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THE TYLER CHRISTOPHER INTERVIEW – GENERAL HOSPITAL

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This week, Nikolas has just poured his heart out over Emily’s grave and then gets his first look at the Emily “doppelganger’ hovering in the halls of “GH” while all hell has broken loose in the OR. As the hospital catastrophe reaches epic proportions and people are quarantined from a dangerous biotoxin, Nikolas is smack dab in the middle of all the drama.

Tyler Christopher, everyone’s favorite “Dark Prince”, chatted with me about the return of his on-screen acting partner, Daytime Emmy winner Natalia Livingston, what lies ahead for the duo, the Daytime Emmys, and what it takes to play the noble and complex Cassadine!

Listen to the audio:

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MICHAEL:

On “GH”, there is big story playing out now and well into February. Natalia Livingston (Ex-Emily, now Rebecca) has come back to the show. How has that
been for you, now that she is in a
new role?

TYLER:

It has been great. We planted ourselves into the minds of the fans, and they can’t let it go. We are less apt to bring people back from the dead here. So it’s been good.

Natalia.jpgMICHAEL:

She looks quite different!

TYLER:

She cut her hair and you put some glasses on her, and nobody will know the difference.

MICHAEL:

Are you having fun with this new character?

TYLER:

Where we stand now, and at where we are at shooting-wise, we have not even had dialog yet. So the anticipation of that is exciting, but we have not gotten that yet. But, I have seen her in the hospital crisis more than enough.

MICHAEL:

As this crisis ensues, what’s Nikolas’s role in what happens?

TYLER:

I think his priority in the beginning of this, in addition to helping people that are injured and who need to be evacuated, is finding out who this woman is and what is her intention, and what is she doing here in the midst of all the chaos?

MICHAEL:

Are you moving people and patients to Mercy Hospital because “GH” is now in a shambles?

TYLER:

I don’t know exactly where we are moving them. We are just moving them out. (He laughs) There is an added obstacle that there is a biotxoin that is airborne, so there is that issue on top of everything else.

OR.jpgMICHAEL:

And as we learn that came out of someone’s body?

TYLER:

That’s what they say and tell me! (He laughs)

MICHAEL:

When you heard, or got the scripts, that it was time for another big “GH” umbrella story that always has elements of disaster, what were your thoughts?

TYLER:

If history prevails, either every November or February we all get together as a cast and we all hang out for a very long time. And big things happen. Things catch on fire, and people die. So it was not a surprise to find out that we were doing
another “GH” crisis.

MICHAEL:

Did you call the other actors when you found this out, like, “Here we go again!”

TYLER:

No. I think we all accepted our fate. (He laughs) That this was the way it was going to be once a year, even though it’s long hours. It’s fun to hang out, and laugh, and be serious when we need to be. For the most part, the times that we have done these crises, ratings have gone up and people have enjoyed seeing it.

MICHAEL:

And Emmys have occurred…

TYLER:

Emmys have been had!

nadine.jpgMICHAEL:

Is Claire Coffee, as Nadine, going to have closure with Nikolas? We know that Claire has stated she is now off-contract from the show. Obviously, the two of them seem to be heading towards just being friends. What are your thoughts?

TYLER:

I think all the evidence points towards that now that Natalia is back. It does not take a genius to figure that one out. I think there is some guilt in the beginning to tear himself away from this girl, and his obvious attraction to her, because of her uncanny resemblance to Emily. But, I don’t think Nadine will go quietly.

MICHAEL:

Did you submit yourself for the Daytime Emmys this year?

TYLER:

I did submit myself for Lead Actor this year. In retrospect, I don’t know what I have this year as opposed to what I had last year, which did not hold up!

MICHAEL:

It’s been a tough year for Nikolas trying to move on and get closure from the devastating loss of Emily. All great Emmy stuff, if you ask me. Do you think he finally got closure before all this is heaped upon him?

TYLER:

I think in as much closure as one can have with losing the love of his life. I don’t think he can move on. It’s been over a year and he was just starting to settle in to being by himself and living without her, and this person shows up and stirs up all those old memories over again.

MICHAEL:

So, back to the crisis. You are running traffic in the hospital and all hell is breaking loose?

