Source: Edmonton Journal (Southam Incorporated)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Liliana Novakovich, Soaps
Sunday, February 13, 2000
Transcribed by Theresa from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Losing the role of Pacey to Joshua Jackson on Dawson's Creek hit David Tom real hard.
But he got over it.
And he got the role of rebellious Billy Abbott on The Young and the Restless over hundreds of competitors.
"The show has definitely put me in the public eye," he understates. He is 21, plays 16 – but he can relate.
"I remember being kind of a rebel, wanting to go and do my own thing. I hated the curfew thing. But I wasn't a super-bad kid. My mom gave me a lot of freedom and she gave me room to make my own mistakes. And I made them. But I learned from them, too.
"I think Billy is a good-hearted kid, but he's been hurt. Billy has problems like any other teenager has with his insecurities, his family – and, in his case, he's been hurt by his mom (played by Jess Walton) because she chose her business career over raising him."
Acting is the family biz. His older sister, Heather, plays Victoria on Y&R, and his twin, Nicholle, was on The Nanny.
"I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't want to act," he allows. Like his siblings, Tom started his career doing print work and commercials in the Chicago area. (The Toms' hometown is Hinsdale, Ill.) He did his first commercial at age eight. It was for McDonald's.
Modeling for Marshall Field department store got him better graft.
"I was happy to work at Marshall Field because they always gave you a bag of toys and stuff when you were done – and I don't know how many times I did it. So that was really cool for a little kid. When we got older, it was more our decision to stay in the business."
They were raised by their mother, Marie, who initially relocated the family to Seattle, then took the plunge and moved to Los Angeles on a trial basis. The kids got work right away. Tom was a regular on the Barbara Eden series A Brand New Life and guested on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, 3rd Rock from the Sun and Party of Five. His film credits include Swing Kids, Stay Tuned, Roommates and Pleasantville, which he describes as his turning point – especially since he'd hit a wall when he turned 16. No longer a kid, not yet an adult, he was in no-man's land.
"I hated it," he admits, "I wasn't working. I was basically just trying to live. Then I got Pleasantville, which was awesome." (He played Whitey, the town bully.)
"It seemed to make the transition happen. I had a chance to work with names like Joan Allen, which was really cool."
He learned to be grateful for what he has from that painful period of unemployment.
"I'll never take anything for granted," he says, "I know it may not be here tomorrow. I've seen people my age get really sucked up into the business, become completely different people. And I don't want to be like that at all.
"Although I took it really hard, I didn't give up. I kept going out and auditioning."
Which, he says, is good advice for anyone serious about the craft.
"Don't give up because more than likely, it's not going to happen overnight. Don't come into it thinking it's all going to be fame, fortune and glamour. It's not; it's hard work. It takes a specific type of person to be an actor, because you have to deal with criticism and rejection. So, just keep at it and work, work, work. If somebody shows dedication and strives for it, they will succeed."
*This page was last updated on February 16, 2000*
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