Nicholle Tom's
Walk on the wild side
TV Guide
November 16, 1996
by Erin McLaughlin
The Nanny’s Nicholle Tom trades prim and proper for mean and surly in a new TV movie.
TV Guide
As Nicholle Tom smears strawberry ice cream into another girl’s hair, the 18 year old co-star of The Nanny suddenly laughs out loud. “Cut!” yells director Noel Nosseck.
I know, I know,” Tom says cheerfully as Alicia Bergman (Love and Marriage picks at the goopy slop in her hair, “I was supposed to throw it at her, not rub it into her face!” Nosseck just shrugs his shoulders and smiles: “Nicholle, try for a better aim next take.”
Has The Nanny’s prim and proper Maggie Sheffield gone nuts? “No such luck,” says Tom on the Toronto set of “What Kind of Mother Are You?” a TV movie about a battered wife who can’t control her wild daughter. Tom plays Kelly, a teen rebel who is sent to juvenile detention when her long-suffering mom (Something So Right’s Mel Harris) wants to teach her a lesson. After the authorities refuse to release Kelly, it’s up to her mother to try to get her free.
Dressed for her role in slouchy jeans and a well-worn plaid shirt, Tom hunkers down on concrete stairs behind the set, self-consciously brushing stray hairs off her clothes. Her most noticeable characteristic is a kiler smile that spreads slowly across her face. Ask about acting – her favorite topic – and the mega watt grin appears. “I’m having fun playing a rebel for a change from Maggie,” she says. “This time, I’m bad to the bone.”
Though her character Lisa may be tough, Tom is decidedly not. “Nicholle is incredibly mature and professional to work with,” says co-star Harris. “Trust me, she’s not anything like Lisa.”
Tom’s acting experience has mostly been in playing the sunny, all-American girl. From a chipper kid in Barbie commercials to the “Beethoven” films to The Nanny’s Maggie, Tom has always played the nice kid. Even her brief stint as Brenda’s (Shannon Doherty) buddy on Beverly Hills, 90210 was more kooky than wild. To get the surly mood right for her first out-of-control character, Tom says she drew on a friend’s experiences. “I’m definitely not used to playing that [kind of role] because I’m usually a goody two-shoes,” she says. “My friend knew all about tough times, whereas I didn’t, so she helped me out with research.”
The native of Illinois claims she’s never been a teen rebel and credits her mother Marie, a speech therapist, for keeping her head on straight. “We really stick together,” she says. “If I was ever to get too high in a little balloon of ego, my mother would be the first to pop it.”
Tom’s tightly knit family includes two other actors; her twin brother David, and Daytime Emmy-winning 20 year old sister Heather, who plays seductive Victoria on The Young and the Restless. The Tom sisters co-produced a theatre production of Neil Simon’s “Biloxi Blues” starring Chad Allen (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman). The play, which ran last January in Los Angeles, starred Heather and Nicholle as Daisy (they acted on alternate nights). Any sibling rivalry? “There’s no dirt to dish,” Tom says with a smile. “We love working together!”
Starring in a prime-time sitcom, producing plays and working on TV movies sounds busy, but the young star denies her life is all about work. “I am, after all, 18!” In her trailer, Tom’s glance falls to a black-and-white picture. “That’s my boyfriend, Brian. Ooooh, I miss him,” she says, picking the photo and clutching it girlishly to her chest. “We’ve been going out for a year.”
With a grin, Tom explains how they met. “He’s 22 and his twin brother used to date Heather, so she set us up together. He even played one of my boyfriends on an episode of The Nanny last year.”
Hmmm… an older man? “OK, so maybe I’m a bit of a bad girl after all.”
Back to Title Page
Back to Main Page
Back to Kitchen
Walk on the wild side
TV Guide
November 16, 1996
by Erin McLaughlin
The Nanny’s Nicholle Tom trades prim and proper for mean and surly in a new TV movie.
TV Guide
As Nicholle Tom smears strawberry ice cream into another girl’s hair, the 18 year old co-star of The Nanny suddenly laughs out loud. “Cut!” yells director Noel Nosseck.
I know, I know,” Tom says cheerfully as Alicia Bergman (Love and Marriage picks at the goopy slop in her hair, “I was supposed to throw it at her, not rub it into her face!” Nosseck just shrugs his shoulders and smiles: “Nicholle, try for a better aim next take.”
Has The Nanny’s prim and proper Maggie Sheffield gone nuts? “No such luck,” says Tom on the Toronto set of “What Kind of Mother Are You?” a TV movie about a battered wife who can’t control her wild daughter. Tom plays Kelly, a teen rebel who is sent to juvenile detention when her long-suffering mom (Something So Right’s Mel Harris) wants to teach her a lesson. After the authorities refuse to release Kelly, it’s up to her mother to try to get her free.
Dressed for her role in slouchy jeans and a well-worn plaid shirt, Tom hunkers down on concrete stairs behind the set, self-consciously brushing stray hairs off her clothes. Her most noticeable characteristic is a kiler smile that spreads slowly across her face. Ask about acting – her favorite topic – and the mega watt grin appears. “I’m having fun playing a rebel for a change from Maggie,” she says. “This time, I’m bad to the bone.”
Though her character Lisa may be tough, Tom is decidedly not. “Nicholle is incredibly mature and professional to work with,” says co-star Harris. “Trust me, she’s not anything like Lisa.”
