The rivalry between Carly (Laura Wright) and Nelle (Chloe Lanier) has deep-rooted history in the past, not just the present, as viewers learn today on a special episode of General Hospital.  In it, we go back to the 90s, before Carly stepped foot in Port Charles.  This gave Eden McCoy, who usually plays Carly’s on-screen daughter, Josslyn Jacks, the chance to play a young Carly as fans of the ABC daytime drama series also see that the episode sheds come clues to a story that will play out in the present in the weeks and months to come.

McCoy got the opportunity to work with a different set of players than her normal scene partners in Port Charles in the episode – Cynthia Watros (Nina), James Patrick Stuart (Valentin) and young Willa Rose (young Nelle), who comprise the Benson ‘family’ in the flashbacks.

However, while Eden got the chance to travel back to the 90s, Josslyn is also in the dark in the present to that kiss shared by her best friends, Trina (Sydney Mikala) and Cameron (William Lipton).   If that lip-lock came to light to Joss, will that finally get her to admit she may feel more than friendship with Cam?

Michael Fairman TV chatted with Eden to discuss: the opportunity to play young Carly, having Laura Wright as her on-screen mom, and going to battle on-screen with her good friend, Chloe Lanier, plus if she would like to share more screen-time with Josslyn’s dad, Ingo Rademacher (Jax), and of course, the burning question, who has Josslyn’s heart? Is it Cameron? Find out when you read on as to what Eden shared below.

Photo: JPI

On today’s April 8th episode of GH, we see you portraying a young Carly.  Tell me when and how you found out that you were going to play Carly, and what the experience was like for you taping those scenes?

EDEN:  It was really one of my favorite experiences at GH, hands down.  I think if I had to choose favorite episodes, this would be this one for sure. My other favorites prior to this have been: the fight scene with Nelle, the dance scenes I did, and the fake drunk scenes with William.  Those were all so great.  I found out that I was going to do this episode and play a young Carly from Laura Wright.  I ran into her on set for blocking.  We weren’t even working together that day, and she’s like, “Oh, I’ve been told that you’re going to play a young me in an episode,” and then she literally walked away – because she had to work.  So, I was like, “What?”  It was kind of this thing hanging in the air, and I rushed to tell my mom, because I was so excited.  I didn’t get the script until maybe a month after Laura told me.  I didn’t want to ask more about it before then, because I kind of wanted to be surprised, too. Then, when I got the script and read it, I was completely blown away.  Then, when I got the news that Cynthia Watros was going to play Carly’s mom and that James Patrick Stuart was going to play Carly’s dad, I mean, I just about had a heart attack! Those are two actors that I’ve watched and admired so much and haven’t worked with a lot.  So, it was this perfectly gift-wrapped opportunity to get to know my fellow castmates and dive into a whole other character.  Everyone was so involved in that episode.  Look at the set design, for one thing.  You can totally tell that it transported us into the 90s.  Everyone did an amazing job with that style of architecture ….everybody had been researching it …everybody pretty much except for me as I lived through the 90s!  The wardrobe was one of my favorite things ever, because the 90s, for me, is my favorite era of fashion.  I feel like my own wardrobe is heavily inspired by the 90s.  I have vintage pieces; my favorite jeans are 90s Levis. I watched Friends and obviously was obsessed with it.  The wardrobe team did an amazing job focusing on all of the 90s trends with the cardigans and the clogs and the jelly shoes and all of that.  I have three outfits in the episode, and we literally named them “Monica”, “Rachel”, and “Phoebe” after the women on Friends.  It was so much fun.

Photo: JPI

What’s your take on what happened in the episode; as we learn about Carly’s troubled-past with her adoptive parents, and her past with Nelle?

