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In a BOLD move, The Bold and the Beautiful decided to take the character of young Thomas Forrester in a new direction by re-casting the role with an actor with model good looks and sex appeal… actor Adam Gregory.  But it’s not just all about the looks. Adam’s portrayal looks to be a chip-off-the-old-block of the younger days of stubborn and cocky Ridge Forrester, Thomas’s on-screen father.  Now, hell-bent on getting his piece of the Forrester pie and then some, Thomas is going to create quite the buzz and stir the pot, and attempt the ultimate takeover of Forrester Creations.

On-Air On-Soaps caught up with Gregory in his dressing room at the set of the CBS sudser to discuss: Taking over the role from Daytime Emmy winner, Drew Tyler Bell, the difficulties playing dark, swarthy and sexy, growing up as the nerdy theatre guy, and transforming into a buff stud with a heart of gold, and working with the B&B superstars from Ronn Moss, (Ridge) Hunter Tylo, (Taylor) to Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke).

Now, with Thomas’s fashion show debut of his men’s line, all bets are off on who is going to eventually run the house of Forrester fashion.  And what about Thomas’s love life?  That is a question that leaves us pondering after chatting with Adam.  Something is in the works here, but what?  Charming, sensitive, and witty are three of the things we came away with from our chat with this B&B newbie and hottie, and we hope you feel the same.  Check out, Adam!

Listen to the audio:
The Adam Gregory Interview

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MICHAEL:

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You now have the task of making Thomas your own.  Drew Tyler Bell, your predecessor, won a Daytime Emmy for the role.   He wins an Emmy and then the show decides to go in another direction with the character and casts you.  Was that weird for you in any way, coming into that situation?

ADAM:

I just never really thought about it that way.  I came in with a whole different mindset.  I had never seen any of Drew Tyler Bell’s clips as Thomas.  I had an image of what Thomas was in my own head.  I think that is really the best thing one can do stepping into a situation like this, and that is, making Thomas my own.  I hear Drew did a great job, and obviously he did, he won a Daytime Emmy.  Yes, it is shoes to fill, but there is no such thing as too big of shoes to fill, right?

MICHAEL:

In another odd twist, Scott Clifton (Liam) and you were up for the same role of Ty Collins on 90210 and again for B&B.  Tell us what went down.

ADAM:

Scott and I were up for the same role, apparently for 90210. Scott made light of this when I finally came on-set here at B&B.  During the 90210 casting for the role of Ty, there was screen testing. They could not find anybody, and then they found out at 90210 that I could sing.  And so they brought me at the last minute and offered me the role. So I was sure Scott hated me!

MICHAEL:

So did Scott Clifton (Liam) and you actually audition against each other for the role of Liam?  Since you already went up for the same role on the primetime series 90210, was it a bit like history repeating itself?

ADAM:

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I don’t know if Scott Clifton and I auditioned for the same role at B&B.  That is because when you read for B&B, they use a sample script and use your name in the script.  I had no idea what my character was going to be.  All I knew was that I had to read with Jacqueline Macinnes Wood (Steffy), and that I had to be dark, and like a jerk.  I went and did that test and Scott got the role of Liam, and then I got a call that said, “They didn’t like you for one character, but we have another character for you and we can’t tell you yet.”  And I did not find out I was playing Thomas till a week or two before I started filming.  I knew I had a role on the show, but I did not know till around two weeks before I had to start.  So then, I had to do my homework with only two weeks prep!

MICHAEL:

So what happened when you found out that Thomas was one of the core character’s sons?  You are playing B&B veteran, Ronn Moss and Hunter Tylo’s child.  That is a big deal in soapland.

ADAM:

I did not really think about it.  I just remember them saying, “You look identical to your on-screen father.”  So I looked up Ronn, and I found his hit single with his band, Player, Baby Come Back! (Laughs). It did not really hit me.  I had a lot of work to do and I remember thinking, daytime runs fast, and I was used to 9021-slow!  This is boom, boom, boom, and I feel the soaps are actor’s boot camp.  I don’t think actors not on the soaps realize how much work goes into this every day.   It’s crazy.  I told my wife, anything I do after this is a piece of cake.

MICHAEL:

Had you ever watched an episode of The Bold and the Beautiful in your life to know about Ridge and Taylor?

ADAM:

My grandmother watches B&B.  I was born in 1987 when the show first started airing.  And, that is how long my grandma has been watching.  So B&B was always in the background during my childhood years, and I just wasn’t even aware of it.  Y&R, too, she loves them both.  When I was home sick from school, I would watch them.  But I never really watched soaps on a regular basis.  I was a cartoon kid.  I loved Marvel Super Heroes.

MICHAEL:

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You look like you could play a Marvel Super Hero in the movies.  I bet you want to play one!

