This week, General Hospital fans were in for a surprise appearance when Adam Huss reappeared as Nikolas Cassadine while serving jail time in Pentonville. He also had a very intriguing visitor, his ex, Ava Jerome (Maura West)!

In the key scenes, Ava seemingly tells Nikolas, who can do nothing about the situation, how she is getting closer to Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and within his inner-sanctum, much to Nikolas’ chagrin. For Huss, those scenes were difficult to shoot, because in real-life he has just lost his beloved grandmother, but he soldiered through and delivered an effective performance.

Adam has had quite the adventure as GH’s dark prince of the Cassadine clan. Having first subbed for former Nikolas, Marcus Coloma, a few times and over a few years time, then taking over the role and being instrumental in moving story forward, but yet not always physically on the canvas. Since taking over the role, Huss has put his own spin on Nikolas, while delivering some top-notch performances. Look no further than in scenes with the exited Nicholas Chavez (Spencer), the aforementioned West, GH icon Genie Francis (Laura), or the twins that the play Baby Ace (Joey Clay, who shares the role with twin brother Jay) to name but a few.

Michael Fairman TV chatted with Adam to get his thoughts on: Nikolas’ emotional state now, where he thinks the storyline may head in the future, his co-stars, reflecting on what the late Tyler Christopher (ex-Nikolas) brought to the role, and yes, some banter with us about Taylor Swift!  Check out what Adam had to say below.

Courtesy/ABC

Nikolas is kind of the gift that keeps on giving, as you keep popping back up on GH. Just when you think the show literally has written him off, he makes a return. Look no further than on Monday’s April 29th episode when he gets a visit from Ava while in prison.

ADAM: Listen, I’ve really fallen in love with playing the character. I’ve stated that I’m super passionate about it. I really like that the more I delve into his backstory, I learn about the layers of who he is. Watching Tyler Christopher’s (ex-Nikolas) work, because he really originated that character, I become even more enthusiastic about it. I have so much respect for this medium as it is. I’m a fan of TV and film. I am coming in to the story sometimes not knowing where Nikolas may be mentally. So, it’s been nice to be guided once you’re on set. You can’t come in with just your ideas and you have to be open to the collaboration. It’s been a challenge, but a lot of fun.

In the scenes that just aired opposite Maura West, it seemed you could tell that Nikolas still cared for Ava.

ADAM: I thought that was a happy surprise. I am so fond of Maura as a person. I could say that we’ve mutually grown closer each time I come in and play the part. I don’t think Ava knew what she was going to really get when she came to see Nikolas. When he saw her, I think he was just taken with her. It was interesting. There was one moment when she’s talking about Sonny. I felt as if Nikolas didn’t want to hear this, but I was advised by our director, Allison Reames Smith and Frank Valentini (EP, GH), “Remember, Nikolas hasn’t seen her in months and this is really exciting for him to be sitting across from her. ” So that really fed the motivation.

Courtesy/ABC

Nikolas gets an earful from Ava, and he is left with her secret, which is the dose of medication in Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) pills are causing him to act erratic. Ava kind of admitted to Nikolas what was going on and what she was planning.

ADAM: She did, and you’re right. I think she told him because it was safe, and in her mind he’s not going anywhere.

However, Nikolas isn’t always on the up and up, either.

ADAM:  No, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get what he wants. This is all speculation, but maybe to get her away from Sonny he uses the information she shared. I think Nikolas is thinking that he doesn’t want to see her get hurt, and, “I cannot lose another person right now. I lost my newborn son,” in that, he is not going to raise him. And even bigger, he lost his son Spencer who he believes is gone. So, imagine then losing the love of his life. Their last interactions around New Year’s Eve showed that he still had feelings for her.

Photo: ABC

So, when you first met Maura, what was your reaction to this daytime dynamo?

