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Daytime fans, and those of General Hospital, are watching this week the riveting and heartbreaking drama of the life and death of two infant children and their parent’s worst nightmare.  Elizabeth and Jason’s biological son, Jake, has been injured in a hit and run and then pronounced brain-dead following surgery.  Carly and Jax’s daughter, Josslyn, became gravely ill and was diagnosed with Stage 5 cancer in both her kidneys.  That sets the stage for the unthinkable… Carly asking her dearest friend Jason for Jake’s kidney to save Josslyn.  The fallout from this and the ramifications will be felt throughout Port Charles, and with the families involved for quite some time.  And yet, there is still another question to be raised.  Could Carly actually have been the driver behind the vehicle that took the life of Jake?

On-Air On-Soaps chatted with Laura Wright (Carly) for the inside scoop on the drama that unfolds for Carly and all the people in her sphere in the days ahead.  But, we also talk to Laura about her powerful performances, one after the other… throughout Michael’s rape and trial, Carly’s exacting revenge on Dante, her feuding with Brenda that culminated at Brenda and Sonny’s wedding, and so much more.  If ever a Daytime Emmy should be on her radar, it’s this year.  Will the Academy make another huge mistake and fail to nominate Wright?  Or, will this be the year she gets her due?  Read what Laura had to say about her Emmy chances, and the reel she chose for the competition!

Direct, fun, energetic, a bundle of wild controlled energy, and being an
emotionally raw and available talent… make Laura one of daytime televisions
greatest treasures and one of our favorite actresses in the genre today.
Here’s what Ms. Wright had to say about it all!

MICHAEL:

The story about Josslyn and Jake is such an emotional roller coaster.  What did you think when they told you that Jake was going to be in a hit and run and die, and that Josslyn was going to become gravely ill and need a transplant?  Did you think, “How can they do this to little kids on TV?”

LAURA:

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I don’t care about that kind of stuff, because it promotes good story.  Those are the stories that work, and you want to sit there and cry! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

I know I do! This storyline is so reminiscent to the classic BJ/Maxie storyline of the nineties.  Would you say that is a fair comparison?

LAURA:

Just like the BJ/Maxie storyline of the 90’s, I am turning on the TV to cry.  I think it’s updating that storyline with different people with different fallout.  I was taping some scenes with Steve Burton (Jason) and you can just imagine how heart wrenching they were.  I just looked at Steve when I found out about this story and went, “Oh, my God, Steve.”  And he went, “I know.”  You know where we go when we are given these types of scenes.  I just thought about, “Great, those aren’t going to be fun to do.”  However, it’s very much kind of bizarre for me.  I did one scene and people told me it was great.  It’s kind of really sick in the head how much I enjoy those kinds of scenes! (Laughs)   I don’t know why I am able to do that, and I very much can do those types of scenes with Steve.  I feel very safe as an actor with him.  I feel I can do anything with Steve. There is a trust there with the characters as well as my relationship with Steve, and working with him as an actor that allows me to be free emotionally.  Steve has been so welcoming of me in this role. He has been 100% supportive of me as an actor so that I can play these types of emotional storylines with him.

MICHAEL:

And the kicker is; that Carly thinks she is one of the candidates or suspects that ran down little Jake and decides to go tell Jason!

LAURA:

Yes, those were also really tough scenes.  Carly chooses to go to Jason with that, which I think is an interesting choice, because I think most people would run for their lives.  She chose to go and went straight to him.  Those were interesting scenes, because you really did not see them coming.  For me, we shot a lot of emotional stuff with a chunk of actors.  There was a lot of emotion flowing in that studio for quite a few days from quite a few actors.  I wasn’t really reading ahead and I really wasn’t trying to project ahead.  So I did not really see that coming.  I mean, I had heard about it, but I did not necessarily think how emotional that was going to be.  They turned out to be amazing for me.  So I hope the fans will enjoy them.

Courtesy/ABC

MICHAEL:

So would you say or confirm that this is a ten box of Kleenex debacle?

