GH’s Steve Burton Talks Daytime Emmys, Jason and Britt Pairing

Steve Burton already has two Daytime Emmys but by the end of this week, he might have three! The General Hospital star is going for his third golden girl as he’s nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He won his first Daytime Emmy in 1998 for playing GH’s Jason; his second in the same category was for Dylan on The Young and the Restless in 2017.

Catching Up With Steve Burton

Soap Hub talked to Burton at a recent Daytime Emmy event about his nomination, the storylines that resulted in the nom, and his current storyline, which includes a surprise pairing with Kelly Thiebaud (Britt).

Soap Hub: Congratulations on your nomination! What’s the story on your reel?
Steve Burton: Thank you…I appreciate it. I have some scenes on my reel with Maurice [Benard, Sonny], Laura [Wright, Carly], a scene with Eden [McCoy, Josslyn], and a scene with Max Gail when Mike was on his deathbed. It was honest stuff. I actually wasn’t expecting a nomination. You never really know.

I let the producers choose the scenes. I asked Elizabeth Korte, a writer on the show, what she thought. I also asked Michelle Henry [producer] and Nneka Garland [coordinating producer] if they could all pull stuff that they remember. They put it all together.

The show’s on fire right now. Every day has a cliffhanger. Twists galore.
The show’s great because everybody’s involved.

The day Britt said to Jason that he wouldn’t like her just like everyone else and Jason said he makes up his own mind about people, I thought: Here. We. Go. You guys are hot together. Fans love it!
Yeah! It’s great. We’re having a great time. We had a fun story being on the run. Our characters connected. [Kelly] is great. She loves to work. We love to go through our scenes and find moments to play.

Fans and even characters on the show love to call Britt “the Britch.” She’s been a character viewers love to hate in all the good ways.
That’s what I hear.

Now, we’re loving to love her.
That’s great. I think they might have figured that when they brought her back, they were going to write her as more likable. There was a shift. We’re having a lot of fun.

It’s given you more scenes with “Mutter” (Kathleen Gati, Dr. Obrecht).
Yeah. We’ve had a couple. I’ve been working with a lot of people. It felt like everybody visited me when I was in jail.

Elizabeth’s (Rebecca Herbst) sons keep getting taller.
Yeah. When [Hudson West] showed up as Jake, everyone was like, “Who is that guy?” I’m like, “It’s the same kid!”

Where do you keep the Daytime Emmys you won in 1998 and 2016?
One of them is actually broken. I need to get it fixed. Another is on a shelf in our family room. I’m very proud of them.

The 48th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards air this Friday, June 25 at 8 p.m. ET and will stream on Paramount+ and CBS.com. General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.