Courtesy/ABC

On General Hospital Steve Burton plays the loveable hit man, Jason Morgan, and after months of weaving in and out of other people’s storylines, Steve finally has one all his own!   When the media frenzy that surrounded the shocking announcement that film star James Franco would be coming to GH, soap and mainstream entertainment audiences were wondering, why? To play what?  But with Franco’s arrival, it gave Daytime Emmy Winner, Burton a super hot storyline touted as “Jason’s worst nightmare!”  Over the past weeks, GH viewers have gotten a glimpse of James Franco’s, “artist whose canvas is murder” character, “Franco”.  And today on GH and next week, Jason Morgan and his new sworn enemy come face-to-face!

Burton sat down with On-Air On-Soaps this week in his dressing room at GH, to discuss all things Jason Morgan.   From the cat and mouse game of “Franco”, to working with the brilliant actor, James Franco, to what’s next for Sonny and Jason.   Then of course, we address the ladies in “Stone Cold’s” life …Sam, Elizabeth and Carly.   Steve who has become a fan of Twitter also discusses the importance of a soap opera fan base, and yes, we talk the cancellation of As the World Turns and what this mean to the soap genre. One of the most popular actors in the genre, all you need to do is hear Steve in the audio portion of this interview and know why.   Charming, witty, and on top of his game, Burton tells it like it is, and then some!

Listen to the audio:

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MICHAEL:

The storyline right now has been amazing, and you have had the opportunity to work with James Franco.  So when you initially heard that James was going to be coming to GH, what were your thoughts?  You knew for a while?

STEVE:

Yes, I had heard that it was a possibility.  I don’t think anyone thought it was actually going to happen.  James Franco and I have the same manager and James called him and said, “I want to do a soap.”  I think after my manager woke up and regained consciousness, he said, “OK, if you are going to do one then General Hospital is the only soap you are going to do.”  And James said, “OK, make it happen.”  I guess that is how it all started and from there they tried to figure out a story and if it was going to be able to happen, and it happened and it was great.

MICHAEL:

I heard James had the daunting task of learning so much dialog in such a short time.

STEVE:

I think most people don’t really know how great a task it is until they get here. Especially, with a person like James Franco who is going to get so much media coverage. And obviously ABC is going to get as much as they can from James Franco being here.  He shot twenty one shows in three days. He had a hundred pages of dialog every day he was here.  And that is a daunting task in itself, but the truth is he has a very photographic memory.  It amazed me. The fact he did not really look at the material that much before he got here, and he could do what he did when he got here…that amazed me, just by itself!  We ended up having some great scenes.  He is a nice guy.  It’s funny one of the camera guys said to me, (because the last Friday James was here they were taping till 3AM), “Man, that guy went around and shook everyone’s hand at 3AM and said thank you.”  I said, “It’s nice to hear, and I hope he comes back and if he does, this time I will kill him!”  (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

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Then there were all the reports that his soap appearance was a bigger part of a performance art piece that James was doing with his collaborating partner, the artist named ‘Carter’…

STEVE:

I don’t know exactly, nobody knows.  It’s a mystery.  He had some camera guys following him around.  He documents everything for himself…any project he does. James is in film school.  So we don’t know if it’s for that. I might put “Carter” in a headlock… I don’t know who he is. (Laughs) Look, I have to commend James Franco for putting himself out there and coming on the show.  He had everything to lose and nothing to gain.  He generally seemed fascinated by how this worked.  He seems to be that type of guy.  I am saying James Franco is in school and he is at the height of his career, and then he comes to a soap opera?

MICHAEL:

This guy “Franco” is playing a really good game of cat and mouse with Jason.  This week on GH, Jason had been called to “Franco’s” art loft and it’s part of a set-up.