LAURA:

I do.  It so engulfs so many different people that I absolutely think that you are going to want that nearby. When people tell me they felt that way after watching Michael confess, well please; this is going to do that to you 100%.  Not that Michael’s scenes weren’t, because they were…and Chad Duell (Michael) killed those scenes but…

MICHAEL:

I have to interrupt you to tell you that those scenes were at the top of my list for you as well, when I heard you received a pre-nomination for a Daytime Emmy this year. Not to mention, you had so many fantastic moments in 2010, it must be hard for you to choose from.

LAURA:

Clearly, I have picked the wrong tape year after year!

MICHAEL:

Some of your cohorts and I have said that we have to get you in the Lead Actress race this year…

LAURA:

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You know what is very, very difficult; it’s finding an entire show. The year before last year I thought I was a shoo-in for Michael getting shot, but then I went, “Well, I guess not.” (Laughs)  It’s so funny.  There are times you get frustrated and then there are times when, and I really mean this, if I were to be nominated, that would say that I should be there and someone else can’t be.  I don’t feel it’s my right to say I belong there before someone else does.  I don’t.  I think there a lot of actresses in daytime who work just as hard as I do.  It’s all about story you are given, and what you do with it.  Everyone’s job is just as important to them as it is to me.  I really do believe that, absolutely.  Do I want to be at the Best Actress luncheon they have the day before the ceremonies?  Yes, also because I love all those actresses.  Hey, I want to hang out with Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, Y&R) and Maura West (Diane, Y&R, Ex-Carly ATWT)… I love them. They are my two favorite actresses.  Maura is so great and such an amazing actress. When she won last year and Michael Park (Ex-Jack, ATWT), I just loved it.  I could not have been more thrilled.  Would it be nice to win?  Sure. Would I finally feel I am up there with the people that I adore?  Sure. But it really hasn’t affected my career on the flipside.  I think I have the best character in daytime television, quite frankly.  I justify every insane crazy thing Carly does.  Some people think I am crazy.  Some of the actors I talk to will go, “You are going to do that?” And I go, “Absolutely. It’s my job to make it work.”

MICHAEL:

To me, it’s like you just go for it with a “take-no-prisoners” approach. You are truly spellbinding in all of these types of scenes!

LAURA:

And sometimes I score, and sometimes I don’t, but you know what?  It’s been a fun ride.  There isn’t anything I can complain about.  I could complain that I work too much, but hell, a lot of people wish they were working as an actor.  So I can’t really complain on that level, and get a lot of sympathy. (Laughs).

MICHAEL:

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So, the episode that I thought you should submit included the scenes where you say goodbye to Michael before he is carted off to Pentonville, after being convicted of murdering  Claudia.

LAURA:

That was the episode that I submitted!  So let’s keep our fingers crossed.  I picked it because I loved the scene at the beginning with me and Steve where I am storming out and he says, “You pull it together.  You be strong for him.”  And for me, those emotions were so real.  I don’t worry about make-up or if I look pretty.  If I were hearing that my son is going to be taken away, or sitting there in prison, I would not care about the running mascara, or the big red runny nose, or that kind of stuff.  Some people were like, “Laura, you are awful ‘cry-ee’ in those scenes.  Like, your face is red, etc.”  See, I like that because I think that tells the story.  I think it’s more distracting for me when I watch an actress cry, or wake up from being asleep, and her face looks perfect and her hair is combed.  That kind of stuff drives me crazy.  I like the rawness of those scenes, and I like the scenes with her son Michael, where she says, “You are going to get through this. You are going to be strong.”  You see, I have a tag at the end of the show where I have pointed a gun at Dante.  And if you watch the episode, I should have shot him, as far as I am concerned!  And I don’t mean that in that way.  I just mean how cool that would have been, and if you are going to pick up the gun with the hatred she had toward him, and this “screw him” attitude, I have no problem justifying her hatred towards Dante.  I have no problem justifying her position that Carly can’t stand Abby.  I have been told by mothers that Carly should back off.  And I am like, “Wait! Really?  Who is your kid datin’? (Laughs)  I have more issues with the mothers that are going, “I think Carly should leave Michael alone!”

MICHAEL:

Laura, what do you think about what Chad has accomplished?  He has stepped into the role of Michael Corinthos just beautifully!

