Daytime actress Heather Tom has been involved in plenty of heartbreaking stories as The Bold and the Beautiful's dynamic character Katie Logan, but the talented performer is now focusing on one of her own. Tom has made her movie directing debut with the film Serenity, a haunting tale about opioid and heroin addiction.
The 17-minute short stars Vince Nappo (I'm Dying Up Here) as Dane, an addict struggling to reconcile the immense damage his habits have done to his family and resurrect his life. It also stars Tom's real-life four-year-old son, Zane, as Dane's brother -- which the actress says was an important choice, considering the reasons why she decided to take on the project that was filmed last year.
"[Drug addiction] is a subject that's near to me. This epidemic hasn't left anyone unscathed," Tom tells Chicago Now. "This is an epidemic that's touching every part of society and you can't get away from it. I look at my son and he has so much promise. There's so much future ahead of him. It terrifies me that one bad choice can lead to a wasted life."
She continues: "With opiates in particular, it's not something you can compartmentalize. You can't say, oh, that's an urban problem or a rural problem or what happens if you don't have economic means. It is soccer moms and accountants and football heroes. It touches everyone. As a parent, I find that particularly terrifying. So I wanted to tell this story of this boy that has everything going for him and this thing obliterates whatever promise he ever had. As a mom, I think that's probably the most terrifying thing I could think of."
Serenity will soon be making the festival rounds, and Tom -- whose previous directing credits include B&B and General Hospital -- promises the film will be available for online viewing soon.
"I hope that people get involved and if they have a personal story or if they have a connection to this, that they call their congresspeople to let them know that they have to take action and pay attention to what's going on," she says. "I want to keep the dialogue going. If we can use the film as an educational tool or to inspire activism or policy, then that's my goal."
What do you think about the premise for Serenity? Are you looking forward to watching Tom's film when it becomes available? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
