The term “whirlwind” doesn’t even come close to describing the recent life of “The Bold and the Beautiful’s” Kim Matula (Hope Logan). In addition to accepting “B&B’s” ninth consecutive Golden Nymph award at the International TV Audience Awards during the 54th Monte Carlo Television Festival in Monte Carlo this month and just finishing filming on location in Paris, France, she’s still basking in the recent news that she officially received her very first Emmy nomination!
“The day the nominations came out, I woke up at six in the morning to a phone call from my parents in Texas, and [initially], I was so concerned: I was like, ‘Oh God, who died? What’s happening!’” she says with a laugh. “I was freaking out, but then my mom reminded me that the nominations had come out that morning, and she was so excited to tell me I’d been nominated.”
Though extremely excited for herself, the actress couldn’t help but immediately think of her good friend and co-star, Linsey Godfrey (Caroline Spencer), who was also nominated in the category of Outstanding Younger Actress for this year’s awards. “I’m so excited that we’re both first nominated together in the same year,” she enthuses, adding that it’s not at all uncomfortable to be competing against someone she’s so close with. “It can be hard for some people, but I feel like Linsey and I have always had such a great relationship with each other; we always want the best for the other person. For instance, if we get audition notices for something, and we think that the other person would be good for it, we’ll send them the audition, like, ‘Hey, you need to go out for this! I’m going out for it on Friday, and you need to go out for it, too!’ You’re not supposed to do that, right? Because it’s more competition! But we just want to see the other one succeed, so it’s really not weird. It’s great.”
However, while Godfrey chose to submit comedic scenes, Matula entered the race with dramatic material. “I submitted the clips where Hope and Liam [Scott Clifton] are in Brooke’s [Katherine Kelly Lang] cabin, and it’s basically the end of their engagement,” she explains. “Hope took off her engagement ring and is very upset, because Liam sent a video to Steffy [Jacqueline MacInnes Wood], and Liam is trying to convince Hope to put her engagement ring back on.”
And, as the actress explains, choosing those scenes was a no-brainer. “This was actually the first year where it really wasn’t all that difficult,” she says. “The scenes were far more intense and emotional than I anticipated, because you know, Hope and Liam have had so many breakup scenes, that it’s like, when you’re reading it, you’re like, “Ok, ok, they’re breaking up again. Great.” But when we filmed them, it was really interesting: They were very emotional and raw, and I couldn’t stop myself from crying during those scenes. And it was just naturally happening. And so I just felt like those were good scenes, because they were so real for us when we were shooting them, and they happened very organically, which was really nice.”
As for what made this breakup different from the numerous other splits the onscreen couple has experienced, Matula says it was her alter ego’s placement within the drama. “This was the first real breakup where Hope was no longer on the outside. Hope was now the man in the middle,” she explains. “Liam walked in on her and Wyatt [Darin Brooks] kissing, and generally, it’s the other way around: Generally, Hope is walking in on Liam and Steffy kissing! So this was different. It was definitely tables being turned, and Liam kind of getting a taste of his own medicine a little bit.”
Matula may not have had a tough time narrowing down her own Emmy scenes, but she admits that certainly wasn’t the case when it came to voting, which she did for the Lead Actor category. “That was a lot on my shoulders!” she says with a laugh. “There were so many incredible scenes, and it was hard to choose! It’s really important to stay unbiased. That’s really what voting is. You love somebody, but there are so many amazing actors out there, that you really have to go on the talent and what they brought to the table in their scenes.”
Though admittedly, if she could have had it her way, Don Diamont (Bill Spencer) would have been on the final nominee list. “I was a little surprised that he wasn’t, just because he works really, really hard and I think it shows,” she says. “So I was a little surprised that he wasn’t on the ballot. But there are so many fantastic actors, that I know it’s really difficult to choose. And I’m really proud of everyone on our show who was nominated. We got a lot of really good ones this year.”
As for what to expect come the online Emmy broadcast this Sunday, June 22, Matula teases that the red carpet will be sizzling. “I’m going to keep the details of my dress a surprise, but I will say that it’s a color that I’ve never worn before on the carpet, and it’s a very sexy dress,” she says. “I felt like I wanted to be sexy. Sexy and fierce!”