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General Hospital’s Nancy Lee Grahn Chats On Her Daytime Emmy-Nominated Performance and Its Significance

By Michael Fairman

Published

4 years ago

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Photo: ABC

When the nominations were revealed for the 49th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, General Hospital mainstay, Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis), was recognized for her stunning work in the Alexis-centric standalone episode which honored her 25th anniversary with the ABC daytime drama series.

Grahn, is already a two-time Daytime Emmy winner.  She won back in 1989 in a tie for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her work as Julia Wainwright on Santa Barbara along with All My Children’s Debbi Morgan, and again received the honors in that category in 2012 for her work on General Hospital.

Now. she is vying for the gold in 2022 in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category against other formidable actresses including: B&B’s Kimberlin Brown, DAYS Stacy Haiduk, Y&R’s Melissa Ordway, and her GH castmate, Kelly Thiebaud.

Michael Fairman TV caught up with Nancy to talk about her decision to enter the Emmy race this year, her powerful and moving scenes, why this nomination is significant and important to her, and her take on some very important social issues of our time.

Always candid, insightful, combined with great humor and wit, here’s what Nancy had to share below, and make sure to check out GH this week when sparks fly between Alexis and Gregory (Gregory Harrison). Will he turn out to be the new beau in Alexis’ life? Stay tuned.

Courtesy/ABC

Congratulations on the Emmy nomination.  How do you feel about being in the running again, especially with the material from your 25th anniversary episode?

NANCY:  You know, I don’t submit myself if I don’t think I have something, and I didn’t last year.  This year, I had the one show, and the first reason I submitted myself was I had the episode that was worthy of the competition. These judges have to sit, and watch this stuff, and very often, it’s hard to watch soap opera scenes.  It really is, unless you’re in it.  It’s a different kind of material that most primetime people aren’t used to watching.  So, it’s tricky business.  I don’t want to put them through anything too awful. I don’t want to torture them and I’ve judged before. It can be a bit tedious. So, for me to submit myself, I thought, it has to be something that isn’t going to torture another human being. The second thing is, older women get marginalized the older they get, and they get diminished very often, and every time we get nominated, it means something different to me.  This time, to me, I want it to somehow be symbolic, or a shoutout to women who are still producing, who have been doing their job for a long time and are still doing it good enough, and that it’s still worthy of respect and recognition.

When we were at the GH Convention back in March, I played the scene on-stage for the fans in attendance of when Alexis goes over to the corner of Kevin’s office and heals her younger self.  You saw the reaction just from the fans.  It’s such a beautiful moment within the story.  What did you think about how the standalone episode was crafted?

NANCY:  It was a different experience for me because GH co-head writers Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor, and script writer, Scott Sickles gave it the attention, but even more to that, they allowed me to participate in the creation of it.  They allowed the director, Phideaux Xavier, to participate.  We all sat in a room.  They said, “You know what?  Make it how you’re comfortable with it.”  There were so many people who gave it time and effort, and Phideaux gets a lot of credit because he came up with a lot of ideas.  So, the little girl in the therapy room wasn’t initially a part of it.  That was Phideaux’s idea, and they let us alter things, and they allowed me to write some words that meant something to me with the character.  Our producers, Michelle Henry and M.K Weir, who I both adore, were also a part of this.

Courtesy/ABC

That is great to hear that you were involved in the collaborative process of the creation of the episode.

NANCY:  We read through the whole script, and we worked it like you would on primetime. We went through it like, “Does this moment work?  Does that moment work?  Does this make sense?  Does that make sense?”  We never do that in soaps.  We don’t get to that.  So, it was a gift to me.  It really was. Chris and Dan, and Scott and Phideaux, and the two producers, generosity in gifting me that experience and making sure that it was to everybody’s liking, was really very special to me, and it meant a lot.

Did you come up with the key lines which summarized Alexis as a person and her journey: “I’m Alexis Davis, and I’m a fighter, and an idealist and an advocate?”

NANCY:  No. They designed it, but we were allowed to enhance and contribute creatively to it, and, we don’t normally have the time to do that.  They don’t have the time to – and you can’t allow people to do that with every episode, to be creatively participating, because it would turn into madness with everybody.