STEVE:

As far as Jason goes, “Franco” is an interesting adversary because its nothing like Jason has ever seen.  This guy is obviously not playing with a full deck, and this is obviously fun and games for him and his own amusement, and his sick art.  Jason has never encountered anything like this before. So for Jason, this is a huge challenge, because there is a frustration of how am I going to deal with this guy?  Obviously, he does not care about killing people. “Franco” could kill anyone at any single time and I don’t think Jason has ever gone through that before.  That’s been good to play, and prior to this Jason wanted to stop killing for Michael’s sake, so he could be a better example to Michael.  I guess Jason is having a bit of a moment of clarity of, ‘What am I really doing and what example am I setting?  Can I really stop?  Why do I do it?  Do I enjoy doing it?’

MICHAEL:

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You are playing all that into your performance.  And Jason does not usually show ANY emotion, but there was one episode recently where you could see all this conflict going on inside his head.

STEVE:

I joke that I get paid for Jason usually doing one look.  I always joke that my daughter always wants to have staring contests with me, but she does not understand that I do this for a living. (Laughs)   So, it’s now good to see some frustration with Jason. I am glad Bob Guza (head writer, GH) came up with this to challenge Jason, in a character developing way.   So, we will see what the aftermath is after James Franco leaves the show and what happens with the story.

MICHAEL:

When you meet “Franco” face to face, is there a stare-down there, too? (Laughs)

STEVE:

There is a psychological showdown which is going to be interesting for people to be watching.  So should Jason just kill him?  Turn outs… he can’t really, because “Franco” has too much knowledge of things that happened.  So I am in a Catch-22.

MICHAEL:

“Franco” had incriminating evidence from Claudia’s murder, for god sakes! (Laughs)

STEVE:

He knows that, and that in itself is bad, and Jason’s top priority is to protect Michael.  So, I have to play his game.

MICHAEL:

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STEVE:

(Laughs)  It was funny because Jason had a question to Robin…”What makes this art?”  This was a little too close to what Jason does and why all of a sudden is this art?  Some eccentric whacked-out guy, says, “Oh, this is art?”  We never know what makes art great anyway in real life, because it’s just an opinion.  But this was pretty funny, because Sam and Jason are like, “I don’t really like this anyway.”

MICHAEL:

You and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) forged this on-screen chemistry between Spinelli and Jason.  It is another unique relationship like you have with Maurice Benard (Sonny).  What makes that work?  Will Spinelli be helping even more to crack this case?

STEVE:

With my character, I am usually involved in other people’s stories, but this story is about Jason, which is great for me.  Bradford and I have a great relationship off screen, which is why it carries over on screen, same with Maurice and me.  Obviously, Spinelli and Sam are an integral part in figuring out what is going on with “Franco”.  Spinelli is a good partner in crime.

MICHAEL:

Bradford said to me that he credited you with him being able to stay on the show, and that you really “sold” Spinelli to the audience… such as the Spinelli-isms. You were the ‘straight man’ that was needed to make those scenes work and were instrumental in him staying at GH.

STEVE:

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Listen, the guy has talent.  I could go up and say, “Hey, this guy is great,” or “Hey, keep this guy.”  Not that I do that often, and I don’t really.  I thought that character was going to be an absolute joke.  When I saw the breakdown and I went, “Who is this…. Spicolli?” (Laughs)  I said, “If this actor isn’t really good, it’s going to bomb and he will be off in two months.”  But Bradford makes it work.  I don’t know who he says those things to and I still don’t understand what he is saying to me half the time. (Laughs)  It’s good to see these young guys like; Brandon Barash (Johnny), Dominic Zamprogna (Dante) and Bradford. They are happy to be here, humble guys, and they want to learn.

MICHAEL:

As the World Turns was cancelled this week.  I know GH has also stumbled through the ratings recently.  What are your thoughts on this sad week in the industry and what this means moving forward for all of us involved and who watch daytime soaps?

