I'M NOT A BUSINESSPERSON, BUT I PLAY ONE ON TV

Four stars dish about their characters' office politics.

BOLD & BEAUTIFUL

MATTHEW ATKINSON (Thomas)

Who would you say was your character's professional mentor, Ridge or Eric? “That's a hard question to answer. They are both major influences. However, I would say that his father was a more effective influence because Thomas wanted his father's approval — but he also disapproved of his father's decisions in their family and so you have this weird dynamic to overcome, so everything his father did affected him more significantly than what his grandfather did."

Who is your character's most trusted co-worker? “I would say Steffy. I think they have a good business relationship. They get along great both at work and at home. She is really good at running the company and Thomas is really good at what he's doing now. I don't think that Thomas sees the head designer as less than the CEO. I think he views those two positions as being more equal, and together, they make a very strong presence."

Is there anyone else on the show whose job your character envies? “At the moment, no. He's very happy doing what he's doing.”

As the head of the design team, Thomas has a number of employees reporting to him. How would you rate Thomas as a boss? “I actually think Thomas is a pretty great boss, other than when he's manipulating others and hurting people ſlaughs]. If you remove that element of his past and his history, I think the way you're seeing Thomas now is in a much more contented state and working well with people and open to new ideas and not letting his ego get in the way too much. I think Thomas is a great boss."

Thomas was CEO of Forrester on an interim basis. Do you think he has ambitions to take over the company again someday? "Yes, I think he absolutely does."