LAURA:

Oh, my God!  I could not love him more.  He is such a joy to watch and to work with.  I love him.  He is the nicest kid and he is so awkwardly funny. Chad is very honest and real, and there is no ego about him. And Andrea Bogart, who plays Abby, is exactly the same. You know, we have so much fun working together.  It’s good fun.  And when we have places to go emotionally, we go.  When Chad as Michael told me, “Mom, get out” when he was with Jason, I mean, those scenes were just awesome!

MICHAEL:

I thought it was amazing that even though Carly felt so strongly about Dante and those who wronged Michael, when Michael admitted he was raped, there she was being momma bear holding him.  As a viewer, you knew she was going to be either strong for her son, or she would go into, “Carly histrionics”.

Courtesy/ABC

LAURA:

I loved that, but I wasn’t crazy about the whole gun thing afterwards.  I had a hard time with that, so I tried to down play it…. “You know, you do deserve to have a bullet put in your head, but Michael deserves my attention more.”  I really had to down play that, and I wanted to kind of do those scenes with a: “I hope you think about this every night before you go to bed.  Because you are the reason that this happened, and so you living for the rest of your life with guilt, is OK with me.”  It was more matter of fact then a stunt.  It is the reality of the situation that is so much more powerful than any crazy antics she could do at that point, and the enormity of what this kid had to endure, is basically the bullet. I wanted that to ring true. You know, there are some scenes you try to get through quickly and you hope that nobody notices, and they are awkward.  I guarantee you that is for every writer and every actor.  When you think of daytime, and we do five shows or more every week, we are not going to get it right every time.  And, you are going to have a writer going, “Wow, did I write that?”  And you are going to have an actor going, “Wow, that was a tough day for me.”  I feel comfortable saying that, and it’s no offense to anyone, but I just know that everyone has had those days.

MICHAEL:

So here is Carly again, and another one of her children is in peril, and this time it’s Josslyn.

LAURA:

Wait till you see how cute this little kid is!  She is pretty darn adorable.  I mean, you do have those moments where we are talking to a doll, and you know it’s a doll, but all you see are our faces and you never see the kid.  But, the moments we did get to use her, she was pretty fantastic.

MICHAEL:

Josslyn is diagnosed with cancer in both kidneys, and when we find this out, what is going on in Carly’s mind at that point?

LAURA:

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“You have got to be friggin’ kidding me?”  What?  What do you mean?  She looks healthy, she looks great, what do you mean?  What do you mean, she has kidney cancer?” And you have to think, and I am only guessing, but my son had a heart condition when he was born.  He was on heart medication for five years and then had non-invasive heart surgery to fix it and he is 100% fine.  He will never have issues with it again.  But, there is still that moment when the doctors are telling you what’s wrong, that you almost hear nothing. Then you go into this mode of, “Just tell me how to fix it?”  I remember that was the case with my son.  For Josslyn, chemo is an option, but not really, because the chemo could kill her.  So the best-case scenario is to have a kidney transplant, and that is rare for children, as another child has to die for this to occur.  There is a long list waiting for a donor, etc.  And all that is happening to little Jake, being in the hit and run, and then being pronounced brain-dead.

MICHAEL:

How are Jax and Carly through this?  I read one of Ingo Rademacher’s (Jax) tweets that he will be on GH but with much less airtime.  How will that impact your on-screen relationship?

LAURA:

I don’t know, and I think it was only a certain timeframe he was referring to.  Daytime people work more or will work less. There used to be a time in this medium when you were front-burner or back-burner.  Quite frankly, I loved it back then because I could have a life, and that makes the fans want to see you.  I mean they have to be sick of Carly by now, barking around in everyone’s life everyday! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

You are one of the most utilized performers who never goes away! (Laughs)

LAURA:

Courtesy/ABC

I am one of the most utilized and I am OK if they use me less, so I don’t know if Ingo’s statement came from frustration, or if it’s true.  I know my schedule is light for a few weeks, which I am very happy with, but in a month, I could be working five days a week, and so could Ingo.  So I don’t know if we know what is going on. There have been some shifts that work in the way they are writing it differently, and trying to use smaller casts in a day. You get done earlier and save money.  I think quite frankly it makes for a better story that way.  If you have less people in, than you have longer scenes, and you have really good character-driven scenes, and that is how the soaps used to be told. This is the first show I have worked on where they use certain people all the time, and that was never the norm for daytime television.

