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It took Anders Hove and On-Air On-Soaps to meet up through a very special Skype session via Denmark and Los Angeles, to bring you this one-of-a-kind interview with the man behind supervillain Cesar Faison of General Hospital!  For more than a year now, fans have learned that it was Faison who was the initial brain trust behind kidnapping Robin Scorpio Drake (Kimberly McCullough) and faking her death … all to win the love of his obsession, Anna Devane (Finola Hughes).  But as we have learned, there is more to the story with Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roche) and Dr. Liesl Obrecht (Kathleen Gati) having had their own vested interests in this plot to keep Robin away from her loved ones.

In probably one of the most freakish, twisted, and enjoyable tales ever to come down the pike at General Hospital, Faison has donned a prosthetic mask pretending to be “Duke”, while Obrecht has donned a prosthetic mask pretending to be “Anna”.  And while this duo seemingly enjoys one-upping each other, and fighting amongst themselves, evil lurks within their hearts and minds. (Although, Faison truly and deeply is in love with Anna!)  Add to that, the fact that Faison has a growing family now that GH head writer Ron Carlivati linked Dr. Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud) to be the bio-child of Faison and Obrecht, and it looks like Faison’s evil legacy will linger on in Port Charles no matter if he is away from the canvas, or on it!

As GH fans have just seen, Faison dressed up as Beetlejuice for Halloween, while Robin wandered off to the General Hospital Halloween party in costume and saw Emma!  Will Faison finally pay for his crimes against the Drake family and Anna?  On-Air On-Soaps spoke to Anders Hove this past week, which was shortly after he wrapped his most recent episodes at GH!  So, what does Anders think of working again with Finola Hughes and Kimberly McCullough?  His new on-screen partner, Kathleen Gati?  What does the future hold for Faison?  The answer to these, and more, are contained in our chat below.  One thing is for certain, Anders is nothing like the character he portrays on your TV screens, a mark of a truly gifted actor.  He is a kind, appreciative, sentimental man who possesses great charm.  And now … here’s Anders!

MICHAEL:

We just saw you as Faison dressed as Beetlejuice on the General Hospital Halloween episodes!  How did that choice come about for Faison’s costume?  Do you think he struck terror in people?  Poor Leslie (Denise Alexander) fainted!

ANDERS:

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Indeed, I was Beetlejuice! (Laughs)  I must say, you do what is given, but I had fun.  He’s not that scary.  He’s more like a clown.  As usual, it’s very fast.  You get your script and your costume, and you go out there and do what you can.  There are some sort of scary scenes with Duke (Ian Buchanan) trying to take Faison down, while I am running around in this Beetlejuice costume.  I think it’s pretty funny, actually!

MICHAEL:

I interviewed Finola Hughes (Anna) and Kathleen Gati (Dr. Obrecht) together, recently.  I said to them, “What is it like to work with Anders Hove?”  And Finola related, you are the most surprising actor to work with, and it has been so great to work with you again.  So, what has it been like for you to work all these years later with Finola … and to play Faison’s obsessive relationship with Anna?

ANDERS:

The only thing I can say is; it’s such a pleasure to work with Finola.  I have known her for so many years.  Now to come back to GH ten years after, and then this year, and meet her on stage, it’s like we had never really been apart.  She gives me a lot of freedom in what I am doing.  Finola allows me, and does it herself, to improvise while we are doing the scenes, not by changing the words, but we give and take a lot in a good sense.  We give some juice to the scene, which is the true pleasure in working.  I owe her a lot in the sense that, she was really the one who taught me the craft of doing the soaps.

MICHAEL:

In the scenes where Obrecht was pretending to be “Anna” in the prosthetic mask, and then the real Anna confronted Faison while he was still at Steinmauer Maximum security prison, your reactions were priceless!  I think that is why you have made Cesar Faison into one of the greatest soap villains of all-time.   The audience never knows what to expect from him, and often times his reactions are very sarcastic!

ANDERS:

Yes, he is sarcastic.  But he also stands by what he is doing.  He does not have any moral issues about it.  It’s also for the good of getting close to Anna, and for him, his way of understanding what love is …is so twisted!  He will go, “Yeah, sure.  I took your daughter to get closer to you.  What would you expect me to do?” (Laughs)

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MICHAEL:

What did you think of the scene where Faison asked Dr. Obrecht to put on the “Anna” mask to have sex him with? (Laughs)

ANDERS:

(Laughs) It was a lot of fun.  There again, it was like, “Put on the mask. What’s the problem, dear?  Just do it.” (Laughs)  When you play it as a matter of fact kind of thing, and an every day occurrence, it has its weird outcome.  But I loved it.  I’m pretty sure Kathleen liked it too.  It’s nice for me and Faison that if everything breaks down, there is a Kathleen and Kelly Thiebaud (Britt).  I don’t even know if Obrecht is Faison’s wife.  I don’t think she is.  I think they just have this weird relationship of which, a daughter was born, which was a great surprise to me.  Kathleen actually emailed me before I came out to Los Angeles this time around, and told me about my on-screen daughter!  It’s nice to have a family around in Port Charles, when I am not there.

