Jake_Fan asks:Hi Tom, I recently read in SOD you're in contract negotiations. Has anything been settled yet or are you still negotiating??
TOM EPLIN: Nothing's been settled and I'm negotiating to the best of my knowledge, but that's not what I do. I'm not a great negotiator... It's hard to negotiate something you love to do. I'm pretty sure I got beat on the price of this boat, but it doesn't matter, I love it anyway!

Doys1 asks: Tom, is Jake going to get his sense of humor back and get involved in some kind of comedic storyline anytime soon?
TOM EPLIN: I didn't know he lost it! I'm naturally not a very funny guy, I take most of my humor cues from my fellow cast members. Eric Stuart [Chris] is probably the finest teacher of anything funny that I do.

SusyLeigh asks: What kind of boat, Tom?
TOM EPLIN:It's a 52 Hatteras, a sport fisher. I had a sailboat, but as everyone knows I broke my ankle. I have my family out on my boat every Fourth of July, so I sold my sail boat from my hospital bed, and bought this one because I can't put any lateral movement on the ankle.

Player63p asks: I love Jake's friendship with Paulina. Do you think she will help Jake see the truth about Vicky?
TOM EPLIN: Well, I think that we're getting a lot of story out of not getting the truth out of Vicky, so I hope she doesn't come into it just yet. But when the truth comes out, I do hope it comes from Paulina.

OllieOxenFree asks:Tom, is there any sort of McKinnon reunion coming down the road? Vince, Kathleen, MJ?...
TOM EPLIN: I've heard talks of it, but I'm sure that until my contract negotiations are final, no decisions will be made.

JADE_0703 asks: Tom, do you think Charles Keating's departure [as Carl] affected the morale on the show?
TOM EPLIN: Definitely affected the morale of the show. The whole Charles Keating incident was a misunderstanding on both sides and anytime a show like AW loses a person like Charles Keating it's a great loss. Especially for me, because I feel that I learned most of my better acting from Charles. But I feel that both sides didn't handle it well, I think it was a misunderstanding.

Player63p asks: How did you break your foot?
TOM EPLIN: In the scene where I was rescuing Marley. There was fire around us, I had a stunt girl in my arms, felt the fire, kicked the door in -- it was wet from where we had lit it and put it from rehearsing it -- hit the wet floor, stunt girl in my arms, hit dry wall and broke my ankle. It took one plate, six screws and a pin. But you didn't miss anything, because I went right back to work!

Jc2137 asks: Hey, Tom! I would like to know if you are anything like your alter ego, Jake?
TOM EPLIN: Not so much anymore. Jake's kinda mellowing in old age LOL ;-) Jake's loved one woman for pretty much most of his life... Well, I guess we've both been married a couple of times :) You try to think you're not... but after so long, the Tom kind of leaks into Jake and the Jake has kinda leaked into Tom.

JADE_0703 asks: Tom, will you get the chance to really sweep Vicky off her feet when Jake realizes she was telling the truth about Shane?
TOM EPLIN: Well, I don't know how much she can be swept off her feet, since she's a captive audience, she's waiting for that. Sometimes a reunion isn't as storybook as people would have it, because that's not what the story calls for. We've got stories that have as much if not more than a sweeping off the feet. There have been a lot of unfortunate cast changes in the last 8 months, but I believe that AW has more to entertain the people that watch it than we had before. We have a team in place that has the ability to do it, not that the others didn't, but everyone's very excited.

Rizz022 asks: Where are you from Tom?
TOM EPLIN: Originally from Hayward, CA. And I was conceived in Charleston, West Virginia.

Sunset43 asks: Tom, is it difficult being on the same show as your ex-wife?
TOM EPLIN: Not at all. Absolutely not. There was no reason... NBC came and asked me if there was going to be a problem, and I said no way. I have supported it the whole time. I am blessed with having two of the greatest actresses in Jensen and Ellen [Wheeler, Marley]. We left on good terms and came back on them. I'm jealous of the next guy that gets to work with Ellen. Acting comes first. I work everyday with two people whose families come first, but I'm sure acting's second. Ellen's great! My whole career has been like that, Judi Evans [Paulina], Anne Heche [ex-Vicky/Marley], Ellen Wheeler, Anna Stuart [Donna], right on down the line...

