With his graying temples and chiseled features, dashing might be a word one would use to describe Gordon Thomson. With his indeterminate access, eloquent also comes to mind. But it's the "A" word that might initially come to mind for anyone who has followed his career from Dynasty's nefarious Adam Carrington to his current role as A.J. Deschanel on Sunset Beach - arrogant.

"Who, me?" Thomson asks, breaking into a hearty laugh. "I'm arrogant as hell. I'm a son of a bitch. I think I just have an arrogant face. I inherited it from my parents. My father has a very arrogant face and I look a bit like him." Any traces of that inherent trait dissipate once Thomson, who joined Sunset in March, starts talking about the career that was, wasn't and is again; his inability to do anything other than play solitaire on his computer; and exhibiting his dry wit in describing co-stars Lesley-Anne Down and Eddie Cibrian (Olivia and Cole): "They're both wonderful, but very, very plain, I must say. Two of the more boring people I've ever worked with."

After a few laughs, however, Thomson, dressed in a designer suit and sitting comfortably in his meticulously neat, near-barren dressing room, reveals just enough to let you know that his career hasn't been all white-tie and tails, like some of the characters he's played. He's just emerging from some of the most difficult growing pains of his life.

"Without going into specifics, I think the pain has helped me grow." Thomson says. "The last three years have been very tough. An awful lot of stuff hit the fan personally, it was a time that my priorities were very strenuously put in order. With the help of your friends and the grace of whatever you survive. But for a while you're not sure you're going to. It's trial by fire. I think that we all learn through trial by fire. I'm a very slow learner, I'm a stubborn person. I'm a romantic, and I can be very unrealistic. I need to be bashed over the head a few times."

Steady employment helped end some of Thomson's personal woes. Last year he landed a three-month gig on The Young and The Restless playing attorney Patrick Baker. Soon after leaving Genoa City, he found himself back on familiar ground. Sunset is taped on the same set previously used by one of Thomson's other former employers - Santa Barbara.

"This studio has very happy memories for me," says the actor, who played Mason Capwell on that soap for 2 1/2 years. "The initials are the same and I'm in this dressing room which is about 9 by 10 feet with no toilet, because at Santa Barbara, there was a very democratic system. Dressing rooms were assigned by seniority, and when it came time for me to move downstairs to the big dressing room with a big bathroom and all that stuff, I decided I'd rather stay up here. I don't like it when actors become too spoiled. So when I came to do this show, I wanted to know specifically that I had a room to come to because this is home away from home. They were very kind and offered me one downstairs, but I said this was Mason's dressing room and this will be A.J.'s dressing room, too."

Thomson prefers playing dark characters, so he is right at home with A.J., Sunset's resident mystery man. At this point, all that is known for sure is that A.J. had a relationship with Elaine Stevens, resulting in Cole's birth, and that Gregory despises A.J. "A.J.'s not as nefarious as I believe he's going to become." the actor says. "He does have a deep-rooted hatred and history with Gregory and that's where his stormy and evil side comes out."

"But I love playing these types of characters." he adds with a laugh. "Maybe I'm a major sicko! It's easier for me. I would rather have a character with secrets. That is why A.J. and I get along so well. He has secrets I don't even know about. Adam Carrington and Mason Capwell were also men of mystery, and audiences like characters with mystery and depth."

Though Thomson has been on four daytime soaps (he also played Aristotle Benedict-White on Ryan's Hope), he may be best remembered for his work on Dynasty. The prime-time soap enjoyed phenomenal success during its eight-year run; still, few of the actors were able to use the show as a springboard to bigger and better things.

Thomson was not among them. Though his arrogance led him to believe he was a "prime-time kind of guy," the only call he got offering a steady gig was from SB producer John Conboy. And it wasn't exactly a dream gig. He was replacing Terry Lester in a Lane Davies-organized role. But the fear of being broke (at one point he had exhausted all of his assets) snapped him back into reality. He took the job, and it was another humbling experience. "I've been broke and I've been not broke, and it's much better not being broke." he says with a laugh. "I will do a lot for money. Life's lessons teach you that. I'm not the kind of actor who is so brilliant that people are falling down. I'm not DiCaprio or DeNiro. I'm not that kind of actor. I'm a decent actor."

"I remember watching a panel show discussing Dynasty when it was announced that it was not going to be renewed. One of the panelists said it was going to be very hard for the guys on the show, especially. He said it was going to take five years for us to get back into television again. I thought, "Oh, god, I can't afford that. In a way, he was right."

Thomson did find sporadic work after his stint on Santa Barbara - including a Canadian serial called Family Passions with Port Charles' Kin Shriner (Scott) - but after that, jobs were few and far between until he got a call from the folks in Genoa City, and then from his former Dynasty boss and Sunset executive producer, Aaron Spelling. "I'm very glad to be working with him again," he says. "We were never friends, but we had a lot of regard for each other professionally, and that meant a lot to me. And he's also the most powerful producer in television. It's very nice to be back under his aegis."

Although Sunset remains at the bottom of the Nielsen ratings, Thomson says he's along for the long haul. "I'm committed to this show. We all are. It's going to survive. It's very successful overseas. It's not doing well here, but that's all numbers."

Playing A.J. also gives him an opportunity to work in a medium for which he has a lot of respect. "I like to work hard," he says. "I like to work intensely. I like the pace and the pressure of daytime. What I don't like is that we still don't get the respect I think we're due. There are some extremely good actors working in daytime. The only drawback is that when you have a good day, there's no time to sit back and say, "Look at what we've accomplished."

It's also a safe house for him. Thomson embraces the security that comes with being able to pay bills, share relaxing moments with friends, spend quality time in his garden and chill in his upstairs dressing room.

But just because he's got stability - for now, at least - doesn't mean he is taking anything for granted. I find maybe because I'm a bit thick - and I'm not being coy - that I have to keep relearning. Once you start feeling sensational, which is a lovely thing, along with that comes a feeling of invincibility. And then something comes along and cuts you off at the knees. I suspect I need to keep having that done to me."