ADAM: From day one, she was so lovely to me. I tested with her. I got to know her in that moment. She was just so welcoming and wanted me to succeed. Then, when I did fill in for Marcus Coloma, the first time, she and Ken Shriner (Scott) were super lovely. It was like, “You’re my scene partner today. You are Nikolas today. Let’s have fun.” Each time I came in to work, I got the same thing, if not more – more trust, more openness and kindness. Then, as you’re aware, my grandma passed right before these most recent scenes. Maura was so lovely about it. We were running lines, but she just wanted to stop and talk about it for a second. I almost didn’t want to come to work. I just wanted to get home. Maura really got me focused. It was something you wanted to get off your chest with somebody. Then we filmed, and she called me after, and just made sure I was doing alright. I said to Maura, “You are a class act, you know that. Thank you so much.”  I am so glad I didn’t have to miss the funeral and I still got to film at General Hospital, which my grandma loved to watch me on.

Courtesy/AHussIG

Now. did you have any context when you started that your on-screen mother was Genie Francis (Laura)?

ADAM: I did. In the nineties, when I was on Long Island in college and working as a DJ in the summers, I just remember seeing soap opera magazine covers. I’d see that triangle between Nikolas, Lucky and Elizabeth. So, I very much knew of the world that those people were part of. I knew how big the Luke (Tony Geary) and Laura wedding was and all of that. I definitely knew the legacy I was coming into. When I read these sides for the role, I was like, “I think this is Nikolas Cassadine!” Later, when I was on the show, and doing scenes with Genie, where Laura was warning Nikolas about making up with Spencer, she said, “You’re doing wonderful work.” To hear that from her was a big sigh of relief for me. I love connecting with actors in the eyes. I know when things are cooking when you almost feel like magnets in your eyes with another actor, because you’re drawing that emotion through them. The eyes are the windows of the soul, right? I felt that with Genie, Maura and Nicholas Chavez, too. You feel that magnet pull and it’s so beautiful.

Photo: ABC

I’m going over your gut-wrenching scenes in my head. There was obviously when Spencer hands baby Ace  to Nikolas, and then the baby is so taken with you, and the scenes where Spencer tells Nikolas how much he loved him as a young boy and vice-versa.

ADAM: The three scenes you just mentioned are highlights for me in shooting the show thus far. Those moments felt so authentic to me. As soon as Spencer got Ace in my arms, I just would melt, and it made me emotional just to hold him. And then, he really took to me. His mom was like,”I think you kind of remind him of his father,” because there is a similar energy. He’s just a great little actor and a great little empath. The moment with him laying his head on my chest was so emotional. In the one scene with Nicholas Chavez, he’s supposed to not hand me Ace till the end, but as soon as we started the scene, the baby reached out to me with this smile. Nick is like, “OK, here you go.” We sort of had to improv around it a little bit, but it was amazing.

Courtesy/ABC

However, then there is the scene where Spencer cries about how Nikolas meant everything to him, too.

ADAM: I think Nikolas went to Spencer with the intention of like, “I’m taking this baby no matter what. And if I have to get through my son, I’m going, too.” There was so much power in the words that those writers chose especially when Spencer goes, “You were my whole world” as a child. Nikolas was saying how I loved him fiercely as a kid. I was watching a lot of those scenes between Nicolas Bechtel (ex-Spencer) and Tyler Christopher. That kid was such a dynamo, too, and he was so cute. Their bond stuck with me.

Courtesy/ABC

You are one busy actor. I check in on your Instagram and you are either in one town or the other shooting a horror film or other projects.

ADAM: Not just horror films, there’s a mix of Hallmark, too. I’m super excited about an indie film I did called Pieces of Lilo. It’s about an estranged father and son. In it, my father gets sick and I get stuck basically taking care of him. And then he passes and when I’m burying him, all these memories start flooding back. It’s this sort of flashback of basically trauma and how this trauma affected, my character, Jerry, in the present day. I fought for this part and I got it. We just wrapped in March. I’m excited about that. Next week, I am off to Long Island to do a rom-com called The Wedding Bell.

Don’t you also have a role in an upcoming Melrose Place-type streaming soap?

ADAM: Oh yes. I wish it was the Melrose Place reboot! I did work with Daphne Zuniga on a Lifetime movie, though. She was awesome, and we’re friends, so who knows? It’s called The BLVD and I’ve taped it already. There’s supposedly five more episodes they’re going to shoot soon. So, we finished the pilot and I play one of the one of the clients of the PR firm. It’s all about  cutthroat PR in Hollywood.