Then, when it came down to choosing the scenes from your anniversary episode to include for your Emmy submission, was that a challenging process of which moments to go with?

NANCY:  I just told a little story with it with the time that I had, and so, I edited it with a friend of mine.  I did a sort of pre-edit on it, I’m good at that, and handed the timeline to our editor, who nicely put it together. It took very little effort.

In my humble opinion, I think that episode featured one of your all-time best performances.

NANCY: Thank you. There was a nice effort from everybody, from the lighting to everybody else, and all the effort Phideaux put into it.  He worked so hard on that!  It was fun for us.  It was like the old days where you really got to work something out.

Photo: ABC

It truly harkened back to everything we knew up to that point about Alexis and her past as well, and included a montage of scenes over the years.

NANCY:  I think it was M.K. who put that together, but when you’re working at the pace we’re working now, to have to sit and put together a montage of twenty-five years, that’s not an easy feat.  Nobody has time for that anymore, but they did it, and like I said, it was really, really appreciated.  My only thought with it is that I wanted it to be relatable to other people.  I didn’t want it to just be some, you know, self-indulgent Alexis episode. I knew that by bringing in the little girl and talking about people being hurt in their childhood and how that makes somebody feel that it was probably relatable to many people, and so it became meaningful to other people and not just me.

Do you think you’ll attend the Daytime Emmys? I know the last time you won you were not present.

NANCY:  Yeah, I’m planning on it.  I mean, barring anything happening! (Laughs)

Does it feel nice to be recognized by your peers?

NANCY:  Of course, it does.  It always does, and way too often, women who are still producing well in their jobs, don’t get the respect and the acknowledgment for it.  So, that’s why I’m saying, this is no small thing, and that I want other women to know that I know that, and that I wish for them the same thing.

What was the reaction of your daughter, Kate and your fiancé, Richard, when you told them you were Emmy-nominated?

NANCY:  Richie goes, “What is this?  Your 18th nomination?” (Laughs). You know what I mean?  It was just kind of like, “Yeah, sure, why wouldn’t you be?” It wasn’t like, “Oh, my God!”  It was like they kind of expected that.  That was nice!  I’m glad they feel that way.  I’m glad they weren’t surprised.  They were like, “Sure!  Of course, you would be.  Why wouldn’t you be?”  I said, “You know, it doesn’t always work like that!”

Photo: JPI

Now comes the part of having to find a dress and all that goes with it for the red carpet.  Do you enjoy that part?

NANCY:  No, I hate that part.  That is my… oh ‘boohoo’, you know?  I mean, I have to find something to wear.  Also, the older you get, that becomes so much less important, and the more makeup, and the more hair, and the more foofy, the more ridiculous I look. I start looking like Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.  You’ve just got to keep it simple.

You were talking about women and ageism.  Do you not feel that also exists for men?

NANCY:  It exists for men, but it’s not at all on the same par as women.  I mean, men still get paid more than women, and men still are valued more than women.  I mean, there are exceptions, but if you look in any place of employment, even the soaps, you will typically find the men making more money than the women, and the older the women get, the less they get.  Life’s not fair right now.  It’s fairer than it was, but still the equality game is not won yet.

Photo: JPI

I know how much all of this means to you in terms of equality for women, and people being run out of their jobs because of their age.

NANCY:  It’s just a reality.  It’s not something that I’m hopeless about, but I have a story to tell.  I’ll tell it when the time is right.  It’s life!  It happens in every field everywhere.  When my mom was 70, she was still producing the exact same way she was producing when she was 30, and she got run out, and was replaced by a man who was 40 or something, and there was no particular reason for it.  It was just, “You’re done.  We decided you’re done,” but like I said, it happens everywhere, in every line of work, and that’s why I just wanted to give a shout-out, when you still, after 36 years, can be recognized or shown respect or acknowledgment for what your do.  It’s a very big deal that I am appreciative of and grateful for.

So, rooting for Nancy to win the Outstanding Supporting Actress prize? Happy she was nominated for her work in the the milestone episode devoted to Alexis? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, and to tune-in to the 49th annual Daytime Emmy Awards on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ on Friday night, June 24th.