ADAM:

Well, yeah. Superman 2013, I am going for that.  I am trying to gain as much weight as possible.  It would be nice. That is an ultimate; in 2013 I get a feature out, whoo-whoo!  I am sure if I got the chance to play Superman, B&B would let me do it! (Laughs)  “You got the role of Superman?  Cool. You’re coming back, right?”  And I would say, “Oh sure.  I am coming back!  I never want to leave.”  (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

You are taller than Ronn Moss. What are the numbers?

ADAM:

I am taller.  I think Ronn is 6’2 1/2 and I am 6’3.  I bet it probably burns him up!

MICHAEL:

So on that note, do you guys horse around on set and make jokes with each other?

ADAM:

I have fun and we joke around on the set.  It’s usually about the characters and their scenario type of jokes.  We had fun today, because I was shirtless all day.

MICHAEL:

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It was so odd.  I remember Adam lifting-weights shirtless in front of his sister, for no reason, somewhere!

ADAM:

Yes. I was lifting weights in front of my stepsister, Hope.  But not only was I lifting weights in front of my stepsister, I was lifting weights in the gym shirtless!  And if it that does happen in real life in a gym, you would get thrown out!

MICHAEL:

What is going on between Brooke and Thomas?   They are forming quite the alliance!

ADAM:

Brooke and I re-start up the men’s line, because she originated the men’s line.  What Thomas is doing is that he is intent on going for the CEO chair, which right now belongs to Ridge.  He realizes he has a grip of designs that he has done. Yet, he is insecure about them and he doesn’t know if he should show them.  But then, Thomas sees Steffy getting all this stuff handed to her and he thought, “I really need to fight my way into this company, apparently.”  So, he gets the backbone to show them his designs, since he knows Brooke knows what she is talking about.  She is great with the business, and it’s pure business between them.  Thomas does not care what Brooke has done personally. Thomas is just headed for that CEO chair.  I come into an alliance with Brooke to develop the new men’s line by Thomas Forrester.  So she helps him to do that, and so you can really look forward to the runway show.  It was crazy to shoot!

MICHAEL:

Are you on the runway? Are you wearing any clothes on the runway?

ADAM:

I am on the runway.  I am in a showstopper, and I am wearing a suit.  Of course, it is one of Thomas’s designs.  Isn’t it a Forrester tradition that they always give, or show, a showstopper?

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MICHAEL:

How is Katherine Kelly Lang to work with?

ADAM:

I love that woman.  At the end of a work week, she gets a bit slaphappy.  She always has so much to do every week that you can see why.  So, you could just say silly words to her like “spoon” and it will crack her up.  I just bop her on the nose and she is ready to go.  She is so cute, and I like her very, very, much.

MICHAEL:

Recently on episodes of B&B. there was this notorious “Party Boink” between Oliver and Brooke?  Do you think something like that can happen between Brooke and Thomas?

ADAM:

A Brooke and Thomas affair would be great!  Hasn’t she been with every Forrester?  That is really weird, though.  Simply, didn’t Brooke raise Thomas?  So with that, would that stop Thomas?  That is the thing.

MICHAEL:

You know what is funny, how all the children of the Forrester’s became such great designers in their own right.  When did Thomas become this great designer?

ADAM:

I don’t know.  I can’t draw to save my life.  Thomas probably has Ursula designing them for him!

MICHAEL:

What woman do you think will interest Thomas?

ADAM:

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Well, first of all they need to get a woman who isn’t related to him.  I think the only girl I could go for that is not biologically related is…

MICHAEL:

…Adrienne Frantz as Amber?

ADAM:

…Yeah, and didn’t Thomas and Amber sleep together at one time?   As far as Hope, that would be really awkward, too!  Hope is with Liam right now.  There is so much going on with Hope with Oliver and Liam. You know who I would love to work with?  Ashley Jones (Bridget).  I love her on True Blood! Honestly, I do not know who Thomas is going to be paired with at this point.

MICHAEL:

Do you see your version of Thomas as a “bad boy”?

ADAM:

He is going to be very dark, like an American Psycho-CEO type path, where it does not matter what is in his way.  He has a swagger and strong confidence at this point.

MICHAEL:

Is that easy for you to play: confidence and sexy?  Nic Robuck (James) on the soap One Life to Live, has to play this hunky guy with an edge.  He told me it is the hardest thing for him to play, as it is the furthest from his real self.  Is it the same for you?

ADAM:

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It is.  I think all actors commiserate with me from our high school years.  I was like 5’3” and 100 lbs.  I was a really small and in the drama club.  I was the nerdy guy and I was picked on a lot.  The beauty of acting is you get to pretend to be somebody else in that little moment of time.  It didn’t matter who, but it was better than being in that other world for a second. We are used to being the nerdy, out of the spotlight people in life.  So when we get into these roles, the only thing going for us is that we got to watch the guys before us be studs. So in some ways we are emulating them on how it is to portray a confident guy.  We saw all the attributes, but we did not have those attributes.

MICHAEL:

So are you comfortable with yourself now?  Given the rash of teen suicides via bullying in the news lately, and being that you were picked on in school, what part of that experience has affected you to this day?  What can you tell other high school kids about life after High School?