GoneMad_BackLater asks: Tom, Jake hasn't been spending much time at The Herald these days, and neither has Amanda. Who's holding down the fort?
TOM EPLIN: Well you know when you're as talented as Jake and your real job is that you're a daytime actor, these things take care of themselves. Plus the hiring of Chris, he's able to take care of everything while I put my love life back in line! Gosh that was a good question!

Breenin asks: Tommy, I love you, And you have deserved Emmy nominations for so many years, especially the last one, keep up the good work.
TOM EPLIN: Thank you very much. There's nothing I would like more than to have an Emmy.

MushyT asks: Do you guys still go to work this week even though the show isn't on?
TOM EPLIN: Yes we do. Sometimes these weeks where we're preempted allow us to get a little ahead of schedule.

Gete25 asks: Tom how far is Lassiter from Bay City?
TOM EPLIN: Depends on what day you're watching ;-)

MSandner asks: Tom, do you think there is much, more history for Jake and Paulina to uncover about each other?
TOM EPLIN: Of course there is. The key to a good daytime show is to have actors like Judi Evans because it generally adds backstory just to the way she plays the scenes in addition to what they give her. Judi's one of those actresses who can play anything they give her. She's incredibly talented.

Ford_56 asks: Tom, do you like working with Jensen?
TOM EPLIN: Oh where, is this question coming from? Other than the fact that she has smelly feet... ;-) She's been the best to me, good to me personally, I like to think I've been there for her. A true professional and more than that I can call her a friend. Like doesn't even come into the equation. I love working with Jensen.

Sweetbabyface98 asks: Can we have a hint as to what will happen on the boat?
TOM EPLIN: On my boat?! LOL... I thought someone was watching out their window! ... I think a lot of questions will be answered. Vicky will get exactly what she went there to get. And I think it's going to be the end for the Lila lie.

JADE_0703 asks: Will Jake go back to making Grant's life a living hell when Grant moves in on Vicky?
TOM EPLIN: God I hope so! There's nothing more fun than aggravating Mark Pinter!

L1S2 asks: Will Grant and Donna get what is coming to them??
TOM EPLIN: That's the way soaps work, if they're done well everyone gets their comeuppance in the end, but Grant is such a good villain, you might have to wait a while. Mark plays such a good villain that it's kind of hard to give him what for in the character.

Kimc12 asks: Tom, You make me laugh almost every day I watch you. Thank You for those humorous scenes!
TOM EPLIN: Thank you very much.

ALSPAWN asks: Are the writers going to try and bring back the motorcycle riding badboy Jake that tried to take over Cory Enterprises?
TOM EPLIN: They just tried to bring back the one who could fight & saved Marley and he broke his ankle! So I think the motorcycle's gonna have to wait, but they're trying to bring back the old side of Jake and incorporate the new side.

CEW47 asks: AW is my favorite soap. I was very disappointed to hear rumors of cancellation. Any truth to that rumor?
TOM EPLIN: There are absolutely no truths to the rumors for cancellation. AW is in the process of negotiating a long-standing contract with me, and they wouldn't be doing that if there were any chance of cancellation.

Chompie1 asks: On a normal day how long are you in the studio?
TOM EPLIN: Pre-break or post-break? It used to be 12 hours a day, but now it's 4 or 5, they're being very good to me. Most daytime actors are working 10 to 12 hours a day.

Matt1holly asks: How come Jake is so naive when it comes to Marley?
TOM EPLIN: Because they write it that way and I prefer to play it that way. I want to do whatever makes the storyline work, an entirely smart character would make a boring soap character.

JenniferLoveYouKnowTheRest asks: Hi Tom you rock! I know you have been down here (Newfoundland Canada) a couple of times any chance of returning we love you down her :)
TOM EPLIN: Any chance I can get to get back to Canada is a chance I would embrace instantly. I love Canada!

Me_Cooly asks: Tom, what is your greatest accomplishment in working as Jake?
TOM EPLIN: That I get to sit here at 7:30 at night and answer questions about a character I created from nothing more than black marks on a white page. I mean we're all sitting here talking about a character that it took 35 people to create. It's a pretty amazing thing for a kid who was selling cars.

Keenai asks: Tom. Your sense of humor is obvious.... any off show offers to do comedy?
TOM EPLIN: Never.