TYLER:

Well, Jason is also trapped in there. So he is going to put on his fire helmet and police uniform and FBI badge, and come and probably save most of the day. I am doing my part with the added danger of the huge explosion in the hospital. People may or may not know there are many flammable things that are loose in the hospital, and I’m making sure the place does not explode… plus, Elizabeth is in bad shape. So I am trying to save her. It’s just everybody. It’s just one big happy helping hand!

new-nata.jpgMICHAEL:

Over the past year you had the brain tumor, losing Emily, trying to move on, and meeting Nadine. What was the hardest part in playing Nikolas over the past year?

TYLER:

The staple of this character, since I have played it the second time around, is his relationship with Emily. The very first month I came back five years ago is where we started this relationship with Emily, and just last year is where it ended. The challenge for me, as an actor is, “What is this guy like without this person in his life?” The audience is so used to having this couple around, and for five years on a soap, is an eternity! That’s the history that we have and in just one day it was gone. For me, it was what new fresh thing can we do for this character to fill that void? In the last year we added some humor to the guy, in that he is not just about manners and things of that nature. So, that was a new venture into the character to lighten him up a bit.

MICHAEL:

I don’t like him that way. I like the “Dark Prince”!

TYLER:

Nobody wants him to be happy. Eternal sadness!

MICHAEL:

I know you have your own theatre company: “68 Cent Crew Theatre”. Will you be performing in any outside plays coming up?

TYLER:

We are doing a John Patrick Shanley festival at our theatre, Theatre 68, this winter and spring. For me, with this thing going on, it’s just too much to take on a play at this time.

end-tyler.jpgMICHAEL:

In closing, what can we look forward to from Nikolas as we head into February?

TYLER:

Look forward to an in-depth exploration into this Rebecca character, and him trying to find out what her intentions are. Are they good or are they bad? Also, we’ll have Nikolas struggling with the fact that she looks exactly like Emily.

Breaking News

Walt Willey Brings All My Children’s Jackson Montgomery to General Hospital

Look for another legal eagle character from a former ABC soap opera to pop up on General Hospital!

News today out of Soap Opera Digest has that none other than Walt Willey set to reprise his role as All My Children’s Jackson Montgomery on upcoming episodes of GH in July.

Willey played Erica Kane’s (Susan Lucci) love interest and the Pine Valley lawyer from 1987 through to till ABC’s cancellation of the series back in 2011.  The actor previously crossed-over to another soap opera in 1996, when he played Jack on ABC’s The City.

Photo: ABC

Taking to his Facebook account, Walt confirmed the news on his appearances on GH: “Hey Folks… Been sitting on this one for a while but now I’ve been given the clearance to announce that “Jackson Montgomery” is visiting Port Charles! I’ll be doing a few episodes of General Hospital, due to air mid July. So excited to reprise my character and see and work with old friends! I’ll keep you posted on any details. “Jackson” in Port Charles…who would have thought it? Let me, and ABC, know what you think about it!”

Could Jack’s sudden arrival in Port Charles have to do with the SEC and the trouble that Carly (Laura Wright) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) find themselves in?   Will AMC fans get to see Cameron Mathison and Willey share scenes together again?  Mathison played Ryan Lavery on the beloved former soap opera … or might Jack go up against Martin Grey in a GH legal battle, so Michael E. Knight and Willey could share scenes together again since their AMC days?

So, excited to see Walt on General Hospital? What do you think brings Jack to Port Charles? Weigh-in below and stay tuned.

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General Hospital

B&B’s Scott Clifton Reflects On His Conflicted Emotions on Winning Lead Actor Daytime Emmy Over Y&R’s Kristoff St. John

The Young and the Restless’ beloved Kristoff St. John (ex-Neil Winters) passed away back in February of 2019, and at the age of 52-years-old.  Back in 2017, St. John along with The Bold and the Beautiful’s Scott Clifton (Liam), were nominated alongside each other for the Lead Actor in a Drama Series category at the 44th annual Daytime Emmy Awards.

A win for either would put them in the Emmy record books to become the only actor to win all three of the Daytime Emmy acting categories as of that time: Outstanding Younger Actor, Outstanding Supporting Actor and Lead Actor.

During his appearance on Maurice Benard’s You Tube series, State of Mind, Clifton talked about the emotions and ups and downs of eventually winning the Emmy over St. John, while knowing how much it meant to Kristoff, and given late actor’s reel. In it, St. John shared scenes with the late Nichelle Nichols, who played Neil’s dying mother.