STEVE:

It’s quite the cycle soaps are going through now.  You obviously have been in the soap arena for a long time, Michael, so you know what’s going on. The writing was on the wall, so to speak, ten years ago.  How much longer do soaps have?  And now soaps are dropping off.  I am not concerned yet about General Hospital because it has such a history.  The numbers are good and I think people start panicking that we only have five seconds left or we are off the air.  The thing of this is, it’s a sad day…. someone is losing a job, let’s be real.  And in this economy that sucks!  And as a genre as a whole, it’s not a good sign for soaps to be cancelled.  So this helps us as writers, producers, actors and directors in this arena, to band together and try to make the best product we can make. That’s all that we can do.

MICHAEL:

You have often told me that you do not watch your work back.   I know the pace in daytime is so fast.  Will you watch back the scenes with James Franco?

STEVE:

Again, it’s not like movies where you get multiple takes.  You get one or two takes and you are done and you move on.  I might check these out on YouTube once they air.    Let’s be realistic, James had 300 pages.  Can he be great in every single scene?  I don’t know.  But I will tell you one thing; I was talking to Maurice about this.  I am watching James, and I finished my material with him two Friday’s ago.  One of his last scenes was a monologue to the camera in character, and he was fantastic!  I watched the monitor and went, “That is why that guy is in movies.”  He was so simple and he had a bit of emotion.  It was a monologue explaining why the character is the way he is and it was great to watch.

MICHAEL:

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This whole rivalry started because “Franco” was pissed off that Jason would not acknowledge him?

STEVE:

Yes.  “Franco” has this obsession with Jason, because he thinks he and I are the same because he loves death and he loves making art out of death.  To Jason, he does not think twice about it.  It’s his job, and it’s about people that are threatening him, the business or his family.  To “Franco” it’s a game.  He is a dark guy who probably has murdered.  He thinks we are the same and he wants us to work together.  I tell Maxie at the art show that I don’t want to meet “Franco” and that is where he turns.

MICHAEL:

Now let’s digress to the ladies in Jason’s life…JaSam, or LIASON?  (Laughs) They put you and Kelly Monaco (Sam) back together again…JaSam!

STEVE:

Yes, they did.  Listen, I just got back from an appearance and there were a lot of Elizabeth and Jason fans.  And look, I have a job to do.  I love working with Becky Herbst (Elizabeth) and I thought there was probably a lot more they could have told with Jason and Elizabeth and Jake.  But that is not the way they went, and that is just how it goes. They want Jason and Sam back together, so now my job is to make that work.

MICHAEL:

Who are they? The powers-that-be?

STEVE:

ABC or whoever… so my job as an employee is to say, “How can we make this work again?”  That is what we are doing now, and it’s going well.

MICHAEL:

If you were to say a few words about working with Kelly Monaco, other than she is beautiful, what would you say?

STEVE:

Courtesy/ABC

Kelly is easy to work with, and our goal together is to make our scenes the best they can be.  She is always up for that and a lot of actors might not be.

MICHAEL:

So you actually rehearse and she might knock on your dressing room door and come in? (Laughs)

STEVE:

We will go in the green room and go over scenes.  We have so many, so we have to focus and we try to show our relationship through that.  Kelly wants to push and grow as an actress, and it’s working out.

MICHAEL:

In fairness to equal time, can you give me a few words on working with Becky?

STEVE:

Becky and her husband, Michael Saucedo, and I are good friends off camera.  I have spent time with them at their house. I have spent the night at their house and again, I think there is something to be said about having an off-camera relationship that translates to the screen.  It just never feels like we have to work at it.

MICHAEL:

Many would love to see them together, but Jason and Liz, they just can’t quite get together.  And as a fan you are like, “Please already!  Get together!”

STEVE:

© JPI Studios

I think the great thing about Jason and Elizabeth was you saw a side of Jason where he kind of wanted the family and the white picket fence, and that is what Elizabeth represented.  “Let’s just shut my world out… and the violence and the business… and let’s just live in a cottage with our kid.”  But that was not the reality, because of what Jason does.  Sam is the other aspect of that.  She is “born to be wild” we are.   She is someone I can shoot people with. (Laughs)   We are the adventure couple, so it’s a tough situation for Steve Burton.

