‘Bold and the Beautiful’ Star Heather Tom Dissects Bill & Katie’s Relationship
Q&A
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Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) isn’t the only Logan sister appearing in a classic wedding episode this week on Bold and the Beautiful.
On Wednesday, May 6, the wedding between Katie (Heather Tom) and Bill (Don Diamont) is re-airing as part of B&B’s marriage ceremony-themed week (if you missed it, head over to CBS.com to watch the episode). While Katie’s wedding day was one of her happiest, lately, she’s since had to deal with Bill’s wanderlust for her Brooke — again.
TV Insider chatted with the Emmy-winning Tom about revisiting Katie’s wedding, why she may — or may not — end up forgiving both Bill and Brooke and her directing career. Read on for the scoop.
It’s not an international locale, but Katie getting married by the house where she grew up was fitting after all those years of Stephanie (Susan Flannery) calling Brooke a “slut from the valley”’ What are your memories of that shoot?
Heather Tom: We shot it on the CBS Radford lot. It was really sweet. Patrick Duffy (Stephen) walked me down the aisle. There was some sweet Logan sister stuff. I thought it was all really well done and a lovely romantic story.
It’s hard to believe today’s wedding episode goes back to 2009, over 10 years ago!
Isn’t that crazy? It’s so nuts. Part of it seems like it was so long ago. Other times, it feels like yesterday. So much has happened in the last decade in terms of crazy, formative life stuff. I really dig what they’re doing by showing these episodes. It’s so fun to watch them. I’ve been seeing the old [Young and the Restless] episodes, too. I was so young!
I’m really happy that they chose Katie’s wedding for this. It’s definitely one of my favorite stories. It was a transformative story for Katie. It was such a sweet wedding. B&B has had some epic weddings. The location stuff alone has been insane. There’s a lot to draw from. [Laughs] I’m glad I made the cut!
What does Katie bring to Bill’s life that other women don’t? She changes him for the better, no?
I think they bring out the best in each other to a large extent. She is kind of the moral compass for Bill — for better or worse. She doesn’t let him get away with much. People have said she wants to change him, but I see it more as she has high expectations for him. I understand being that way. She knows it’s in him to do the right thing and to be the bigger person. She also recognizes that she didn’t fall in love with a boy scout — she doesn’t want a boy scout. I don’t think she has a problem with him being a certain way in business — strong, decisive, even ruthless — she has a problem when he lies to her!
Whether they ultimately end up together or not remains to be seen. You have people in your life who change your world view. Bill surely is that for Katie and I think Katie is that for Bill.
You’d both played characters on Young and the Restless for years. Was it long before people stopped seeing you as those characters once you were on B&B?
I think it happened pretty early on. I had been established as Katie before Don came on as Bill. Katie was different enough from Victoria. When Don started on the show, sure, viewers had an image of who he was on Y&R, but Brad [Bell, executive producer/head writer] created this character, who is just so different, and Don just ran with it.
I was a huge advocate of working with Don. I was at an event honoring Jeanne [Cooper, ex-Katherine, Y&R] and I had found out Don was coming. I texted Brad ‘please put Katie with Bill!’ I was a cheerleader. I don’t know that I had much influence in our being paired, but I certainly supported it!
These re-airings show how the show changes and how it stays the same. How does Katie deal with Brooke and Bill betraying her – again?
That’s an interesting question. With this most recent one, it’s one of those revelation moments. Katie faced it in a very pragmatic real way. It was upsetting and devastating, but I think she’s at that crossroads where she’s realizing, ‘Maybe this is just who [Bill] is. I want him to be something else. I always believed we could have that, but maybe this is who he is?’ [She will] have to either accept that or not. [Katie] will always forgive Brooke because she loves her … Is she hurt when she does this? Yes. She also knows she loves her and forgives her. That’s the dynamic between Katie and Brooke.
I think she can forgive Bill, too. These scenes have aired, but I like it when they become very adult. Katie and Bill have been married. They have this real relationship. I love working with Donald. I’ve known him most of my life. That’s why we have a chemistry that’s authentic.
Cliff Lipson/CBS
You’ve been doing some directing on Dynasty and Good Trouble. What’s that been like?
It’s been amazing. I got really lucky with the Dynasty script. It’s fun and it’s also daunting. You’re a guest director and you come in with your vision, and you also work within the confines of the show. The show is only going to be as good as the script. You can do as much as you want, but it’s not on the page it’s not on the stage. The Dynasty musical episode [set in the ’40s] that I directed was right up my alley. Because it was a fantasy episode, we could shoot it a little off-kilter. The cast was so down to really lean into it. They were fantastic. It was so much fun. I’m supposed to go back and shoot Good Trouble. We’ll see once everyone’s all back up and running.
Speaking of directing, the video you shot for Instagram on fitting into your jeans was hilarious.
Thank you. I’ve got a few more I’m about to do. My sister-in-law sent me this list of things that happen during quarantine. One was make sure you can try your jeans on as yoga pants can be deceiving. I have way too much time on my hands. I’ve got two or three more I’m getting done this week. There will be content coming your way. I can’t take myself too seriously. I’m not going to have the Halo light in my house and look all glossy. I so wish I were that person, but I’m not. I’m embracing my truth.
What else would you like to see in terms of theme weeks with classic B&B episodes?
I’d love to see Katie’s heart transplant storyline shown again. I think it’s great for the fans to see the super classic stuff. I’d like to see those fashion shows they did in years past. They’d blow out The Price Is Right stage [next door] and do fashion shows there. They would be amazing! They were epic. I would love to see old stuff with Darlene [Conley, ex-Sally]. Sally was always stealing designs. Darlene was so fantastic and so much fun to watch.
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