Photo: JPI

I know the fans really enjoy you in the part of Nikolas. However, the worst thing in soaps, I think, for any actor is having to replace a very well-known actor in a part; whether they’re good, bad, or indifferent. People just don’t like change. As a recast, you have to kind of go through that difficult part of waiting to be accepted by the audience. They often say how they don’t like the actor and then somewhere along the way, they are like “Oh! I love him in the part.” How has it been for you to ride that wave of, you’re not Tyler Christopher, you’re not Marcus Coloma, but now it’s you playing Nikolas?

ADAM: I get it. You want your original person to be the person, and sometimes they just can’t, and in soap operas, it’s more common. I also know it’s always polarizing. There were days in the beginning where I was like, “Oh, my God! Look at all these wonderful comments.”  Then it’s, “Oh, my God.” and as you’re scrolling, you see “I’m a hideous monster” to these people. I think you just have to have a very healthy perspective. Thankfully, I do have tools in my life to secure my foundation of who I am. And sure, on those vulnerable days or those ambiguous days where you don’t know your future at work, it could weigh on you. You could think of every, “Oh, my God! Everybody hates me.” I am so glad and grateful that people have come around. You’re not going to please everybody. It’s just the nature of what we live in now. I will say, the warm embrace and the acceptance, and people who have really come around, has moved me and then they’re feeling the same way about my performances. When I say I’m humbled by it, I’m blown away, it’s true.  I used to get annoyed at Taylor Swift when she would always say that. I’m like, “All right, honey, you’re selling millions of copies. Accept it.” But it is humbling, because you know how critical people can be, and for it to really start to change overtime, helps me every time I hear it.

Photo: DisneyPlus

Speaking of Taylor Swift, are you a Swiftie?

ADAM: I am a Swiftie, sure. I didn’t go to Taylor’s concert. I wanted to. But then, when my friend showed me The Eras Tour on Disney Plus, I was like, “That was amazing. That was like the best time.” I’d have a smile on my face for three and a half hours if I was at her concert. So, yes.

Did you listen to Taylor’s new album, Tortured Poets Department yet?

ADAM: Yes. I’ve been bouncing around in there. There are a lot of songs.

It’s a lot of songs. It took me a little bit to warm up to it. And now, just like in true Taylor Swift fashion, I’m like, “You know what? This track or that track is really good.”

ADAM: Yeah, at first they all sound the same for a minute.

So I wonder, how does Taylor Swift manage to suck us in all the time? 

ADAM: I know. I think it works whenever someone’s just raw and honest. Taylor gets a lot of flak for talking about her exes and stuff in her songs, but that’s her life experience. We feel that and we resonate with that, especially younger girls, or anyone really, can relate to these like breakups and this heartache. I think that’s where she gets you.

Courtesy/ABC

Hopefully soon, it’d be nice to see Nikolas not in prison orange. So, he gets out of jail and where does he go then?

ADAM: I don’t want him on the run because that’s the whole reason he came to prison, you know, to reform himself. So, for me, that was a nice sign of like, “Hey, maybe the reformation comes and you finally get to be free.” Maybe Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) gets her law degree back and then she’ll help him get out. Wyndemere’s gone. It’s out of his hands. I think it’s a good time for him to start a different life and for us to see Nikolas in different stories. Let’s see a different person trying to put his family back together and falling in love again. If it’s Ava, wonderful, would love that. I’d love to see a really great, big epic love story like he had in the past. I try to infuse that when Nikolas is sitting across from Ava. The last thing I want to say is, I wish I was there at GH more, too. However, I really trust in the process and the writers, and the way things unfold. So, I’m hoping that it all leads to a beautiful place.

What did you think about the scenes this week on GH between Ava and Nikolas? Do you hope Adam Huss is back on-screen sooner than later? What are some of your favorite scenes with him thus far? Comment below, but ICYMI, below are the touching scenes between Spencer, Ace and Nikolas that GH fans are still buzzing about.

Two of The Bold and the Beautiful’s leading ladies, Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke) and Annika Noelle (Hope), are in the running for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series at the upcoming 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards.

