Photo: Tom Griscom/The CW
“You have a sense of ownership, so when they call you and say, ‘Well, we’re doing a new one. It’s all new people,’ your first reaction is, ‘Oh, no. Time to pass it on. Too bad,'” Thomas, 70, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “And then you realize, be proud and happy that it’s considered a classic. I think it’s wonderful that somebody else is going to have a chance to make that part their own.”
For more from Richard Thomas, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.
Tom Griscom/The CW
On the beloved show, Thomas played one of seven children. In real life, Thomas is himself a father of seven. He shares son Richard and triplet daughters Barbara, Gwyneth and Pilar with ex-wife Alma Gonzales, and has a son, Montana, with wife Georgiana Bischoff, who has two daughters, Brooke and Kendra, from previous marriages.
“It wasn’t planned,” he says of the similarities. “I guess seven is my number.”
As the Emmy winner looks ahead, he says retirement isn’t in his near future. “One of the beautiful things about acting is if you’re lucky enough to be able to keep working your whole life, there are roles that will sustain you from childhood right up until ancient supporting character man,” he says.
“Especially in the theater, there are great roles in all those categories,” he continues. “So as I keep chugging along, there’s always just one more thing to do, and I love it so much. When your work is also your pleasure, it’s hard to think about retiring.”
The Waltons’ Homecomingpremieres Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
source: people.com