MICHAEL:

Who would have ever thought Faison would have an extended family?  Now you have Britta and Liesl!  The chemistry between you and Kathleen reminds me of the great villains of the original Batman television series.  There is so much in-fighting going on between the evil-doers! 

ANDERS:

I like the in-fighting.  I like that he is almost the underdog in his relationship with Obrecht.  He has to look out!  She can, at some point, turn everything against him.  If there is ever anything more in store for Faison and for Obrecht, I am looking forward to seeing what that would be.

MICHAEL:

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How does the taping schedule work when you are flown over from Denmark to tape episodes of General Hospital?  I assume you tape a bunch of episodes at one time and then leave?  I bet there is a big part of you that wishes you could stay longer each time, as much as the audience does.

ANDERS:

I think I taped around 17 shows this time around, and I don’t know how they are going to spread it out, but they are going to spread it out for quite a while.  Beyond that, it’s nice to come in and have a sort of fast-paced storyline.  It gets the excitement going, and then I leave. Though, I would not mind hanging out in Los Angeles for awhile, but that has yet to be seen.

MICHAEL:

When you and Kimberly McCullough (Robin) came back this time to play out the story of Robin’s return, the ratings have never been better in recent years.  GH has had some of their highest numbers in more than two years, in particular in key demos.  This storyline has become must-see viewing for television audiences.  What can you say about working with Kimberly?  The two of you have such a long history of Faison kidnapping that poor gal!

ANDERS:

It’s so nice to hear about the ratings.  The scenes way back then in the 90’s … when I look at Kimberly … I realize I am hitting 60!  And it’s not something that I think about on an every day basis, but back then, she was a little girl sitting in the classroom when she wasn’t on stage.  Now, I am working with a woman, and that is something you can only experience on a soap (having a character grow up before your eyes).  It’s wonderful to work with Kimberly.  Without getting too sentimental, it’s also sort of touching to follow a person like Kimberly, and her career, and to watch her grow up.  It’s a nice feeling to have that history with her, and Finola too, for that matter.

MICHAEL:

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In 2013, you have been tormenting Robin, wearing the “Duke” mask, and so much more.  You must have had a good laugh in between takes with some of these outrageous plot points?

ANDERS:

Yeah, we do have a good laugh between scenes, but it is wacky!  It is weird. What we are doing many times, at least regarding my storyline, is to really stretch it, but I really believe this can only happen on a soap.  It’s a soap trademark as far as I am concerned. But we do have a good laugh, and why not?

MICHAEL:

After the Halloween episodes are completed, what’s in store for Faison?  Will he perpetrate more skullduggeries … or will Faison soften around the edges because of his love for Anna?  Better yet, what would you like to see happen?

ANDERS:

I think you will be seeing me for another month or so, for sure!  What we touch upon in this storyline a little bit is the past of Anna and Faison, when she was working with the WSB, as well as working as double agent.  And, if they want to look into that past and those secrets that are buried there, then there should be room for some more stories, for sure.  I guess there is a lot of stuff in that part of the storyline that could be used against Robin, and for that matter, Scorpio (Tristan Rogers).  I think Finola’s character has some secrets that could come out, and not specifically to the benefit of her character, and that would give Faison some room to maneuver whatever he is up too, and it’s usually bad.  I think there could be a story where Finola’s character would be in a situation where she had to use Faison, either to lie, or cover up her past, to survive. 

MICHAEL:

During your return this time as Faison, do you have your top two favorite moments, or scenes?