Original series star Lang, along with Noelle, play mother and daughter on the series, which makes for an interesting dynamic on-screen and off. For Katherine, this marks her fourth Daytime Emmy Acting nomination. She previously won a producer Emmy for Venice the Series, and for Annika, this is her first Lead Actress nomination after previously scoring a nod in the Supporting Actress category.

On B&B, Brooke and Hope have had a rocky road this past year, with Brooke disapproving of Hope giving into her feelings and desires for Thomas (Matthew Atkinson), and the dissolution of her marriage to Liam (Scott Clifton). Meanwhile, Hope watched Brooke have marital troubles with Ridge (Thorsten Kaye), in part to Taylor (Krista Allen), only for her to win him back.

Photo: HutchinsPhoto

The two actresses chatted with Michael Fairman for an exclusive livestream interview this week on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel where they shared their thoughts, reactions and scenes from their nominated reels, how they see the current climate between Brooke and Hope, and much more. Below are some excerpts from the conversation.

Katherine, what are your thoughts on getting a Lead Actress nomination as this point in your career?

KATHERINE: I think it’s great. I was so happy to be nominated. It was unexpected, but I was really happy about it.  Of course, I think everybody wants to be nominated, or get an Emmy at some point in their life, especially if they’ve been on a show for a very long time and you put a lot of work in. You do many, many scenes and hopefully, good enough scenes to be able to be nominated, and get in into the running. But yes, it’s hard to me. It’s hard every time when it comes around. I get anxiety whenever Emmy-time comes around.

Photo: JPI

What scenes were on both of your nominated reels?

KATHERINE: I just submitted the two back to back shows that I had between Brooke and Taylor (Krista Allen). It was when their relationship came to an end because they became friends, which was really nice. They swore off Ridge, which was great, and they had a nice relationship for a little while. But then, Brooke finally realized Taylor still had her sights on Ridge and this wasn’t going to work. So, she ended the relationship with Taylor. At that point, she really had it with Taylor, because she really trusted her and she really liked their friendship. She was shocked to find out what Taylor was still doing and how she still wanted Ridge in the end. And so for Brooke, there was no going back after that.

Photo: JPI

ANNIKA: My reel launched into Hope’s denial of “I’m nothing like you, mom. I have a solid marriage.” Cut to Liam confronting her about what happened in Rome and the choices that were made there. And then Brooke walking in on her and Thomas together and mother/daughter going toe to toe, and then finally kind of wrapping it up with Hope just coming into her own and just not being so swayed by other people’s choices.

Is it difficult for you to chose to enter into the Daytime Emmy race?

KATHERINE: I don’t want to do a competition, because we do this for a living, because we love it. I think if you don’t love it, you won’t be here for very long. So, it just feels weird in a way that it has to be a judging where everybody’s judged against each other.  I don’t like that feeling because I like it all to be about family, which it is. Sometimes in a competition it can get kind of of strange. So to me, the prize is just coming to work every single day, getting to work with wonderful people like Annika, everybody in the office, the producers, the writers, the directors, the crew, and just working with everybody. It’s wonderful how we all work so well together and just being able to do something that I love to do every single day and play this character of Brooke on a TV show on CBS.

ANNIKA: I would have never thought in a million years you would get anxious from it. For me, it’s very obvious that I get very anxious.

Photo: JPI

Katherine, what do you recall about Annika when you first met her and then shared scenes with her, after having Kim Matula as her predecessor in the part?

KATHERINE: Honestly, it was super easy to work with Annika. She just fell right into the character. I loved her immediately and her energy. Actually, I got to read with her. I loved her, even then in the reading. I was kind of mesmerized with her, like her eyes. She’s very innocent, open face, and you can feel her. I loved Kim Matula, too, who played Hope before Annika, and there was a little time between them. It was nice that they didn’t recast somebody right away, because that’s always kind of shocking. You want to give it a little time, and for the audience to accept it and to find somebody new and bring them on. People come and go andyou have to kind of go with the flow.

Annika, what was your first impression upon meeting Katherine?

