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Maurice Benard, Donna Mills, and Laura Wright Talk The Making Of JOY, David O. Russell's Praise Of Soap Actors, And Each Other!

By Michael Fairman

Published

11 years ago

on

Photo Credit: Merie Weismiller Wallace

Christmas Day will be extra special this season for soap opera fans, because four of the genre’s most acclaimed and notable performers will be appearing on the big screen in David O. Russell’s latest film, JOY!

General Hospital’s Laura Wright (Carly) and Maurice Benard (Sonny), Knots Landing and GH star Donna Mills (Ex-Abby, Ex-Madeline), and former All My Children icon, and now Devious Maids star Susan Lucci (Ex-Erica, now Genevieve) all take part in scenes woven through the movie within the fictional soap, “The Joyful Storm”.

JOY pairs O. Russell once again with Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence in the lead role in story inspired by the rags-to-riches real-life struggles of Joy Mangano, who became the entrepreneur/inventor of the self-wringing Miracle Mop.  Virginia Madsen plays Jennifer Lawrence’s soap-opera-obsessed mother, Terry, and throughout the film’s motif, there are dream sequences where the real life characters in the movie interact with the soap opera characters!  O. Russell also brings back along with Lawrence his other dream team cast members of: Bradley Cooper, and the legendary Robert DeNiro for his third collaboration after the Oscar nominated films, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle.

On-Air On-Soaps conducted an informative, humorous, candid, and genre-appreciating roundtable interview with Maurice Benard, Laura Wright, and Donna Mills to find out: what it was like to work with the famed O. Russell and his A-team on the set, how they were cast in the movie, their thoughts on meeting Robert DeNiro and Jennifer Lawrence, their gratitude for O. Russell’s recent comments on the qualities of the soap actors, and much more.  We couldn’t have more JOY than to bring you three of our favorites to mark this occasion for them, their fans, and daytime just as the film is set to open nationwide.

Each of you had a unique and interesting experience on how it came to pass that you landed your roles in JOY.  Laura and Maurice, is it true that Jennifer Lawrence saw you in a scene on GH, and got David O. Russell to watch it with her, and then they decided to get in touch with the both of you?

Photo Credit: Merie Weismiller Wallace

LAURA:  I was told they saw the scene where Carly and Sonny both got arrested.  I was in one jail cell, and Maurice was in the other.  I believe it was after Sonny was arrested for killing AJ.  I was then called in and I actually auditioned with Jennifer Lawrence in front of David O. Russell, which was last November 2014.  It was an improv scene.  There are no “scenes” with David. (Laughs)  He just kind of gives you a scenario and he says, “Go!”

Laura, what was that like for you being there with Jennifer and David … a surreal moment in your acting career?

LAURA:  I am thinking to myself, “Am I really sitting here two inches away from Jennifer Lawrence (Laughs), and playing these emotional moments and beats, and doing improv with her while her dog is jumping all around us?”  It was the weirdest experience ever, but it was so awesome. (Laughs)

What happened with you, Maurice?

MAURICE:  I got a call that I’m going to Boston where they were filming.   So, I had to fly.  It has been ten years since I had flown.  It scared the hell out of me, but I did it!  But when I got on the plane I almost got off again, but my wife Paula looked at me with that look! (Laughs)  So, I stayed on the plane, and when all was said and done I had a great time with Donna and Susan, and kinda Laura. (Laughs)

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Donna, you actually first auditioned for the role of Joy’s mother in the film, correct?

DONNA:  Yes.  I got a call from my agent saying, “David O. Russell is looking for you!”  I said, “Really?  OK!”   David brought me in to read for the part of Joy’s mother. The part ultimately went to Virginia Madsen.  But, I had the same experience as Laura.  David brought Jennifer Lawrence into read with me, which was really nice.  It was all improv.  It was all, “Fall down on the couch and pretend that you’re comatose, and do this, and do that …”   David walked out of the room to take a phone call at one point.  Jennifer said to me, “I know this seems strange, just trust him.”  She then said, “The first movie I did with him (Silver Linings Playbook) I thought I will never work again in this business.  This is the worst thing I’ve ever done.”  She went on to say, “However, I trusted him, and it turned out great.”  Telling me to just trust him, and go with it, was really the best advice that I ever got.  So, I did not get that role, but then weeks, and weeks, and weeks later they called and said, “You got another role!”  I said, “Oh!  OK, great.  What is the role?”  They said, “Well, just go there. You’ll find out.” (Laughs)  That is how this all happened.  It was just wonderful.