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Bravo, Nancy Lee Grahn! On all counts!

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I’d vote for Nancy Lee and Alexis anytime! She’s a wonderful actress and her story lines are never disappointing or boring as two or three blondes that think they are all that and a bag of chips. The best of luck to you Nancy, you deserve it.

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The Alexis stand alone episode was very good, and Nancy was excellent, as she always is when they give her the material. Always been a big NLG fan, can’t wait for her to get back on the air. But she’s already won twice in her career. I’m personally rooting for Kelly Thiebaud in that category. I was so thrilled to see her get her first nomination this year.

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Sorry, gang, but this nomination was a giveaway. Don’t get me wrong: I think Nancy is consistently excellent. But it’s usually the SAME excellence. I didn’t see anything here she hasn’t done before. By contrast, I’m always seeing new sides to Ava, thanks to brilliant Maura West. Her treatment of whackjob Esme is spellbinding, different from most of her previous vendettas. Same with Nicholas Chavez; his exploration of his character Spencer over the past few months has been thrilling. There’s new shades every day, similar to when the great Greg Rikaart started as Kevin on Y&R years back.

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I have been stubborn online in thinking that Nancy is going to win with this episode. Many people think it will go to Melissa Ordway or one of the other nominees but I think this submission is going to win it for NLG. I am often wrong but this one feels like a no-brainer prediction to me. She really was superb.

But I disagree with her that this is all she had in 2021 – all of the scenes around Tracy’s setting her up and the Ned revelation with Olivia and stabbing Dante were all superb too. Alexis only got boring once she was in prison and that was not her (NLG’s) fault!

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Richard w griffin
I only have one thing to say. Melissa Ordway, Melissa Ordway, Melissa Ordway? BITE YOUR TONGUE!

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No, not rooting for her.

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My judgment of NLG has changed over the years. I used to love her performance of Alexis however her social media has turned me off. She is so angry and bitter in real life that it has become impossible for me to distinguish her from her onscreen presence

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Angry and bitter? I think not. She’s fighting for women’s reproductive rights, for gun control, for democracy. She’s an idealist, still fighting the good fight.

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Oh, I do love Nancy Lee with Gregory Harrison, what a couple they will be if the PTB get it right.

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Violet…I like Alexis with Gregory as well. Intelligent banter for a change along with attraction.

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Another superb performance out of NLG! Brava! I don’t know if she’ll take the statue or not. I’m sure with this reel that she has a shot. I’ve been thinking that Kelly Thiebaud is going to walk away with the win this year. I don’t know if I will change my mind on this or not. I don’t think Stacy Haiduk will take away gold, although I think her scene partner Eric Martsolf has a great shot with the same reel as hers. I’ve got to run write up my impressions of NLG’s reel, line by line so to speak.

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General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Mistakes and Cover-Ups Impact the Lives of Drew, Nina, Dante and Brennan

Published

3 hours ago

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May 11, 2026

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This week on all-new episodes of General Hospital, several residents of Port Charles are reeling from their actions in the just released GH video spoilers for the week of May 11-15!

First, Isaiah (Sawandi Wilson) confesses to Portia (Brook Kerr) that he is a suspect as the other driver who was involved in Jordan’s (Tanisha Harper) car accident that disfigured her face. But as viewers know, Curtis (Donnell Turner) is the one after a talk with Portia that pointed Justine (Nazeen Contractor) towards Isaiah. But is the culprit really Isaiah, or is it Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton), or is Jordan solely at fault for taking her eyes off the road to kiss Curtis?

Meanwhile, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) armed with the information that Rocco (Finn Carr) shot Cullum (Andrew Hawkes), confronts his ex-wife Lulu Spencer (Alexa Havins) at her home. An angry Dante says, “You know it was Rocco who shot Cullum. Why wouldn’t you tell me?” Lulu admits it was Rocco, but how is she going to explain why she kept Rocco’s father out of the loop?

Courtesy/ABC

Then, in the exciting pick-up from Friday’s cliffhanger, Nina (Cynthia Watros) is in a continued panic as now Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna) finds himself at the hospital looking unconscious and hooked up to machines. In addition, back at Drew’s house, now that Drew (Cameron Mathison) did not receive his dose of medication to keep him in a locked-in state (since Nina jabbed Jack with it), he is starting to show signs of life and is moving his fingers to try to dial the phone for help.