ANDERS:

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Yes, I would say meeting Finola and Anna.  I always think that is the best and nothing beats it, and that might be for sentimental reasons, I don’t know.   I really truly enjoy working with her and it’s very safe.  Getting along with Kathleen is wonderful as well, and meeting Ian Buchanan!  And that is another wonderful and funny thing about working on a soap.  I really only have known Ian for a year, but I feel like I have always known him in a sense that he is always been a part the story, whether he has been on the show, or not.  There has always been this “Duke”.  I had this one scene where Faison had taken him down in the cellar, where I really treat him bad.  That was one of my favorite scenes, because as an actor, Ian let me do things.   He plays along, and what happened, happens.  It is a great feeling as an actor … feeling that confidence from your counterpart.  It’s very rewarding.  Another great thing for me has been meeting GH executive producer, Frank Valentini.  Frank is so much hands-on with everything.  He is so direct and clear, and no BS, in his direction and in his comments.  He gives you huge freedom when you work that you have this support from the top.  And it’s not that he is on the floor constantly, but this feeling that someone is watching over you, if something should glide to one side, or the other.  It gives you a freedom.  He gives the actor a lot of responsibility, and you feel secure.  I think that’s very important, especially when you work these very hard schedules, which we have now as compared to 25 years ago.  We sometimes do sixty plus scenes a days, and back then, we did half of that.  It’s a grueling schedule, but people are holding up. There is a tremendous support on the set.  It’s important and a very good feeling.

MICHAEL:

Why do you think the fans have taken to the character of Faison?

ANDERS:

Because, he is so twisted and out of control, and also because he is quite emotional.  His whole body is filled with contradiction and thoughts.  He is hard to read even for me sometimes, but overall, he is genuinely in love with Anna, and that is his passion. Faison is passionate, and he doesn’t’ give up.  He has a line this time around, “Anna is his reason for living,” and that could be the headline for his character!

MICHAEL:

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How on earth did you end up in this role … hailing all the way from Denmark?

ANDERS:

It was an audition like any other, but the beauty of it is, I believe I was the first character that GH casting director Mark Teschner took in!  We had a very good session.  It took forever to get that part.  I went back four or five times, and I had to be approved by ABC in New York.  Maybe, my accent had something to do with it too, I don’t know.  I just really hit it off with Mark.  I had some try out scenes with Finola which must have turned out as well.  It was a long process.

MICHAEL:

What do people in your real life say, such as friends or family members, that have seen your portrayal of Cesar Faison?  Do they go, “Oh, my God?”

ANDERS:

Yeah, I think so. (Laughs)  A lot of them do, because it has nothing to do with me as a person.  I do have a temperament though, but certainly not to the lengths Faison has.  I am getting old and sentimental, and I don’t think Faison is there at all. 

MICHAEL:

Would you like to comeback for more episodes of General Hospital?  Faison needs to keep avoiding the law … and continue to be the super villain of soaps.  You just never know when he might drop in!

ANDERS:

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I would love to come back to GH.  I adore working there!  It’s such a joy to go in there in the morning, and do the blocking, and then go up, and pull your guns and shoot away, and just hope it works out.  And if it doesn’t, Frank will be there.  It’s very American. You don’t have that kind of work in Denmark, or anywhere else.  Where in the world do they make an hour a day of entertainment?  It’s very special.

MICHAEL:

So, your hope is the door is always left open for you, because even if they did “kill” Faison, he apparently is never truly dead.  He apparently has nine lives! (Laughs)

ANDERS:

Whether I am coming back or not, it has always been a big part of my life, and it has given me a bunch of good friends that no matter what, I will always have them.

MICHAEL:

As things heat up during November Sweeps, what’s ahead for Faison?

ANDERS:

I would say there is a very bumpy ride for Faison ahead, while I don’t think they will kill him (or at least I hope not), it’s going to get pretty damn close.

MICHAEL:

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We certainly hope he somehow gets his comeuppance for kidnapping Robin!  He has caused such heartache and pain for the Drake family!

ANDERS:

If he’s going to make it out of this one, he’s going to have to be clever!  And I hope he does, because I miss the sun in L.A. terribly.   It’s dark and stormy here in Denmark.  

MICHAEL:

What did you think when you saw there was going to be a prosthetic masked “Anna” in the script, and it would be revealed it was Obrecht underneath it?  Faison got a dose of his own medicine, which I thought was brilliant, since he pulled the same stunt on Anna wearing a “Duke” mask!

ANDERS:

That is the thing about Obrecht … you never really know what she is going to do. I think it’s daring and fun that they would pull the same trick on Faison, and he fell for it.  So, he is not totally sure about what is going on around him constantly, apparently.  I loved it.   I think the scenes where Finola was playing Anna playing opposite “Anna”, were fantastic.  I think she should submit that for the Emmys.

MICHAEL:

Will you submit yourself for the Daytime Emmys this year?

ANDERS:

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I don’t know.   I think I am too humble.  I find it so strange.  I would rather just be nominated than having to put myself up for anything.

MICHAEL:

We have all enjoyed your performances so much, and speaking for many GH fans, they absolutely love to hate you! (Laughs)  You have been so fun and incredible to watch.

ANDERS:

Thank you so much, Michael and you have to send it back!  Give my love to the fans; they are the people that keep the show on the air, and thanks for that!