“I loved working opposite Dan Gauthier,” Tom says fondly.
However Tom did say that she would not be opposed to Kelly possibly finding
another love in Llanview. “Hmmm maybe Kelly and Antonio or maybe even Kelly and
John McBain….they’re so many eligible bachelors for Kelly in Llanview,” Tom
shares with a laugh.
I did ask Tom what she thought about seeing her character
paired with town bad boy Todd Manning, thus igniting a feud and love triangle
with onscreen cousin Blair and leaving Aunt Dorian pulling her hair out knowing
that another one of her nieces has been wooed by Manning himself. “You know that
could have some interesting outcomes,” Tom says excitedly.
No matter what obstacle Kelly must overcome next or which
one of Llanview’s handsome bachelors will sweep her off her feet, one thing is
for certain Tom is sticking around Llanview. Rumors have been circulating on the
NET for months now that Tom was unhappy at One Life to Live and was
hoping to reassume the role of Victoria at her old stomping grounds. This rumor
picked up more steam when former Kelly portrayer Gina Tognoni said in a recent
issue of Soap Opera Weekly that Tom was indeed leaving the role this
fall. With the elephant already in the room, I went straight to the source and
asked Tom her thoughts on Tognoni’s comments and the rumors surrounding her
returning to her old stomping grounds.
“First of all, I am happy on One Life,” says Tom.
She continues, “I have a lot of great memories during my time on Y&R and
I do still stay in touch with some of my former co-stars, but I left Y&R
to see what other opportunities, one of which was the role of Kelly, were out
there. Secondly, I had heard about the comments that Gina had made, but honestly
I am not sure where she got her information….I still have some time left on my
contract and neither ABC nor I have started talks regarding a new contract yet.
So all you OLTL fans can breathe a sigh of relief
knowing that Tom will be gracing us with her stellar performances, while pulling
double and triple duty. Yes you read that right, Tom is pulling double and
triple duty with many other opportunities that have come her way recently. Most recently, Tom wrapped filming a guest starring role for the upcoming
season of the USA Networks hit show MONK, starring Tony Shaloub.
“In the episode I play a young woman whose sister has been
murdered by her husband and Shaloub’s character of Monk comes to investigate and
tries to figure out who the real murderer is,” reveals Tom. “I cry every day in
daytime and I cried throughout this entire episode… I guess I am a good crier,”
she continues with a laugh. “Overall, I had such a fun time filming this
episode and working with Tony and the rest of the cast and crew of the show… I
do not have an airdate yet, but I think it is the fourth or fifth episode of the
new season.”
As if playing a role on a long running daytime drama and
guest starring in some of the hottest prime time shows on television today is
not enough, Tom piled her plate a little bit fuller by accepting a role in the
upcoming independent television film called The Rival. So while all of
her One Life co-stars were enjoying the sun and sand of Los Angeles in
preparation for the Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, Tom was busy preparing herself
for a flight to Canada to film this role.
“Unfortunately, I did not get to attend the Emmy’s this
year,” Tom says with a sigh. “I flew out to Canada the morning of (the Emmy’s)
to film this role.” She continues, “The movie is a thriller and I play a
surrogate mother who was selected to carry a child for a couple…the wife of this
couple goes crazy and in turn tries to kill my character,” she says. “We had a
lot of fun…it was long hours but a lot fun.”
Tom did however get to spend some time with past and
current co-stars and other daytime legends such as Bree Williamson, Kate Linder,
Michelle Stafford, Alexandra Chando, Tamara Braun, and Vanessa Marcil during the
Emmy week when she opened up her Los Angeles home for a star studded charity
event to raise money and awareness for Daytime for Planned Parenthood, a charity
which Tom helped develop. “On the Wednesday before the Emmy’s I hosted an event
called Daytime for Planned Parenthood, A Celebration of the Women of Daytime
television,” she shares.
“It poured and I mean poured rain that evening and I was
terrified that it was going to be just me and the caterers,” says Tom with a
laugh. “But 26 celebrities showed up and we had a great time raising money and
awareness for this organization.” Tom also let me in on the purpose of Planned
Parenthood and how she got involved.
“Planned Parenthood is a national and world wide charity
organization that raises awareness of the health issues facing women,” says
Tom. “Many of these issues get overshadowed by larger issues and end up being
swept under the carpet and even forgotten about…..this organization has been so
supportive of me during my career that supporting them and the issues they are
promoting is something that is important to me.”
But Planned Parenthood is not the only charity that Tom
actively participates in during her down time from filming. She also works very
closely with several AIDS service organizations such as Caring for Babies and
Families with Aids, Project Angel food and AIDS project Los Angeles. In
addition, Tom is passionate about politics and even worked closely with
Congressman Loretta Sanchez’s campaign and Rock the Vote, during the last
Presidential election, which encouraged young adults to get out and let their
voices be heard through voting.
So the next time that you venture to the Big Apple or Los
Angeles, be on the look out for Heather Tom and thank her for all the hard work
she does on and off the screen. You may just see this avid runner making a trek
through the park or you may catch her pulling double duty between One Life to
Live and headlining a theatrical performance, which she has a passion for.
Heather Tom exudes poise and grace and is definitely one
busy lady. We are fortunate to have an actress of her caliber grace our
televisions each and every afternoon. I would like to thank Ms. Tom for taking
time out of her extremely busy schedule (she was at the studio in between
filming episodes of One Life the day this interview occurred) to provide
SoapTown USA and all of her fans with this exclusive interview. A huge thank you
also goes out to her publicist, Tom DeLorenzo for making this this interview
happen.
Visit Heather's official site
HeatherTom.net
Classy, caring, talented, vibrant and beautiful, for many
soap fans reading this right now those words could easily describe
many of daytime’s greats who grace our screens and entertain us each
and every day. However never were these words more true when
describing the multi talented Heather Tom who assumed the role of
fan favorite Kelly Cramer Buchanan on ABC’s One Life to Live
in December 2003. “I am having so much fun in this role and on the
show,” says Tom with an excitement that became a familiar sound
throughout the interview.
In the fall of 2003 Tom made a decision that sent
shockwaves throughout the world of daytime. After playing the role of Victoria
Newman for 13 years, Tom was leaving the sand and surf of the West Coast to
explore the bright lights and hustle and bustle of the Big Apple. “One of the
reasons that I left Y&R was to take the role of Kelly on One Life,”
she shares. Even though Tom had some wonderful times at Y&R, she
revealed to me that she is having a blast on One Life to Live. “I love
being here, being part of this cast,” she says. “Kelly has been through so
much drama over the last few years, but I am excited to see where the character
goes and what new dimensions can be added,” she continued. 
One of those dimensions will be from the fallout of Kelly’s
flirtations with her stepson, Duke Buchanan and the dissolution of her marriage
to hubby Kevin. “There is some good stuff on the horizons because of all of
this, and I am excited about having the opportunity to play it out,” Tom
reveals. As much as I tried, I could not pry out of her