LAURA:  Yes, they said to me, “Just go there and find out.”  Nobody had scripts.

DONNA:  Nobody knew what they were doing, until we actually got on the set!

LAURA:  All the crew laughed at us.  We were like, “Do we get a script?”  And they would go, “Umm. Yeah, but it doesn’t really meaning anything!” (Laughs)

Courtesy/20thCenturyFox

DONNA:  It was a very unique experience.  He is a very unique director.  I think a bit of brilliant, really.  David has such a vision in his head, and he knows what he wants.   I don’t think every actor could work with him, because it’s a very strange way of working, but he loves actors!  He loves what you can do.  So, just like Jennifer said, you just have to trust him.

LAURA:  David is also very passionate about it.  It’s his words, and his vision.  He is very supportive and wants to hear what you have to say, and he is a 100% part of the scene, because he is right there with you.

Maurice, what was the role you played in the soap opera “The Joyful Storm”?

MAURICE:  I don’t know! (Laughs)  I just play a guy.   David would tell me to say things and I would do it.  I had a nice scene with Susan Lucci.  It was scary, but it was a blast.  You basically get on the set.  David would say things like, “Maurice smile.”  You kind of had to listen, and not listen.  It’s a challenge, but I was into it.

Courtesy/ABC

DONNA:  David was usually shooting with two cameras, too.  So that one camera would be getting a close up of Laura, and one camera would be getting a wide shot, etc.  However, you never knew what camera was shooting what.

So Maurice, you don’t play a Sonny Corinthos-type mob boss then?

MAURICE:  I kind of decided to play it like the Sonny character, unless David would tell me not to do that, but he never did.  So, I just kept doing what I was doing.  We would kind of figure it out and then we just do the scenes.

Soap fans are trying to envision how the fictitious soap opera “The Joyful Storm” is woven into the movie.  It has an integral part in telling Joy’s story.  What can you share?

Courtesy/20thCenturyFox

LAURA:  The character Terry, that Virginia Madsen plays, is obsessed with soap operas, and that is basically how she kind of raised Joy in that world.  With the journey that Joy goes on, she flashes into this dream world of daytime television, and that’s where we are.  We are in our own world, per se.  We never worked directly with Virginia.  Susan Lucci had a bit more direct contact with Jennifer Lawrence, but it still was in a very dream-like state.

The stills from the motion picture reveal there are a lot of big soapy hair styles going on for the female soap characters!

LAURA:  I have to say at first I was so proud, because I was going, “I don’t have to use a wig!” But now, you don’t know how bad I wished I had used a wig!  Donna and Susan would walk in and put the wig on their heads and be done; meanwhile I am still sitting there in hair and make-up being teased and pulled – it was awful!

DONNA:  Well, that’s because you have great hair!

Courtesy/20thCenturyFox

MAURICE:  I had a wig on the whole time! (Laughs)  And, I did have sideburns, too!

DONNA:  We actually have four different looks in the movie spanning four decades.

Maurice, what did you think when in his Hollywood Reporter roundtable interview with other noted directors, David O. Russell called you the “Marlon Brando of soaps”?

MAURICE:  Marlon Brando was an idol of mine when I started acting.  I was just so humbled from David saying that.  Laura called me “Marlon Brando” just today!

LAURA:  Laura does NOT call him “Marlon Brando” (Laughs).  I call you some things Maurice, but I can’t say them here! (Laughs)

In several mainstream press interviews, David has commended very highly the talent, the work ethic, and the professional athlete-type qualities that actors in the soap genre bring to the table.  It has been such a major moment for this medium, when often old-school notions in Hollywood have always held that those who work in daytime dramas are the poor step-children of the profession, etc.  When you saw David’s remarks on how all of you impressed him, what went through your minds?

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

MAURICE:  I was talking to some people on the set of GH just the other day, a bunch of directors, etc.  I don’t think anybody ever, director or what not, has praised daytime actors as much as David has.  For us, we have so much respect, and so much love for that. We are not used to hearing that.  Would you agree with me, Donna and Laura?