Tom’s acting experience has mostly been in playing the sunny, all-American girl. From a chipper kid in Barbie commercials to the “Beethoven” films to The Nanny’s Maggie, Tom has always played the nice kid. Even her brief stint as Brenda’s (Shannon Doherty) buddy on Beverly Hills, 90210 was more kooky than wild. To get the surly mood right for her first out-of-control character, Tom says she drew on a friend’s experiences. “I’m definitely not used to playing that [kind of role] because I’m usually a goody two-shoes,” she says. “My friend knew all about tough times, whereas I didn’t, so she helped me out with research.”
The native of Illinois claims she’s never been a teen rebel and credits her mother Marie, a speech therapist, for keeping her head on straight. “We really stick together,” she says. “If I was ever to get too high in a little balloon of ego, my mother would be the first to pop it.”
Tom’s tightly knit family includes two other actors; her twin brother David, and Daytime Emmy-winning 20 year old sister Heather, who plays seductive Victoria on The Young and the Restless. The Tom sisters co-produced a theatre production of Neil Simon’s “Biloxi Blues” starring Chad Allen (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman). The play, which ran last January in Los Angeles, starred Heather and Nicholle as Daisy (they acted on alternate nights). Any sibling rivalry? “There’s no dirt to dish,” Tom says with a smile. “We love working together!”
Starring in a prime-time sitcom, producing plays and working on TV movies sounds busy, but the young star denies her life is all about work. “I am, after all, 18!” In her trailer, Tom’s glance falls to a black-and-white picture. “That’s my boyfriend, Brian. Ooooh, I miss him,” she says, picking the photo and clutching it girlishly to her chest. “We’ve been going out for a year.”
With a grin, Tom explains how they met. “He’s 22 and his twin brother used to date Heather, so she set us up together. He even played one of my boyfriends on an episode of The Nanny last year.”
Hmmm… an older man? “OK, so maybe I’m a bit of a bad girl after all.”
Back to Title Page
Back to Main Page
Back to Kitchen
TV Guide
November 16, 1996
by Erin McLaughlin
The Nanny’s Nicholle Tom trades prim and proper for mean and surly in a new TV movie.
TV Guide
As Nicholle Tom smears strawberry ice cream into another girl’s hair, the 18 year old co-star of The Nanny suddenly laughs out loud. “Cut!” yells director Noel Nosseck.
I know, I know,” Tom says cheerfully as Alicia Bergman (Love and Marriage picks at the goopy slop in her hair, “I was supposed to throw it at her, not rub it into her face!” Nosseck just shrugs his shoulders and smiles: “Nicholle, try for a better aim next take.”
Has The Nanny’s prim and proper Maggie Sheffield gone nuts? “No such luck,” says Tom on the Toronto set of “What Kind of Mother Are You?” a TV movie about a battered wife who can’t control her wild daughter. Tom plays Kelly, a teen rebel who is sent to juvenile detention when her long-suffering mom (Something So Right’s Mel Harris) wants to teach her a lesson. After the authorities refuse to release Kelly, it’s up to her mother to try to get her free.
Dressed for her role in slouchy jeans and a well-worn plaid shirt, Tom hunkers down on concrete stairs behind the set, self-consciously brushing stray hairs off her clothes. Her most noticeable characteristic is a kiler smile that spreads slowly across her face. Ask about acting – her favorite topic – and the mega watt grin appears. “I’m having fun playing a rebel for a change from Maggie,” she says. “This time, I’m bad to the bone.”
Though her character Lisa may be tough, Tom is decidedly not. “Nicholle is incredibly mature and professional to work with,” says co-star Harris. “Trust me, she’s not anything like Lisa.”
Tom’s acting experience has mostly been in playing the sunny, all-American girl. From a chipper kid in Barbie commercials to the “Beethoven” films to The Nanny’s Maggie, Tom has always played the nice kid. Even her brief stint as Brenda’s (Shannon Doherty) buddy on Beverly Hills, 90210 was more kooky than wild. To get the surly mood right for her first out-of-control character, Tom says she drew on a friend’s experiences. “I’m definitely not used to playing that [kind of role] because I’m usually a goody two-shoes,” she says. “My friend knew all about tough times, whereas I didn’t, so she helped me out with research.”
The native of Illinois claims she’s never been a teen rebel and credits her mother Marie, a speech therapist, for keeping her head on straight. “We really stick together,” she says. “If I was ever to get too high in a little balloon of ego, my mother would be the first to pop it.”
Tom’s tightly knit family includes two other actors; her twin brother David, and Daytime Emmy-winning 20 year old sister Heather, who plays seductive Victoria on The Young and the Restless. The Tom sisters co-produced a theatre production of Neil Simon’s “Biloxi Blues” starring Chad Allen (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman). The play, which ran last January in Los Angeles, starred Heather and Nicholle as Daisy (they acted on alternate nights). Any sibling rivalry? “There’s no dirt to dish,” Tom says with a smile. “We love working together!”
Starring in a prime-time sitcom, producing plays and working on TV movies sounds busy, but the young star denies her life is all about work. “I am, after all, 18!” In her trailer, Tom’s glance falls to a black-and-white picture. “That’s my boyfriend, Brian. Ooooh, I miss him,” she says, picking the photo and clutching it girlishly to her chest. “We’ve been going out for a year.”
With a grin, Tom explains how they met. “He’s 22 and his twin brother used to date Heather, so she set us up together. He even played one of my boyfriends on an episode of The Nanny last year.”
Hmmm… an older man? “OK, so maybe I’m a bit of a bad girl after all.”
Back to Title Page
Back to Main Page
Back to Kitchen