ANNIKA: Oh, I understood that this was the legend who had been on the show since the beginning. I think you were my second callback. I think the first one I read with Scott Clifton (Liam). When they called me back again and they had me read with you, I remember I just opened the doors and she was just  standing there. I was like, “Oh, Gosh. Okay. I’m reading with Katherine Kelly Lang.” She was very professional, knew her lines like back and forth, and she was saying the lines as if she was really the character. It wasn’t even like acting. That’s how good she is.

Photo: JPI

Where do you think Brooke and Hope’s relationship is at now?

ANNIKA: Brooke and Hope have maybe ironed out some misunderstandings. I think there’s still that little bit of Hope’s baggage or just unresolved trauma, or she needs to go see a psychiatrist about not wanting to become like her mother. I think she acted out in a lot of ways within the Thomas storyline.

KATHERINE: Brooke wasn’t happy with Hope and Thomas. She didn’t approve. Brooke’s a little bit more relieved and doesn’t have to deal with that pressure and can get back to the relationship with her daughter. I think they’re really good friends and I think they have a good understanding of each other and their positions within this relationship. I think it’s only going to get stronger and better, when they realize that they are two powerhouses together.

Photo: JPI

Remember when Brooke and Thomas had their psychedelic berry trip and we didn’t know if they slept together?

ANNIKA: I try not to think about it. (Laughs)

KATHERINE: Well, I loved it! I almost have to say that was my favorite fun story. In it, our plane crashed in the ocean and this was a huge production. They had made a pool inside a hangar, and then the pool was full with broken plane pieces, and we are sputtering up out of the water. It was dark and misty, they had the smoke, everything. It looked like a movie. So, we got to do that which was so much fun. When we were stranded on the island, we actually shot those scenes in Malibu. But, they also made a huge deserted island on set. It was humongous. It almost took up the whole stage, and that’s when Brooke and Thomas were high on berries, and the flowers would come out of the the cave. There were a lot of CGI effects. It was crazy and incredible. Adam Gregory was playing Thomas then, and we had a lot of fun. We never knew if Thomas and Brooke actually did it or not, but then it turned out they didn’t, because they realized it was like something in a dream.

ANNIKA: We like to keep things vague.

Photo: JPI

The show, at times, likes to pull out the classic line, “Slut from the Valley.” How do you feel about your character being called that when it was originated by Stephanie Forrester, who used to dig at Brooke?

KATHERINE: Do I mind, “Slut from the Valley?” I didn’t mind it when Stephanie (Susan Flannery) would say it, but I kind of mind it when other people say it.  I thought that was Stephanie’s line, and that should just come from her.

Photo: JPI

Annika, one of the hottest topics on B&B’s fans mind in our live chat, is when Thomas returns from Paris, will he and Hope rekindle their relationship or is it truly over?

ANNIKA: I’m just as in the dark as everyone else about what is to come with that. So, I’m kind of waiting on pins and needles to see if we revisit it, or if Thomas has moved on. I’m just so curious to see what is to come. I think we’re going to find out very soon.

Check out the full video interview with Katherine and Annika below. Now let us know, do you enjoy the mother/daughter scenes between Brooke and Hope as played by Katherine and Annika? Are you rooting for one of them to win the Daytime Emmy for Lead Actress? What do you think will happen in the future for Brooke and for Hope? Weigh-in below.

The Young and the Restless’ iconic Eric Braeden (Victor Newman) received his first Lead Actor Daytime Emmy nomination in 20 years, when NATAS and the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards revealed who would be going for gold at the upcoming ceremony on June 7th live on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

The iconic Braeden is a past Lead Actor recipient having won back in 1998. However, the last time Eric was nominated in the category was 2004. Throughout his enduring run on the top-rated CBS soap opera, he has now received a total of 9 Lead Actor nominations and a 10th, when back in 2002, along with Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki), they were nominated in the now defunct and then special fan voted category for “America’s Favorite Couple.”

This year, Eric’s nominated reel features scenes between Victor and Adam (Mark Grossman) where they discuss their fractured relationship as father and son, and the struggles and conflicts they have had personally and in business. In addition, Braeden also shares scenes with Melody Thomas Scott’s Nikki, where Victor voices his disappointment that the Newman children seemingly can’t get along and work together within the Newman dynasty. In Eric’s reel, the only characters who make appearances are the aforementioned Adam and Nikki.