LAURA:  You’re right, Maurice.  I have never seen this amount of press and praise to a group of actors in a medium that most people couldn’t even handle, especially the way we shoot the episodes now.

DONNA:  The way it’s done now, it does take an Olympic athlete to do it, I think.

Donna, you and I had previously talked that when you did your very first arc on General Hospital, you were trying to get a handle on the pace of daytime, nowadays.  It was very challenging for you at the beginning.   It is a far cry from when you first appeared on the daytime soap Love is a Many Splendored Thing at the beginning of your career.  Many who don’t work in the medium don’t understand, or respect the work that actors do, and the performances they are able to pull off with basically little to no rehearsal.  But someone like David O. Russell clearly got it, and the type of talent it takes to perform in the rigors of soaps.

Photo Credit: Francois Duhamel

DONNA:  Right, and even when I did do daytime on Love is a Many Splendored Thing, it wasn’t like it is now when I have been on General Hospital.   It wasn’t that kind of intense.  It was always sort of intense, but not like it is now, that’s for sure.  That was a hard transition for me to do.  I really loved the fact that David recognized what it takes, and because of the way he works, he tapped into actors who could do it in a second, who didn’t falter and pause, but just went and did it.  He loved that, because he is very in the moment, and of the moment.  David wants his actors to be that way, too.  We all could do that.  I think he was really impressed by that.  I wouldn’t doubt that somewhere along the line he will do something else with soap opera actors.

LAURA:  Also to what Donna just said, it’s so true … David is so in the moment.   He just goes for it, and gets so caught up in the scene.  I think that’s why it changes so much and no one knows what they’re doing, because as its unfolding his mind is going: “Now try this. Now do this, and do that.”  He loved that we were able to do that without stopping, and going, “Well, wait a minute. I don’t know …”  I think then it would sort of break him out of his moments of inspiration.  So, working with people who can really work on their feet, and can go with it, and trust that it’s going to be put together well, I think is very important to him.

Photo Credit: Francois Duhamel

DONNA:  David kept talking in the press interviews he did: “I told Susan Lucci and Donna Mills to have a catfight, and they just went and had the catfight.”  But it didn’t make into the picture.

LAURA:  The catfight was amazing!  It was so good.  I was standing right there going, “Oh, my God.  This is awesome!” (Laughs)

What are your character names in “The Joyful Storm”?  Susan Lucci’s is Danica, we know that much. (Laughs)

LAURA: I think mine was Clarinda.

MAURICE:  I think it was Jared, but I don’t know.   Donna, do you know? (Laughs)

DONNA:  Maurice, your name kept changing! (Laughs)  I don’t think I ever had a name. Wait, the name of my character was on the dress rooming door, but nowhere else! (Laughs)

LAURA:  So funny!

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

Did each of you work with Susan Lucci in your scenes?

LAURA:  We were all together a lot in the scenes. We would all go to dinner together, as we all stayed in the same hotel.

MAURICE:  Laura never invited me out, though.  But, I forced myself to go. (Laughs)

LAURA: (Laughs) The one time we go out Maurice’s wife Paula and I got lost, and Maurice was pissed off in the passenger seat, because we couldn’t get back to the hotel, and we missed the turn three times in a row!  Then we couldn’t stop laughing, and so we missed it again, and then I accidently stabbed Maurice in the face!

MAURICE:  Exactly, with her nail! (Laughs)

LAURA:  It was a mess! (Laughs)

DONNA:  And it was like two degrees in Boston at that time.  It was so unbelievably cold! (Laughs)

Courtesy/20thCenturyFox

When you finally saw the movie JOY, what did you think of it?

DONNA:  I was pissed off the catfight scene wasn’t in it! (Laughs).  I think the movie is really wonderful, unique, and different.  It goes right to your heart, and gets under your skin.  I think JOY is fabulous.  I think Jennifer Lawrence, and everyone one in it is fabulous. The cast is different than they have ever been before in David’s films.  I have never seen Robert DeNiro do a part like this.

LAURA:  I’m going to go see it Christmas Day when it opens with my kids.  I can’t wait!

MAURICE:  I haven’t seen it yet, either!

Did you all meet and work with the other Oscar winner on the set, the incomparable Robert DeNiro?