MICHAEL:

So with Jossyln being in dire straits, does it reunite Carly and Jax, or are they still at each other’s throat?

LAURA:

Neither, right now. They are very united on how they love their daughter and how they handle this, but the characters are not back together.  I don’t think they are telling that story yet.  I do think it will happen, but I think they are going to tell some other stories first, and then we will get there.  Last week I had some scenes where I work with Ingo a lot in a very nice way.  I know there is lots of talk about me and this Shawn guy on the Internet.

MICHAEL:

Yup, that is what I wanted to ask you. What about Shawn the bodyguard, played by Sean Blakemore, and Carly as an item?

LAURA:

I don’t know. You will see me on-air with him a lot more in the next few weeks.  But again, it’s nothing at all romantic.  I don’t know if they are going to go that way, and I don’t know if they know.

MICHAEL:

Would you be cool with the pairing if it were to happen?

LAURA:

Photo Credit: AngelaDunlap.com

Of course!  Please, but there has to be a story.  Do I love Jax/Carly? Yes, I do.  And do I love working with Ingo?  Absolutely. But there has to be a problem there.  Happy is not a story and fighting over the underwear drawers is not a story.  It is not a daytime story. Look, I love being the Rachel and Ross of daytime with him, because we have so much fun bickering and playing, but if they can’t make that interesting I would love for them to have us on the run, or some kind of spy stuff, and Carly gets jealous and tries to take over. You can be funny and play funny, but only that can last so long.  Like any great daytime couple, they might just want to break us up.  And that is very hard for me to think about, because I have only been with Ingo since I started on GH.  So it is very hard for me to think of someone else to work with, as I have a very comfortable working relationship with Ingo.

MICHAEL:

I think it would be interesting to see Carly with a new man!  Somebody she has not been with over and over and over again!

LAURA:

And what is also interesting is why would she want to be with someone.  Sean is a great guy. He is good actor, and super funny.  He comes to work prepared. We have a good time working together, but I am telling you, we have had nothing romantic on any level at all.

MICHAEL:

Are you not playing that underneath as your sub-text in scenes with him?

LAURA:

No, actually I am trying to play 100% against it, because I want it to come from a real place.  I don’t want it to feel forced or telegraphed, because then it is not interesting. You know, when Ingo and I first worked together, not much of this was scripted in terms of we kind of flirted in the scenes on our own. I went upstairs and I said, “Why don’t you put Carly with Jax?  He is this… and this. .and… he is taller.”(Laughs). And they go, “OK”.  And within a couple of weeks they started the love story.  I have had a great time working with Ingo, and how it came from flirting and playing. You could write a really interesting story with Carly and Shawn, because of how we are working together right now, and it could turn into something, but it has to come from a real place.  I have been doing daytime a long time.  I am a fan of daytime television and it’s the journey of the love story that is interesting.

MICHAEL:

Right, not once the couple gets together.  That is the kiss of death on daytime for characters….marriage! (Laughs)

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LAURA:

Yes, of course, and that is why I think they are struggling with what to do with Jax and Carly.  Believe me when I tell you, it’s just as difficult for our writers Bob Guza and Elizabeth Korte, because Elizabeth loves Jax and Carly.  She is like, “They are so awesome and romantic.  And, they are the most romantic couple we have on the show.” She said, “Because Jax is such a knight in shining armor with Carly, we believe your knees buckle every time you are around him. And, you guys have been together for six years.”  We make it funny, cute and charming, but this is Carly we are talking about.  She has to lie, cheat, and have sex with somebody.  I am Laura Wright, who is an actress, and I do want to do fun things. I like playing Carly for a reason.

MICHAEL:

There are major moments in the Jake/Josslyn story that the characters have to deal with and grieve, during this horrific situation.  One huge scene is that Jason goes to Elizabeth to ask for Jake’s organ to save Josslyn.  And then I hear there is a huge scene between Carly and Liz!