Photo: JPI

Michael Fairman visited the set of The Young and the Restless for a special video sit-down with the legendary star exclusively for the Michael Fairman Channel. 

During the conversation, Eric touched upon why he will participate in the Daytime Emmys at this point in his career due to changes in the voting procedures, his most embarrassing Emmy moment, how he feels about his fellow nominees, and that he wilattending this year’s ceremony.

Here are a few excerpts from the interview below, followed by the full video interview in its entirety.

How does it feel to get your first Lead Actor nomination in 20 years?

ERIC: You can’t help but feel very good about it. I had not submitted any stuff for more than 10 years, because I didn’t believe in the voting process. Finally, the academy had the sense to invite outsiders to widen the circle of those who vote for this. You cannot ask for objectivity when you vote from within only your company. That’s nonsense. Then, personalities play a role in who likes who. I’m very happy about the nomination, though.

You had some scenes between father and son on your nominated reel, as Victor and Adam (Mark Grossman) discuss their complex relationship and history. How was working with Mark?

ERIC: Mark Grossman is a wonderful actor. He’s a good actor.

You would up this year in a Lead Actor category that also features: John McCook (Eric, B&B), Thorsten Kaye (Ridge, B&B), Scott Clifton (Liam, B&B), and Eric Martsolf (Brady, DAYS). I think you know some of these gentlemen?

ERIC: Thorsten Kaye is a very good actor. I’ve known John McCook for 150 years, I think 140 years, maybe. And the other gentlemen, I don’t know, but I’m sure they’re all worthy of receiving the same award.

Photos: CBS and JPI

I talked to Eric Martsolf after he received his Daytime Emmy nomination, and he said he’s so honored to be in the category with you, and that his late mother would be so thrilled that he’s in the category with Victor Newman. My late mom felt the same way when she came to the set and met you years ago. For so many people, you are the guy they all want to meet.

ERIC: That’s nice. That’s really very touching to know. This medium in that sense has been wonderful. As I’ve told you before, I joined this reluctantly and signed on for three months, and here I am 44 years later. That’s very nice to know about Eric’s mother, and your mother.

What was your reaction to finding out you were nominated?

ERIC: To be very frank with you, I was very happy. I said “Oh, that’s nice.” Someone had listened because I’d complained for years about the voting system, and it was based on pure laziness as far as I’m concerned. There are 150,000 registered actors in Hollywood. You can’t tell me that you can vote only from within your company. It’s nonsense. It’s not right. You know, let other actors from the outside be judges of what they see.

Photo: Courtesy/NATAS

I believe when you won in 1998, you didn’t go to the Emmy’s, right?

ERIC: I was doing a Shakespeare play that evening, if I recall. However, I’ve got to tell you about the most embarrassing moment. Aretha Franklin was a big fan of the show and of mine. She had asked me if I would present with her at Radio City Music Hall in New York. These producers when you accept an award, be it the Oscars or whatever it is, they will sit in the booth, and they say, “Move on, move on, move on.” They want you to get on and off stage very quickly. That should not be allowed. When you receive an award, then it should last a little. So, there’s a ticker thing in front of me, and you look at it and kept on saying, “Eric Braeden move on.” I’d hardly been there with Aretha Franklin and I wanted to thank Bill Bell (co-creator and former head writer, Y&R). We owe everything to him. We owe everything to that man’s foundation and his genius. So, I stood there with Aretha and I saw again “Eric Braeden.” So I said, “And I would like to thank Eric Braeden.” The moment I said it, I wanted to sink in to the ground. Fortunately, it was a long time ago, but I had to bring it up again because I’ll never forget it.

Photo: CBS

You’ve done so much for this industry, so much for Y&R, and the soaps. You’re an icon in it. It must be nice to get recognized by your peers, at this point in your career.

ERIC: It felt wonderful, no question. I even sent the nominating announcement to my brothers in German. I’m very happy about it, very proud of it, you know.

So, will you be rooting for Eric come Emmy night to take home his first Lead Actor Emmy in 20 years? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.