’s time you had full custody.” Well. If she isn’t just the person to help him get it too. Who wouldn’t love to see that drama?!
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The star also joked about his frustration with Thomas’ dating prospects, which, we have to admit, have been ridiculously limited historically given that these characters live in Los Angeles. Egging on his followers, Atkinson opined that perhaps “Thomas should open up his dating pool outside those he can hit with a pen from his desk at work.”
What do you think about Atkinson’s take on Thomas’ storylines? Is it time to reset Thomas and Douglas’ relationship and expand his dating horizons? Share your take with us in the comment section below, but first, see if the character made our gallery of soaps most recast characters in the photo gallery below.
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<p>When the son of Joe and Ruth Martin graduated to grownup storylines in 1988, he also graduated to a grownup portrayer in Michael Brainard (who’d later play Ted Capwell on <em>Santa Barbara</em>). Just look at that expression: There’s a guy who’s thinking about his tax return! It doesn’t get any more adult than that.</p>
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<p>Ricky Paull Goldin — previously Dean Frame on<em> Another World</em> — rounded out the adult Jake trilogy, playing the part from 2008 until the soap’s 2011 cancellation by ABC. <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/gallery/pine-valley-all-my-children-characters-necessary-abc-photos/" target="_blank">Catch him next on <em>Pine Valley</em></a>? That remains to be seen.</p>
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<p>Though the soap hit the bullseye when it cast Sarah Joy Brown — the fan favorite went on to win three Emmys — she left in 2001. How, fans wondered, could anyone replace her? Pretty well, it turned out.</p>
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<p>Tamara Braun made the role her own — and made herself an in-demand daytime MVP in the process. She went on to appear on <em>All My Children</em> and to return to <em>General Hospital</em> as Kim Nero before resurrecting <em>Days of Our Lives</em>’ “ill-fated” Ava Vitali. Following her four-year run as Sonny’s moll, the show hoped to nail the key casting once again.</p>
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<p>Jennifer Bransford was already well-known to ABC viewers, owing to her run as <em>One Life to Live</em> nut job Georgie Phillips. But she didn’t <em>quite</em> work as Carly. So after just six months, the show switched gears and replaced her with…</p>
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<p>Fresh off her run on <em>Guiding Light</em> as stripper-turned-princess Cassie Winslow, Laura Wright relocated from Springfield to Port Charles and never looked back. By now, it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the queenpin — even though we know, we <em>know</em>, they did!</p>
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21/64
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22/64
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23/64
<p>Once puberty hit the character, Drew Tyler Bell stepped in — and whad’ya know, there was reliable strumpet Amber Moore to ease Thomas’ transition into manhood.</p>
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24/64
<p>When Adam Gregory inherited the role in 2010, Ridge’s chip off the ol’ block started doing a lot more lounging around with his abs rippling. Of note: This made total sense.</p>
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25/64
<p>Though he’s wearing a shirt in this shot — yes, he <em>did</em> still own them! — the version of Thomas that Pierson Fodé played got naked often enough to conceive Douglas with Caroline Spencer <em>and</em> have a fling with Sally Spectra.</p>
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26/64
<p>When <em>Young & Restless</em> vet Matthew Atkinson — he’d been Austin Travers — was tapped to take over in 2019, the show brought to the fore Thomas’ dark side. Also a keener-than-we’d-guessed appreciation for mannequins that resemble Hope Logan.</p>
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<p>Back in 1987, the show had high hopes for Joseph Adams when he was dropped into a love triangle with supercouple Patch Johnson and Kayla Brady. But those hopes were quickly lowered, and Jack was quickly recast, first with the blink-and-ya-missed-him James Acheson, then with…</p>
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<p>The third time definitely <em>wasn’t</em> the charm for this legacy character: Ken Kenitzer came and went so fast that there isn’t even a photo of him. Kevin Stapleton made a more lasting impression in his 1996-98 stint in the role.</p>
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