LAURA:

Yes, Jason goes to Elizabeth and she is extremely angry. Then she comes to Carly, and it actually is a really great emotionally heavy scene.  Just thinking about it now, I have tears in my eyes.  Becky Herbst (Elizabeth) was great.  Let me tell you this was a long tape day.  We did all the Jake material in the morning, and then we shot finding out about Josslyn having kidney cancer at ten o’clock at night.

MICHAEL:

And they don’t bring in Jackie Zeman (Bobbie) at all for this?  I mean, in light of the historic BJ story and that Bobbie went through something similar, and being Carly’s mother… this is very odd to me.

LAURA:

Courtesy/ABC

They do not. Well, of course, it’s weird.  I don’t know why, and thank you for bringing that up.  I never really worked a lot with Jackie.  Sarah Brown and Tamara Braun had way more interaction with her than I have had when they played Carly.

MICHAEL:

Well, you could see the mother/daughter relationship between the two of them back then.  We don’t get to see that anymore.

LAURA:

There is nothing going on. I have worked with Jackie only a hand full of times. However, I do get to work a lot with Tony Geary as Luke and that has been great.  We have so much fun working together. God, he makes me laugh. He is fantastic!

MICHAEL:

Tony is the best of the best.  In his performances, he is so natural and effortless to me.

LAURA:

And you know what is great about Tony that I think makes him so good?   It’s that when he has a break from GH he goes to Amsterdam. This guy does not go to events, or worried about getting his face out there.  He doesn’t care and he doesn’t need that to fulfill his ego. Tony cares about the day’s work and the body of work he does.  He has never been anything but amazing and respectful to his fellow actors.  He only wants to make the scene better. If you want to make changes to it, or sit and talk about it, or you are struggling with something, he is right there to talk about the scene and offer any advice he can give.  And to be Tony Geary and to be Luke Spencer in 1981 and to work with this man now, I am like, “Wow!”  He is an actor.  I have so much respect for him that is endless.  I enjoy every day I get to work with him.  He is such a giving actor, and there is no judgment and there is nothing but support and wanting it to be as good as you can make it.

MICHAEL:

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Since Bobbie is MIA, is Luke there for Carly through this ordeal?

LAURA:

He actually is in his “Luke way”.  You already saw why Carly and Luke are around each other when certain developments happen.  Great Carly and Luke stuff coming up! I also had a couple of great scenes that were really odd with Jonathan Jackson (Lucky).  But, they were amazing!

MICHAEL:

Another standout performer!

LAURA:

You know, when you work with these people you feel like you are in their home.  It is just so real.  You get all of your energy going because we are taping so much so fast, and have so much dialog, and it’s hurry up, and do more in less time. There are certain actors you get on set with and all of a sudden it feels like it slows down, and you take a breath, and the scene happens.  And it probably happens faster than any other scenes, because you are just so present and the dialog flows and it happens.  Jonathan is one of those actors that when you are in a scene with him, you don’t even know the cameras are there. You are just so transfixed.  When Carly has a scene where she shows up in Lucky’s apartment, I felt like I was in Lucky’s apartment and we were having a full-on conversation.  He again, is one of those actors you feel comfortable and relaxed with.

MICHAEL:

Of all the scenes in this story arc, is there one of yours that we will see in the coming days, that you feel is a knockout performance from you as Carly?

LAURA:

I know what I remember. The one that stood out to me is when Carly had to ask Jason to ask Elizabeth for Jake’s kidney to save Josslyn, which means removing him off life-support.  That was pretty rough, and I don’t think Steve and I even talked for awhile after we shot the scene.

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MICHAEL:

Steve Burton delivers some of his best work with beautiful moments and quiet understated work.  We have already seen a few days of this on-air.

LAURA:

It is just heartbreaking.  I had a scene with Chad, too, that you hope they turn out as good as they feel to perform them.  Again, everyone stepped up to the plate and hit a home run.  Even Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) shows up, and there are only four or five scenes she is in, and she is 100% there.  She was supportive and running lines, and with a long day of emotional stuff, that was so helpful and I loved it.

MICHAEL:

And then “Franco” contacts Carly in the middle of all this!