DONNA:  He came and introduced himself on the set going, “Hi. I’m Bob DeNiro.”  And we were going, “No, kidding!” (Laughs)

LAURA:  At one point, we were all on the set of the soap opera world together, because we were the soap opera characters, and then we kind of became their characters.  So, we went into the background as they came into the scene, and that is when we met Robert.  It was great!  We all just hung out on the set together like actors do waiting to perform.

Courtesy/20th Century Fox

Did the three of you have a pinch-yourself-moment of “Oh, my God.  This is thee Robert DeNiro?”

DONNA:  Oh, yeah!

LAURA:  Of course!

MAURICE:  When I was young, Robert DeNiro was like a God.  So when I was introduced to him I was trying to be cool, but you get nervous.  Robert could not have been nicer.  The other actors treated us great, and with so much respect.  It was truly a special experience for us.

So, what did you think about the comments from Laura, Maurice, and Donna on working on the film of JOY?  Can we score this as a major victory for the daytime genre, where these talented actors are being recognized for their performances and work ethic by acclaimed director/writer David O. Russell, and Oscar-winning actors Robert DeNiro and Jennifer Lawrence?  What do you think of the premise of  the fictional soap “The Joyful Storm”? Will you be hitting the theatres to see Maurice, Laura, and Donna over the holiday season?  Share your thoughts on our roundatable discussion in the comment section below!

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It would be even more fabulous if they had been hired for roles in the film not in the soap.

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The soap portion is integral to the film, they are in the film.

It’s not surprising to hear that Jennifer Lawrence watches GH or that the other actors were so respectful to the soap actors. First, actors respect actors and they know it’s a crap shoot and a lot is left to chance. And a lot of people watch soaps, even A list actors. Maurice might be surprised at how many people on that set knew Sonny Corinthos. The man has been on network television almost daily for two decades.

It’s also nice and not surprising that Jennifer Lawrence, who might know a little something about acting, thought so much of Mo and Laura. I hear fans of certain other actors on GH constantly talking about how great they are. You don’t hear that a lot from fans of Mo and Laura because it’s a given, it doesn’t need to be said. I think being recognized by JLaw and David O. Russell speaks volumes.

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People who watch GH sometimes forget that MB & LW are *not* Sonny & Carly because they are such good actors. When LW played Luke’s mother, it reminded people how good she really is because it was such a different character with the exact same face. It certainly made me appreciate her ability more.

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I am glad that these actors experienced the praise they so deserve. I think that what they do on a daily basis is so spectacular. I can’t wait to see them in the movie, Joy.

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I know the industry likes to separate actors and that there’s this hiarcchy with A list b list c list as a way
To distinguish them from one another but to me an actor is an actor. And these four are Emmy winners . I hope they knew that as far as talent go they are equal to their movie star co workers. I’m looking forward to seeing them on the big screen and eating my popcorn..

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I’ve been obsessed with this movie since Donna talked about it in an interview months back. I’ll be seeing it at the cinema for sure & I can’t wait to see Donna on the big screen.

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absolutely ready to see it. I love these emmy soap actors and think it was a brilliant move, not to mention Robert D is one of my all time favorite actors.I am proud of MB, LW and DM as well as SL casting in this film.

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What a GREAT experience for them.

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Can’t wait to see this film.

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I have so much respect for daytime actors. Its good to see big movie stars respect them as well. Silver Linings was awesome and I would have seen this regardless but having Maurice in THIS makes it a must see over Christmas weekend!

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I saw the film. Not Jennifer’s best. The minir soap plot in the movie was silly and insignificant. Everything really could’ve been better. Of course, soap actors are going to say great things about the movie because this is their opportunity to be seen on the big screen and it may open doors for them to do more features in the future, but really this movie sucked!

Reply

I WATCHED THE MOVIE AT HOME…WHEN READING THE CREDITS I SAW DONNA MILLS NAME..I AM A HUGE FAN…I HAD TO GO ON LINE TO SEE WHAT ROLE SHE PLAYED…NOW I HAVE TO WATCH AGAIN ..AND WATCH THE SOAP …SORRY DONNA…LOVE YOU…AND LOVED THE MOVIE…CR MILLS

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

Published

47 minutes ago

on

August 23, 2026

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Dominic Zamprogna

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).

On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.

Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC

HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT

Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”

Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”

Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Dom and Liz

Photo: ABC

DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES

In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”

Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”

You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.

Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy  for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.

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General Hospital

GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

Published

2 days ago

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August 21, 2026

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Patrick J. Gibbons

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.

