GH Star Cynthia Watros Explains How She Is — and Isn’t — Like Nina

In June, Cynthia Watros will celebrate her third anniversary as General Hospital’s Nina Reeves. How much of Cynthia is Nina and vice versa? The actress recently addressed this particular issue.

Cynthia Watros Talks How Much Cynthia Is In Nina

Daytime Emmy winner Watros captured the hearts of soap fans for her run as Annie Dutton on Guiding Light. And for the last few years, she’s been doing the same as Nina Reeves on General Hospital. The actress recently took part in a GH Fantasy Events gathering with loyal fans over Zoom. One attendee asked Watros how much of Cynthia is in Nina?

“Really amazing question,” Cynthia Watros replied to the query. “Nina’s not Cynthia so, she makes choices that I wouldn’t necessarily make. She’s an executive at a magazine [Crimson] so she has that air that is foreign to me. She’s a strong woman. I’m a strong woman. I incorporate that into Nina.”

Nina’s certainly had to draw on that strength as she’s faced the wrath of Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) loved ones — especially his wife Carly (Laura Wright) — who are holding a grudge that Nina kept Sonny’s existence a secret when he was living arguably a more content and peaceful life in Nixon Falls as an amnesiac named Mike.

The Importance of Laughter

“We have that strength in common,” says Cynthia Watros, who balances the heavier moments Nina endures with her own brand of funny. “What I’ve incorporated into Nina is that she has somewhat of a sense of humor. I have a sense of humor. Nina’s sense of humor is a lot like Cynthia’s sense of humor. She can get a joke in [during a heavy moment] and you might not even think it’s a joke.” But she does.

Watros says that despite the missteps that Nina has made, she feels that she’s a very good person. “She comes from a really good heart but she makes mistakes,” Watros acknowledges. “I can incorporate a lot of me into Nina, but she is different. She’s a lot more hurt than I am. She has a lot of unfinished childhood stuff in her.”

Cynthia Watros Talks Nina’s Pain

If Watros could bring one thing to Nina’s life, it would be a child. As viewers found out, Nina gave birth to a little girl who grew up to be evil Nelle Benson (Chloe Lanier), now presumed dead after falling off a cliff. “I don’t know if you’ve ever felt a pain where you lose something,” Cynthia Watros mused to GH Fantasy Event gathering attendees. “The pain stays with you but you learn to live with it. [Nina’s] learning how to live with it. She’s finding out how to get on with her life. I haven’t had the real pain that Nina has had in life but when I play her I feel it.”

General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Port Charles, check out all the latest that’s been posted on GH spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.