EDEN:  It starts as a look into a young Carly’s everyday life.  She gets home from a job interview.  She is looking for work, and she gets the job, and Virginia and Carly are talking.  However, the conversation turns into how Carly wants to leave home, and have a very different life than Virginia, but she needs money to do it.  So, she leaves her mom, Virginia, to go find Frank, her dad, who, by the way, is a complete turnoff of a dad.  She thought he was going to have some money, and she could be rich, and get it from him, and move to New York, and see the world because that’s her overall goal.  Carly is a very passionate, goal-driven person as we know, so she goes to see Frank.  It will be a heart-wrenching moment for Carly as a character; and you will see how Nelle factors into this.   All of this in the past shows the internal conflict that Carly has towards Nelle as a person and as a character.  It’s not just that Nelle came into her life and hurt her kids and hurt her family, but it’s because it’s that desperate need for validation that Carly had growing up.  I think, she has had this resentment towards Nelle, because of it.

How old were you supposed to be in the flashbacks as young Carly?

EDEN:  I was playing like 18-19 years old, and Nelle was around 6.  Willa Rose was such an adorable little actress.  She and James were so cute together, and James was phenomenal.  He just went 110% on this, and it was so, so fun to work against that.  Every take was different.  James was walking at this pace, or he was eating in this scene, and he totally took it to the place that I knew that he would take it.  Same with Cynthia!  Cynthia was amazing.   I’ve watched them together since Cynthia first came on the show as Nina, and I’ve watched James forever, so I totally scored.

Photo: ABC

Has Laura Wright seen your portrayal of Carly yet?

EDEN:  I’m super excited to see what she has to say about it.  Frank Valentini (executive producer, GH) and I were discussing it day-of taping. We were kind of dissecting Laura’s mannerisms so that I could kind of plug them in to my performance. We used when Laura as Carly tucks her hair behind her ear, and Frank was like, “Oh, yeah!  Do that!”  I’ve grown up with Laura, and watching her, and acting against her, and people clearly compare us all the time and are like, “That’s insane.  Do you try to do that on purpose?” It’s like, “No, I’ve just been with her since I was 12, almost every day.”

You realize when working and talking with Laura that she truly gets and understands her art and acting in this genre.  She’s really one of the best there’s ever been in soaps.  She can dissect a scene and understand it from different points of view, etc.

EDEN:  Oh my God, I know.  She’s phenomenal to watch, and I am not immune to that whatsoever.  It hits me every time I see her act.   She’s just been the best teacher.  The comments I get the most are: how much I resemble her looks wise for one, but also acting wise.  So, I’m so excited to see what people have to say following the airing of this episode.

Photo JPI

What do you think about Josslyn’s combative relationship with Nelle?  I loved on today’s episode that we got to see the scenes where Josslyn clocked Nelle again!

EDEN:  I would love to slap Nelle again!  Chloe is one of my closest friends on that set.  Even though we haven’t worked together as much as we used to, we are still very close, and I learned a lot from her.  Scenes with her are always so juicy.

Photo: ABC

Where do you think Josslyn is at this point in her love life?  Is she still really into Dev (Ashton Arbab)? Does she truly loves Cameron, but can’t admit it to herself? 

EDEN:  I think that’s it. With Dev, he was an intriguing character with a very different background than Josslyn.  They say opposites attract, and I think that goes along with this story a little bit.  He’s just something that’s new, and someone who she is intrigued by, and I think that’s realistic.  I know that’s happened to me in my love life before.  I’m not sure where it’s really going to go between Dev and Josslyn.  Then for Cam, I think she doesn’t want to admit the feelings that she has for him to herself because that’s a whole big can of worms. I think she feels that once she admits that it might – not necessarily ruin their friendship – but taint it.  Cam is such a safe place and such a home for Josslyn.  I feel like if she were to admit that to herself, she’d be like, “Oh, no.  I’m going to make this uncomfortable and weird, and I can’t lose Cam as a friend.”  That’s always kind of been where her head is at, but I think as she spends more time with him, her feelings become more and more clear.  You never really know what’s going to happen, and I don’t think she’s set on anything.  Teenagers are just all over the place with feelings, and one day they feel this and one day they don’t.  So, it’s always such fun to play because I know some fans are dying to see Cameron and Josslyn get together that and some people don’t want to see that.  It’s fun to hear everybody out and to hear everyone’s opinions on it.  For me, I just hope it can be something fun to watch.  That’s always the goal.