When discussing his three Emmy wins with Benard, Scott expressed: “It’s beautiful, but remember Kristoff St. John.  I got to do a couple of events with him, and I got to talk with him, and the year that I got ‘Lead’, he was nominated.  He and I both had a Younger Actor Emmy and a Supporting Actor Emmy, and if one of us won, everybody was telling us, we would have this record of the first actor in daytime to have a Daytime Emmy in all three categories.  And, he told me, and this was months before he passed away, he told me, it was really important to him to win that.”  It was then, an emotional Clifton shared: “That Emmy is not worth it to me. It’s bittersweet.”

Photo: NATAS

As to how Scott feels he wound up with the gold statuette, the B&B star acknowledged, “So much of that it is who happened to be submitting that year, etc, and this was the first year they changed the rules. All I did was take advantage of the new rules, and I was smart about it.  I did not have the best performance, but they changed the rules where instead of submitting one episode through the year, you could submit a 20-minute tape and you could grab (scenes) from whatever episodes, and I made a story with it. I was playing the voters, but I didn’t have the best performance.”

In tribute to St. John, Clifton said, “His performance  was beautiful, but it was all in a hospital.  It was so intimate and small, and controlled and authentic, and mine was all over the place, but I told a story.  I’m convinced that’s the only reason I won.”

Courtesy/CBS

Scott’s reel that year was also outstanding, so many could see why he won the coveted prize and made Emmy history.

Check out the poignant story as told by Scott to Maurice in the latest episode of State of Mind below.

Then, let us know what you thought about Scott opening up on of his career-defining moments via the comment section below.

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General Hospital

General Hospital’s Réal Andrews and Finola Hughes Deliver the ‘Power Performances of the Week’

Two different storylines, two noteworthy performances, and both from General Hospital, made our weekly kudofest.  The first, belongs to the heartbreaking performance that still has everyone talking by Réal Andrews as Marcus Taggert.

Last week’s episodes of GH, brought with it the results of the DNA test that ‘proves’ just who is Trina’s (Tabyana Ali) biological father, Taggert or Curtis (Donnell Turner)? When Trina opened the envelope to reveal the answer in front of Portia, Curtis and Taggert, she announced it was Curtis, who was her dad.

However, if you watched the scenes carefully, you saw the subtle work by Andrews as he was attempting to remain calm before receiving the answer and what followed afterwards, but that was in front of Trina, Portia and Curtis and his attempt to put on a brave face through it all.  In reality, Taggert was devastated by the news.  When he said his goodbyes, Taggert got inside the GH elevator.  Once there, he lost it and began to cry, punching the elevators walls with his fist.  A five-hank

Meanwhile, Finola Hughes once again showed us the layers and the veracity of Anna Devane. This time, while at WSB headquarters, Anna’s past as a double agent comes to light.  Agent Hersley had her under arrest, as she is being accused of treason against the state.

Courtesy/ABC

While Anna’s past as a DBX double agent were known to the agency, they weren’t known to the public. Thanks to Victor’s will reading and the revenge plot he set in motion against her, now Anna is up against more formidable foes.  When speaking with her lawyer, Martin Grey (Michael E. Knight), Anna says how can she dispute the charges against her when they are true?  She realizes in this instant that the WSB wants to hang her out to dry to cover their own asses.  Hersley threatens Anna, that if she fights the charges, they will be forced into looking into the actions of her associates, Robert Scorpio and Annie Donnelly.

Not having it, Anna throws down saying she will seriously embarrass the WSB if they pursue this … and if anything happens to Robert, Annie or anyone else she cares about, she will take the bureau down with her.  After Hersley caves, Martin asks Anna what happened. Anna states she is no longer an agent and will never be again.

This material gave the mighty Hughes the material to shine, as Anna went from having the rug pulled out from under her, to fighting back, to now not knowing what her future holds after saving others.

Courtesy/ABC

For all the reasons cited above, Michael Fairman TV names the work of Réal Andrews and Finola Hughes as last week’s ‘Power Performances of the Week”.

Do you agree with our picks of GH’s Réal and Finola? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below, but first check out some clips from their work below.

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