LAURA:

Yes he does! You know, I was there the day James Franco shot those scenes which were a couple of weeks before the Academy Awards.  I was watching him on set doing the scenes and I was laughing.  I mean it was happening at not a funny time in the storyline, but he was funny.

MICHAEL:

Did you watch him co-host the Oscars?  How did you feel he did?  I had some issues with him during the telecast.

LAURA:

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I had heard that things that were planned were cut. And so I don’t know, but I love him. He is really a nice guy and we have fun together.  James is a cool and totally bizarre with all his artistic stuff that he wants to do, but he is like an actor.  I think the first time he was at GH it was a little weird, like, “Dude, what are you doing here?”  Then, he had people following him around because he was making a mini-movie.  But then, the second time he came it was awesome.  He came in and gave everybody hugs and I said to him, “We just can’t rid of you, huh?”  And he goes, “Nope!”  I had a couple of different scenes with him and the director would come down and give us notes. Then James would turn to me and go, “Do you agree with that note?” And I would say, “Not really.” And then he would say, “I didn’t like it, either.”  And I said, “I don’t think they are going to make you do anything you don’t really want to.”  What was cool about this was he talked about this as if he was an actor on a soap just for a couple of days, and he didn’t want to disappoint anybody.  And you are thinking, “This is James Franco, a nominated performer for an Academy Award coming on to General Hospital, and he gave a damn!”  He really listened to our directors and questioned back just like we all do.  In daytime, we all have those types of conversations on set.  I found him to be very real. When he came to tape this time, I was in the hair and make-up room.  He walked in with a big hug and gave me a kiss on the cheek.  He is like an actual recurring character on GH now!

MICHAEL:

Where is Sonny in all this drama, with Josslyn and Jake and his buds, Carly and Jason?

LAURA:

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He is on his honeymoon with his crazy bride, Brenda.  Carly’s new BFF…NOT!  It is so funny.  Brenda tries to bridge the gap between them in some scenes coming up, and that is all I am going to say.  Vanessa Marcil Giovinazzo (Brenda) and I could not stop laughing!  We barely get through some of our scenes together, because we are laughing so hard, especially with what I have to say to her half the time!  I just think Carly always gets to say the stuff that everyone wants to say, but nobody has the balls to say it!  Kimberly McCullough (Robin) said to me once, “I just can’t believe the things you get to say to people.”   I go, “I know.  I think I am just going to start my scenes out by saying to the actors, ‘I’m sorry.’”

MICHAEL:

Did you enjoy the never-ending taunting of Brenda for everything she was “supposedly” hiding?

LAURA:

I did enjoy them, and I was also happy those were over.  It was a long time of taunting her.  I can’t tell you how many times I had to say, “Can I cut that tag?”  I kept saying, I am the happiest person filming Sonny and Brenda’s wedding, because the moment I stand up at the wedding then my responsibility is over.” (Laughs) It was so funny.  Dominic Zamprogna (Dante) kept laughing at me as he was standing there going, “You can’t wait for this next scene!”  I go, “Nope. Can’t wait!” (Laughs)  And in every scene I tried to drink it in. Carly would be hammered at this wedding!

MICHAEL:

In closing, what would you say the impact of the Jake/Josslyn storyline means for Carly, in a broad stroke?

LAURA:

Courtesy/ABC

For Carly, she is very grateful for the gift that Josslyn has received, but with the worst outcome for her best friend.  It is so bittersweet.  Saying that doesn’t really explain it right, either. Why does Josslyn get to live and Jake can’t?   It’s just awful.  It’s hard to be happy and rejoice and be grateful, when it is only happening at the cost of another child and another life.  I think the storyline is a powerful one, and there are great performances that come out of it.  Then, there is major story that comes out of it, too. You will see some great stuff coming up. Tune-in and bring your hankies! Hey, that is why we watch soaps. You either want to fall in love or cry.

MICHAEL:

There is nothing like a good cathartic cry when watching a soap to release what ever may be going on in your own life.

LAURA:

You know, you are so right.  When you think of all the big moments in daytime history… it’s going on the run, it’s a big wedding, it’s death and someone dying.  It’s life, and told in a much bigger way, but it’s really about life’s highs and its lows.