Photo: ABC

So now Trina has shared a kissed Cam, and Josslyn doesn’t know that yet.  What do you think her reaction is going to be when she finds out? 

EDEN:  It will be interesting to see how the writers do that when she does find out, because Trina has been a great friend to Josslyn, and Josslyn wants to be a great friend back, and of course, Joss is a great friend to Cam.  These are her two best friends.  She doesn’t really want to be anything but supportive.  I feel there is going to be a lot of internal struggle with that because I think that action is probably going to make her realize, and come to terms with some feelings that she has probably been avoiding, for sure.

Do you think that Josslyn has truly moved on with her life following her last boyfriend, Oscar’s heartbreaking death, so that she can welcome and accept new love into her life?

EDEN:  I think she’s moved on, at least I hope so!  That’s a pain that she’ll take with her for the rest of her life, and an experience that she’ll always have in her back pocket. That’s great as an actor … to have had a deep, influential experience because you can bring that into certain scenes and make them stronger.  Right now, I think she’s just trying to be normal and feel normal things, and that’s where I hope that her story will continue to go.  Life goes on, and we have awesome teenage characters that I’m happy to be a part of and working with.

Photo: ABC

Whenever the fans have seen William Lipton and you together, they have noticed that you get along so well. What can you say about William?

EDEN:   We do get along so well.  William is the best.  He’s really like a sibling.

Would you like to see more scenes between Jax and Josslyn? Don’t you think he should be more involved with his biological daughter’s life?

EDEN:  Yes!  From day one of meeting Ingo five years ago, he just made it so comfortable for me.  We have had a complete connection.  We share so many similar traits.  For instance, we both love the beach and we have a similar drive.  I will say that our relationship outside of the scenes is what makes those scenes what they are and what makes them fun to watch, and why when you’re watching, you feel like, “How is this not real?”  So, that’s why he is one of my all-time favorite scene partners.

Photo: JPI

Your mom was, and is, a big GH fan, right?

EDEN:  Yes, she grew up watching GH in her sorority house, and her two crushes were Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Jax (Ingo Rademacher), and I’m their kid on the show!  I remember when I auditioned for Josslyn.  I was given a fake script with a fake character name on it, so, we didn’t really know what my family tree looked like, or anything.  When my mom saw Maurice and Ingo in person for the first time, and I remember her freaking out.  I can’t even imagine what it was like for her.  My mom was just as excited as me to have this opportunity.

Are you at home quarantining, and taking care of yourself during this COVID-19 pandemic that we all find ourselves facing together? How’s that been going for you?

EDEN:  It’s going good.  I’m not complaining about staying in bed. (Laughs)  No, it’s been fun just trying new things and spending time with the family. You know, I’m usually so busy that it’s nice to have a little down time for a minute, but I naturally like to stay present and connect with people on social media, et

What are the fans saying to you most on social media that they want for Joss? 

EDEN:  I am hearing a lot about Cam.  It’s a big, “Is that going to happen?  Is that not going to happen?  Team Cam/Team Not Cam.”  That’s always fun because I love to have rivalries.  That means that people are invested in the story.  I get a lot of Jax things, like, “Where’s Jax?  We need more Jax and Josslyn,” and I completely agree.  However my dream, (and I think what a lot of people want to see) is Josslyn’s rebellion and gearing away from the goody-two-shoes person she is for a minute.

Photo: JPI

That would be in-line and typical for the daughter of Carly, right?

EDEN:  Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.  When I hear about what Carly had done at my age and in the past, I’m like, “I have that DNA.”   Carly had a very painful upbringing with not a lot of parental supervision and support.  She had no father figure growing up, and Josslyn has had two. That really shapes a person and makes them who they are, but I do feel like with all of the pain the Josslyn has gone through; some kind of off-the-rails moment would be fun to play and will be hopefully in her future.

So, what did you think of Eden’s performance of young Carly on today’s episode of GH? Do you want Josslyn to end up romantically with Cameron or someone else? Do you think Josslyn should display a more rebellious side given that she is Carly’s daughter? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.