MICHAEL:

So should fans expect a continuation of JaSam?

STEVE:

I believe Jason and Sam will be together coming up, once the Franco thing resolves.  I think the next progression in the story is what is Jason and Sam’s relationship?  Where do we go from here?

MICHAEL:

Are you really going to forgive her?

STEVE:

Do I have a choice? (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

No, but I am trying to think of what other woman Jason could be with?  And then…. there is Carly.

STEVE:

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I think that is one of the best relationships and it would ruin it if they paired them romantically.  I think the writers understand that.  I think it’s a unique relationship that Jason and Carly have, but I don’t think it would work if they were put together.  That’s just my opinion because I love working with Laura Wright (Carly).

MICHAEL:

Sarah Brown (Ex- Claudia) and I talked about you recently.

STEVE:

I love Sarah, and I have always touted her. You work with a lot of great actors and actresses in daytime, and Sarah Brown is very unique in the fact that I don’t think I have ever seen an actress like that before.  She is great!

MICHAEL:

Where are Sonny and Jason at with this “Franco” business?  Are our two favorite mob guys on the same page this time?  I get confused if Sonny and Jason are friendly, or not friendly, or where they are at.

STEVE:

It is hard, and once we started working again with the Zacchara’s and I took the business back, it was a bit weird.  I think they are on the same page, but I don’t think they are on the same page with “Franco” right now.   Sonny wants to get rid of him and I can’t have that happen.  “Franco” is playing games, and you just don’t mess around with someone who is doing that.  We have some conflict there, and I think from there things will be pretty smooth sailing until we get into the next story. (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Or, until the next villain comes to town. To me, GH is like Batman! Here comes the new villain…for example, here’s the Zacchara’s, and then here are Jason and Sonny to fight them off.

STEVE:

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I think so.  What is cool about this part is, it’s almost like Batman in a sense that I guess Jason would be Batman and “Franco” would be “Joker” You watch Heath Ledger in Batman and you understand why his character was the way he was and you felt kind of bad for him… which is always an indication of a great actor, and the same thing with “Franco”.  You will know why he is the way he is.

MICHAEL:

Will you stay in touch with James Franco?

STEVE:

Well, I hear he wants to come back for another show.  I don’t know if that is going to happen or not, but I think he is following the show a bit and he is interested in the medium.

MICHAEL:

How has it been working with Michael, Drew Garrett?

STEVE:

I think whatever hospital he stayed in I want to go to, because if I ever get into a wreck and go from a four-foot redhead to a six foot blonde guy, I would like to go there.  Whatever they were giving him in the IV’s, I want triple. (Laughs) Drew is great; I think he has everything you need to be a great actor.  He came in and was thrown into the fire.  It takes some time to adapt if you have never done this before.  And people either adapt or they don’t.  I think he is finally feeling comfortable, and when someone is comfortable and confident, that is when you need to watch out.  For me, acting here is like acting in my own living room.  So I can be as free and as comfortable as I want, and once someone gets there and learns how to be comfortable, that is when you will see great stuff out of that kid.  I feel right now he is coming into his own.

MICHAEL:

But Michael is continuing to have anger problems, outbursts, and now he killed someone and idolizes his father, Sonny.

STEVE:

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I think Jason feels a huge responsibility for the way Michael is.  That is why Jason wants to be a better example for him.  Carly and Jason have made choices.  Carly gives Jason unconditional love.  She says, “You do what you have to do to protect us,” and that is what makes our relationship great.  I care about Michael and should I have given him up? You know, I had a line in a show where I said, “I am pretty sure he would have never killed anybody if he was with the Quartermaines.”  That says something for Jason to say that.  I think Jason has come to the realization of ‘my life is what it is.  I am good at what I do.  I don’t know what else to do and Michael is going to have to come through this.’  Is Michael going to become part of the family business?  Jason hopes not, but its not looking great for that. (Laughs) You see that coming.  Being a young kid, it’s exciting to look at all the money and power, and it’s a natural thing to be drawn to.  Hopefully, we can keep him out of it, but eventually it’s going to be Sonny’s call.