Later, a series of images are set agains the statement by Sidwell (Carlo Rota), who says, “We have a mess on our hands.” Sidwell is the one supplying Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) with the drug to keep Drew paralyzed and unable to speak. Now that Jack got a dose, how can they control what happens next, and what will Willow do when she finds out that Nina gave Jack the medication meant for Drew? Stay tuned.

Now below, take a look at the official GH spoilers for the week of May 11-15.

MONDAY, MAY 11
Nina warns Willow. Lulu is in the hot seat. Elizabeth puts the pieces together. Ethan and Ava clash. Ric defends himself.

TUESDAY, MAY 12
Lulu seeks out Britt. Dante has words with “Nathan.” Curtis takes on a mission. Rocco clashes with Danny and Charlotte. Isaiah is in the hot seat.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 13
Ethan issues an invitation to Kristina. Michael lets Jacinda in on his plan. Willow meets with Sidwell. Curtis worries about Jordan.

THURSDAY, MAY 14
Britt weighs her options. Tracy is outraged. Laura explains her actions. Carly has questions for Nina. Dante has a tough conversation.

FRIDAY, MAY 1
Carly stonewalls Cullum. Valentin strategizes. “Nathan” confides in a surprising someone. Elizabeth opens up to Dante. Ric and Alexis come together for Molly.

Check out the latest General Hospital promo entitled, Mistakes Leaves Traces below.

Weigh-in: What do you think Nina and Willow will do to cover their tracks with Jack getting jabbed with Drew’s medication? Will they continue to somehow keep him in a locked-in state? Will Drew pretend he is still unable to move as he starts coming around to dupe Willow and Nina and eventually get away? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and let us know what story point you are most looking forward to this week on GH.

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Asher Antonyzyn Teases When Danny Finds Out Rocco Shot Cullum and Jason Took the Blame, Relationship Status with Charlotte

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21 hours ago

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May 10, 2026

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On General Hospital, Danny Morgan (Asher Antonyzyn) cannot just sit idly by why his father, Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) was dragged away by the WSB for shooting WSB Director Ross Cullum (Andrew Hawkes). As Danny one day will find out, it was Rocco (Finn Carr), his brother, who did the deed, and Jason covered for Rocco to protect him. Thus, Danny feels all alone in this world without his dad.

In addition and in recent scenes, GH viewers saw that Danny is considering and wanting to get into the mafia like his dad. He had gone to see Sonny (Maurice Benard) about it and wound up in a conversation with Ric (Rick Hearst) and Sonny. Afterwards, he overheard the men talking about Sidwell (Carlo Rota). So, Danny knows that Sidwell had something to do with Jason disappearing too.

On Sunday, Asher Antonyzyn joined his TV dad, Steve Burton and Burton’s That’s Awesome Podcast partner, Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) for an all-new episode, where the young actor was able to articulate his feelings and thoughts on Danny’s current emotional state and situation in Port Charles while his dad has been taken away to who knows where.

Photo: ABC

MY BROTHER, MY FATHER

When asked how Danny will feel when he learns Rocco was the person who shot Cullum, and who is dad took the fall for, Antonyzyn shared, “Danny still doesn’t know that it was Rocco who shot Cullum and and all that. He still thinks, ‘Why would my dad do this (and shoot Cullum)?” Then, they take him away. When he does find out, I think he’s going to be pretty upset that his dad is being wrongfully accused, and that this entire time Rocco has just been watching Danny struggle through it all and he hasn’t said anything. I’m super glad Danny and Rocco are eventually going to go at it. They’ve been like brothers and they are so close to each other. I’m excited that they will get a little conflict with each other.”

Asher also also shared Danny’s impulsive nature is a big part of the story. “Right now, I think it’s about the anger that his dad was the only person he kind of had left. In the stuff that will be coming out soon, it seems that his dad’s the only person he can trust. So, he’s just missing that relationship and seeing Rocco with his family, and Charlotte with her family, and just all of that. He is just really upset that his dad was wrongfully taken from him.”

