Young and the Restless Star Thom Beirdz Talks About Liposuction Surgery & More

The Young and the Restless star, Thom Bierdz talks candidly about cosmetic surgery he recently had and what he’s had done in the past in the new issue of Soap Opera Weekly.

The actor, who plays Phillip Chancellor III on The Young and the Restless, recently underwent liposuction to remove fat from the neck and upper stomach area.

Here’s what led to the lipo:

“On the September 13, 2010 episode of Y&R, my character, Phillip, consoled Nina in their diseased son’s bedroom. I remember the assistant director telling me not to look down and I almost rolled my eyes to Tricia Cast (Nina) about it. I had no idea how bad I looked in that position because I was not able to see myself at this angle. … When I saw myself on TV, I was quite horrified and amused to see that my angular face was a complete round, fat mass that hung like Play-Doh when I looked downward. … My shirt also creased between my chest and my upper stomach because of a peculiar fat bump that made me look like I had a belly. So I wanted to remove that upper stomach fat.”

Why did he go through the trouble of surgery?
“I so want Y&R to give my character a love interest. I want to be a fit actor if that happens, but I have no idea if they will come through with a gay romance for Phillip.”

Thom was a closeted actor when he first played Phillip on the soap from 1986 to 1989. His mother was murdered by his mentally ill brother soon after that and Thom left acting for many years. He re-emerged in the public eye as an acclaimed artist and author and last year returned to Y&R only this time, as an openly gay actor. Phillip was also written to be gay and hiding his sexuality was explained as the reason why he faked his own death and fled Genoa City.

Thom had silicone injected into his jawline and had his ear pinned back 30 years ago to make his triangular face look more square. Last year, he added additional silicone to his jaw but it ended up making him appear wider on TV.

The handsome Thom looked pretty good to me before. What do you think of how he looks now?

Soap Star Thom Bierdz gets Recognized in the Most Unlikely Places

Thom Bierdz, a talented actor, artist and author returned to Young and the Restless last year after a 20 year absence not only from the soap, but from acting.

His presumed dead character of Phillip Chancellor III resurfaced with a storyline that mirrored Tom’s life in one way: he was openly gay. Phillip went off to Australia but here’s hoping he will return to Genoa City soon!

Anyway, Tom’s return to the soap has made for some unusual encounters like the one he shared on Facebook yesterday:

It’s been ages since anyone recognized me in the grocery store, but everytime i get tested at the clinic for HIV, all the workers (even in the mobile units) ask me questions from “how many partners have you had in the past 6 months?”, “what kind of sex do you have?,” and then, “is phillip coming back to the young and the restless?” talk about feeling exposed LOL after another HIV negative result last night, I treated myself to french fries.