MICHAEL:

Why, oh why, way back, when did Jason feel he had to give up Michael?  That was one of the best relationships, and Jason was a father to Michael!

STEVE:

I think he wanted Michael to have a family, and at the time he gave him up, that was Sonny and Carly.  Sonny is a mentor of Jason’s and is as close to a father or brother that you can have, so logically it made sense.

MICHAEL:

You won an Emmy.  Do you remember that night?

STEVE:

You are the first one that made me think of that in a long time.  I remember that night and I remember seeing you that night.  Listen, it was a great honor and a great night. It’s hard to win an Emmy. 

MICHAEL:

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You are now big into Twitter. Why so, and what do fans say to you the most?

STEVE:

I never really got into facebook and myspace, but Twitter seemed like a logical avenue to have direct communication with fans for me.    Most of it is, “We appreciate what you do. We appreciate your hard work, and what General Hospital means to us.”  I like that about Twitter. You can be personally in contact with fans. I believe, personally, in serving people.  I appreciate the fans for watching, and if they didn’t watch things might be different.  I believe a huge part of my success on this show was due in part to the fact of going on appearances every weekend when I started as Jason Quartermaine.  I would go to Sears, or a mall, and sign the autographs.  It was grass roots.  It was building a fan base and when I switched characters, a lot of those people continued to follow me.  I feel that I owe something to them; to hear their voices and stay in contact with them.  I was just in San Antonio, and I did a special thing where I hung out with five people from Twitter after the show.  I did it for an hour.  It was cool!

MICHAEL:

The holidays are upon us.  What will the Burton’s be doing for Christmas?

STEVE:

The Burtons will be staying home this year for Christmas, and probably having a Griswold Christmas like every other family that doesn’t have a perfect family. (Laughs).   Listen, we are here to celebrate the birth of Christ and that is what we do. Sometimes they commercialize the holidays with gifts…. and like for Valentine’s Day, you have to buy your wife diamonds and this and that.  It’s about staying together with your family and being with the people you love.

MICHAEL:

What’s about to ring in 2010?  Any plans?

STEVE:

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No, we don’t do a lot for New Years.  We used to get together with some friends, but now we all have kids.  So we are all worn out by the time Dick Clark comes on and I am in bed by ten.  It’s an exciting life style I have! (Laughs) You should have interviewed me on this twenty years ago!

MICHAEL:

Scott Reeves just started on air as Steven Lars Webber this week, and you two are buds.

STEVE:

Scott and I are great friends and he is a talented guy, and it worked out he came here.  He probably could have come to any number of shows, but for some reason people everywhere love GH.  I talk to a lot of other actors who go, “Oh man, I love your show.” You know, in the make-up room there are a few shows that the cast will talk about and one of those is The Young and the Restless. We love the stories on there.  It would be a great show to go on as an actor.  But for Scott, it was a good fit for him, and we get to work together today for the first time.  So, I don’t know how we are going to keep straight faces, because we joke a lot.  On his first day, I made sure I got here early and I hid in his closet in the dressing room.  When he got in, he was checking his voicemail and I jumped out of the closet and scared him to death (Laughs).  So we play pranks on each other all the time.

MICHAEL:

Will Jason and Steven Lars cross paths?

STEVE:

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He works in the hospital and I put people in the hospital… so…. (Laughs)  Bob Guza is trying to write something so we would interact, since we are good friends in real life.  So he thought it would be good to put us together for a few scenes here and there, otherwise it would not make much sense.

MICHAEL:

So Steve, in closing, why should we tune in to GH over the holidays?

STEVE:

I think you should watch General Hospital in the next couple weeks because I think it’s the best it’s ever been for a long time…. 100%!  The show is going in a great direction, and I feel there is story for everyone in the cast and the fans will see a lot!

For more with Steve, check out this week’s edition of the syndicated country/soap radio program, The Scott and Melissa Reeves Show!