WLS Interview Archive: Carmen Thomas

Earlier this year, WE LOVE SOAPS TV had the chance to speak with former ALL MY CHILDREN star Carmen Thomas, who played Hillary in the 1980s. Hillary was involved in a popular pairing with Tad until Michael E. Knight left the show. She was later paired with Mitch but left town when Thomas decided to move on from the soap. In our two-part interview, she recalls landing the job at AMC, working with some legends of daytime, and reveals the new gifts she's discovered in recent years.

Part 1 - Thomas recalls being a teenager and moving from Georgia to New York City to take a role on ALL MY CHILDREN working with the likes of Ruth Warrick and Louis Edmonds.

Part 2 - Thomas reveals some of the new talents she's discovered in her life since leaving ALL MY CHILDREN and shares her thoughts on the talented men she worked with on the soap.

NOTE: Earlier this year it was revealed on ALL MY CHILDREN that Damon (Finn Wittrock) was Hillary's son with Tad.

Roger Newcomb is a producer and writer in New York City. Aside from co-hosting WE LOVE SOAPS TV, he has written and produced a full-length indie film, Manhattanites, and two radio soap operas, SCRIPTS & SCRUPLES and ROCKLAND COUNTY. He has also made acting appearances in indie web series IMAGINARY BITCHES and EMPIRE. He has consulted on numerous indie soaps and is currently an associate producer on THE BAY and executive producer on the upcoming indie short May Mercy Lie.

Catching Up With Carmen Thomas, Part 2 of 2

In Part One of the WE LOVE SOAPS TV interview with Carmen Thomas, the former ALL MY CHILDREN actress talked about landing her soap gig, "Hillary's" romances with Tad and Mitch, and working with the legendary Ruth Warrick. In Part Two below, Thomas shares thoughts on her post-soap career, the 50 Greatest Soap Actors she worked with, and the new gifts and talents she's discovered in her life over the years.

WE LOVE SOAPS TV: When Ruth Warrick (Phoebe) died, that's when I thought Hillary could have come back, at least for the day.
Carmen Thomas: I was really surprised about that too. I didn't get in contact with them or anything. My life has been so busy as it's been going on, I haven't thought to reach out to them. But I really would have thought I would have gotten a call from them then.

WE LOVE SOAPS TV: You went to London and did a lot of theater. You also did a lot of episodic work on shows like MELROSE PLACE and BABYLON 5. How was that type of work for you compared to the soap pace? Sometimes the work is more sporadic once an actor leaves a soap.
Carmen Thomas: At one point I think I got burned out with even pursuing acting. Auditioning and running around and pursuing it is not doing it. If you want to be an actor, that's a part of it you have to accept, unless you're on a show and know you're there. At one point, you know you have to make money to survive, and I had to find other things to do to make money. Then you're fitting in pursuing acting along with other jobs that you're doing. It's been a question of am I going to let go of acting. But I've never been about to say, "Yes, I will." It's always been something on my plate one way or another.

Catching Up With Carmen Thomas, Part 1 of 2

Carmen Thomas was just a teenager when she was hired by ALL MY CHILDREN in the 1980s to play Hillary Wilson, Langley's daughter. She made a big splash on the show in romances with Tad, and later Mitch. Her character has been revisited in scripts this year as Damon was revealed to be Hillary's son with Tad. How does Thomas feel about her soap days? And what has she been up to ever since? Find out in this exclusive two-part interview with WE LOVE SOAPS TV. In Part One below, Thomas shares stories of landing her soap role and moving to New York City at age 15.

WE LOVE SOAPS TV: How did your role on ALL MY CHILDREN as Hillary come about?
Carmen Thomas: It was a special time of my life when I was on the show. I was in high school in Georgia and they were looking for an innocent ingénue for ALL MY CHILDREN. Kim Delaney (Jenny) was leaving and they wanted to have someone in that position when she left as the sweet ingénue or sweetheart. [Joking] I guess they couldn't find anyone innocent in New York City so I was put on videotape in Georgia and they saw it. They flew my mother and I up to New York for a screen test. [Academy Award nominee] Melissa Leo was reading at the same time a me, not for Hillary, but the part of Cliff's sister. I was only 15 but I got the part. I had a week to move from Georgia to New York City. It was quite a whirlwind and was like my high school and college. I finished high school with the equivalency while I was in New York and did the show during the college years.