ADAM:

Well first, I am a five-year-old in every day life with my wife. (Laughs)  I had a really strong group of friends.  It kept me out of it.  I never had any of the peer pressure, because I was in my own little world in my drama club.  Keep your kids active in a good group of kids, is what I would say.

MICHAEL:

But, it had to be tough being picked on.

ADAM:

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I found my own way through it and to get active in your life. Once you are an adult, none of this matters.  I actually went home a little while ago to Ohio.  I had to change my mom’s battery in her car.  I went to the dealership to get the new battery.  The kid that had a locker next to me in school worked there.  And every morning in school, I dreaded going to my locker, because I knew I was going to get shoved into it.  And I got accused in drama club for being gay; no matter if I had a girlfriend, it didn’t matter.  It didn’t matter because you were viewed as an outsider.  I saw him, and everybody in Cincinnati knows I am an actor ever since I did 90210. It was very widespread in my hometown.  And when I went and saw this kid selling me a car battery from a dealership fixing cars, and I was able to have a man-to-man conversation without him having some weird upper hand on me, it was very freeing.  I was able to say, “How are you doing?” And he said, “Good.  I hear you are doing well out there in L.A.”  We were able to finally be adults and high school vanishes at that moment.

MICHAEL:

Do you think the high school “picked on” experience, makes people over-compensate later in adult life?

ADAM:

I don’t know how other people perceive their situation, but when I got out here to L.A. in order to work, I grew in a few ways.  It’s fun to explore the limits of your body.  So I started working out, got bigger, and my nutrition is a lot better.  But it is also about growing up and becoming a better human being, and not so much a spite thing.  It has worked out for me.

MICHAEL:

What do you think of your latest label as B&B or Soap Opera’s newest “Soap Hunk”?

ADAM:

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It is a little weird. STAR Magazine had done a four-page spread on me.  Somehow, they went to my hometown and they got all these pictures, and paid these people for them like friends and family. They did not know any better for a small town, and that is a lot of money and I don’t blame them.  I just wish they had told me first.  But, STAR Magazine did this spread, and the front two pages had something to do with going from being a geek to a hunk. The first page had me with my chubby face with my white pale Ohio skin.  I have a cross-eyed weird expression, and then on the other side there is an image of me on a red carpet.  Then, they had all these other weird photos of me growing up.  I just wanted to die! (Laughs)  But now I look back at it and I realize I was a weird kid.  But man, I would not be here if I wasn’t a weird kid.  It somehow worked to my advantage.  I am grateful, in a way.

MICHAEL:

Your wife and you have been married for 9 months.  How does it work for you and her?  Do you say to her, “Ok, I am going to be kissing other women on the show.  I am going to be shirtless.”  How do you address that?

ADAM:

There is communication with that.  I mean every single successful relationship is about communication.  If I have to do kissing scenes, we have rules.  And I have rules personally, and luckily my rules do not conflict with her rules.  I think I am more stringent than she is. When I see people kissing on television, unless it’s on purpose and it’s suppose to be a romantic episode with two people, and they are slobbering over each other, it ruins it for me and it’s gross.  So luckily, the Forrester’s are sensual men, who are both gentle and yet rough! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Since Jacqueline Macinnes Wood has been off filming a movie for a bit, have you had much opportunity for some on-screen sibling time?

ADAM:

I have worked with Jacqueline. We have not had one on one sibling time yet.  She is great, and she is who I tested with, and our chemistry acting wise was sensational. We feed off each other very well.

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MICHAEL:

Will we see more Taylor/Thomas scenes and problems, now that Thomas is aligned with Taylor’s arch nemesis, Brooke?

ADAM:

There are mother/son tiff’s coming up.  Just Thomas assimilating and working side-by-side with Brooke is going to make Taylor blow her top, and Thomas doesn’t care at all, because he is CEO bound.

MICHAEL:

What did B&B executive producer and head writer, Brad Bell, tell you about what is coming up for Thomas?

ADAM:

I have basic direction from Brad.  Thomas has become a man in everything he does, and he has become very cocky. 

MICHAEL:

Since the show decided to flip the character of Thomas when you came in, why now is it explained he suddenly wants to be CEO?

ADAM:

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Thomas has been part of the company for a very long time and he has been waiting for his moment to arrive, like they have been doing to Steffy.  Such as: “Here you go, Steffy! Here are your shares and the PR campaign and the bedroom line.”  She gets everything. Somehow, Thomas just gets left in the corner.  He obviously wouldn’t be working so hard to climb the ladder.  So he is going to take it into his own hands, no matter what.  It does not matter how he gets there and to the top.

MICHAEL:

Adam, so what would you say is a good tease to leave our On-Air On-Soaps audience with?

ADAM:

Well, he has his fashion show coming up.  He has been asexual so far, so I don’t know about a love scene.  I know I am shirtless a lot, but something shocking will happen!  I will say that.