JOINING THE MOB

The young actor also explained, because of Danny’s upset, it’s what drove him to wanting in on the mob. “Danny went to Sonny and Rick not knowing where to start, as he was just so angry. He just wanted ammunition, ans he just wanted to do something”. Asher added, “Danny just couldn’t just stand there anymore. So, I think him hearing the name “Sidwell” gives him like a target to try and do something to get his dad back, just so he feels like he’s doing something.”

Photo: ABC

One of the hot topics on social media a few months back occurred when Charlotte and Danny (Bluesy Burke) shared a kiss. Fans were screaming how they were related. Well, it seems from Asher’s comments, that entire potential romance had been sidelined.

CHARLOTTE AND DANNY BESTIES FOR NOW?

“There was for a hot second (something between them). Danny and Charlotte had those scenes together,” Asher stated. “They (Charlotte and Danny) really didn’t really know how to go about it. I mean, Danny talked to his grandma and his dad about if they were related and they said “distant cousins” like great grandfathers, great-great grandfathers, but at the end of the day, still related a little bit.”

Antonyzyn clarified where Charlotte and Danny are with each other, as of now. “So after that, they had one scene together and they’ve kind of realized that it’a like a Jason and Carly (Laura Wright) relationship where they have so much love for each other that they don’t feel like it’s right to go into something like that again.”

You can catch the full conversation with Asher, Steve and Bradford below.

Now let us know, what do you think Danny will do with the intel when he finds out that Rocco shot Cullum and his dad took the fall for it? Are you glad it seems that Charlotte and Danny seem to be no longer a romantic young teen romance? Do you think Danny will go after Sidwell, and get entrenched at Wyndemere? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

 

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General Hospital

GH’s Dominic Zamprogna On How Dante Plans to Deal with Lulu and Rocco’s Cover-Up After Learning His Son Shot Cullum

Published

2 days ago

on

May 9, 2026

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By the end of the Friday May 8 episode of General Hospital, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) with the help of Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) put two and two and realized, that his son, Rocco (Finn Carr) is the person who shot WSB Director Ross Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) in the back, and was the person who Jason (Steve Burton) was protecting.

This revelation hits the police commissioner like a ton of bricks, especially when he realizes his ex-wife Lulu has been in on the secret and not telling him about it. So, where does Dante go from here? In a new conversation with Soap Opera Digest, multi-Daytime Emmy nominee, Dominic Zamprogna shared what viewers can expect.

Zamprogna expressed on Lulu and Rocco not coming to him for help, “He gets that the reason they probably didn’t want to tell him is because they’re worried that he’s too by the book, but this is his son! He has a lot of anger over them not telling him.”

Courtesy/ABC

KEPT IN THE DARK – COMING INTO THE LIGHT

Armed with the truth, Dante’s caught between a rock and a hard place, “This puts him in a situation where he’s potentially going to do things that he wouldn’t normally do, and that’s a big deal for him. Dante having to confront these people for lying to him is going to be good drama and conflict. There is huge emotional fallout from all of this. It has a big effect on his relationships.”

Next week, look for Lulu (Alexa Havins) to be the first-person Dante confronts, “Alexa is so good in those scenes. She is such a powerful actress. But as far as Dante and Lulu go, I could see it taking them a very long time to heal from this, because of her lack of transparency.”

A THANK YOU TO JASON

As far as what Jason did for his son, and how Sonny’s enforcer was grabbed by the WSB and sent away, Zamprogna knows Dante will have a lot of thanking to do, if and when they connect on-screen when Steve Burton returns from his hiatus this summer.”

“Like we needed another reason to love Jason,” Zamprogna scoff, but acknowledging how Dante “definitely (is) going to be owing Jason big-time when he gets back to town!”

So, the once happy family of Dante, Rocco and Lulu is about to fall apart, but can they all work together to keep Rocco safe? Just wait till Dante finds out that his buddy “Nathan” is really Cassius Faison (Ryan Paevey) ! Something tells me in the end he is going to save Lulu from the guy.

Now, let us know are you looking forward to Dante confronting Lulu and Rocco? How can he protect his son in his position as police commissioner? Will he just look the other way? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section.

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