General Hospital’s Michael E. Knight Shares A Lesson From Peter Bergman

Technically, Michael E. Knight and Kim Delaney are relative newcomers to General Hospital, but not to ABC soap opera fans, of course, as they began their careers playing Tad and Jenny on All My Children nearly 40 years ago — alongside Peter Bergman of The Young and the Restless.

Michael E. Knight Shares Peter Bergman’s Helpful Advice

In a recent GH Fantasy Event on Zoom with daytime fans, both actors shared what it’s like to come back to the soap opera world. “It’s a really great set,” Delaney shared. “[Everyone] was so welcoming — Finola Hughes [Anna], Michael Easton [Finn], Tristan Rogers [Scorpio]…everyone.”

Being new to a show prompted Knight to recall his early days in Pine Valley. “You remember how nervous you were when you started,” the three-time Daytime Emmy-winner said. While at GH, Knight recalls approaching a younger actor, new to the show, and welcoming him.

“Peter Bergman [Jack, The Young and the Restless; ex-Cliff, AMC] taught me this,” Knight says. “You walk up to anyone you don’t recognize, a day player, and you shake their hand and say, ‘Hi, I’m [Michael].’ Peter did that with me at AMC. I’ll never forget that — someone saying to me, ‘Hey…how are you?'”

Knight says such a gesture can make all the difference to someone new at work who might be wondering how they’re fitting in and doing. “[That person] is going to walk out of the studio on a Friday and say, ‘I can’t believe I was ever intimidated by this place,'” Knight theorizes. “‘They’re the nicest people here.'”

On AMC, Delaney played doomed newlywed Jenny Gardner Nelson; now, she’s intrepid reporter Jackie Templeton, mother to Chase AKA “Harry” (Josh Swickard). Knight is Martin Grey, the long-lost half-brother of Genie Francis’s Laura. They share the same father, the late Gordon Grey. Martin’s mother is Florence (Annie Abbott) while Laura’s mom is Lesley Webber (Denise Alexander). For info on upcoming GH Fantasy events, click here. General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.