However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.

Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC

FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG

Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!

Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”

MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL

Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).

Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI

PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY

Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”

It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”

A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons

IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS

As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”

He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”

Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.”

So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Admits That He Didn’t Expect the Role of Michael Corinthos to be Recast, and Would Consider Working on Another Soap (Exclusive)

Published

3 days ago

on

August 20, 2026

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Chad Duell, the Daytime Emmy-winning actor, who stepped away from the pivotal role of Michael Corinthos on General Hospital, opened up about: his previous decision to leave the series after nearly 15 years, where’s he’s at now after time away from the demands of a daytime soap opera, and took a stroll down memory lane with some of Michael’s most-acclaimed storyline during his run, during a livestream chat on August 19 on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.

Viewers last saw Duell on-screen as Michael in January of 2025, and with his successor in the role, Rory Gibson making his debut at the GH Nurses’ Ball in episodes that aired later in May. It was clear that during the conversation, Chad was a bit surprised that the GH brass decided to recast him when he thought he was just taking some much needed time off.

Burn-out of the daily grind of being on a soap was definitely a part of Chad’s decision to take a break. Duell explained “People know when you’re doing something for so long or your character is kind of in the same place for so long or doing the same stuff over and over again, you do get a a little burnt out, you get a little stiff, stale, a little stiff at times. I didn’t want that to be any sort of lasting impression. I have 15 years of a body of work of I’ve done on that show, which is fantastic.”

Chad Duell

Photo: ABC

WHILE CHAD WAS AWAY GH RECAST MICHAEL CORINTHOS WITH RORY GIBSON

Chad shared, his mindset when leaving GH was, “I’m taking some time away, we’ll see what happens.” Then he added, “Obviously, they decided to go in a different direction with Michael when I was gone. I didn’t think they were going to bring somebody back in my place. But you know, it’s the business. You never know what can happen.”

Duell also shared he has not watched a single episode of General Hospital since he left the series, but now feels he reenergized following the loss of his father and stepping away from the GH, “I’m in a place now mentally, where I’m ready to sink my teeth into it again.”

Courtesy/ABC

Even though he is no longer Michael on GH, Chad was very happy with his final storyline where Michael was set on fire when a bomb exploded at Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) penthouse. “It was fun to put him in a dangerous situation, because I was wanting Michael to be in something scary instead of trying to be a hero character or just things happening around him, but to be the center point of tragedy happening to him. (I always saw) Michael as the heart of the (Corinthos) family.”

When Michael was badly burned the show chose not burn his face, which normally a soap does when they are recasting role and switching actors. Chad weighed-in, “They didn’t burn my face because I told Frank Valentini (EP, GH) I’m willing to come back. It was just a little bit of a break. So, I assumed that if they would have burned my face, they could have brought somebody back looking different than me… if that’s what their plan was.”

Courtesy/ABC

MEMORABLE MICHAEL STORYLINES

One of Chad’s most memorable performances was the in the storyline of Michael’s rape while he was sentenced to prison in 2010 and the confession of it in 2011. “It was so well-written and I was very nervous,” recalled Chad. “When I get really nervous about something, it ends up being really good when I do it, because it just means I care a lot about it”

“I have to put a lot of effort and work into it, and I really want it to be good.  I was working with Dominic  Zamprogna (Dante) and Steve Burton (Jason) a lot during those scenes, and Laura Wright (Carly). It was great working with Steve and Dominic, especially, during that storyline.

A NEW SOAP ROLE FOR CHAD?

As to a future soap opera role, Chad is open to the idea and would love to jump back in to a juicy role, “I know people over at The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Young and the Restless. They know that if they’re interested, I would love to come in for a screen test or something, and they can see what I’m doing.”

Meanwhile, Chad has been busy putting out new music under the moniker Duelly and during the interview he explains how he creates his EDM tracks and much more. You can stream his latest single, Static in the Quiet Room on Spotify, Apple Music and You Tube Music.

You can check out the full conversation with Chad Duell below.

Now let us know: what show would you like to see Chad cast on down the line? BTG, DAYS, B&B, Y&R, or a new role on GH? What did you think of his thoughts on the casting switch while he was away in the role of Michael? What was your favorite Michael storyline during Chad’s 15-year run on the ABC soap opera? Let us know via the comment section.

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