Dominic Zamprogna On The Emotional Toll Of Sam’s General Hospital Farewell

While the death of Sam on General Hospital has been heartbreaking for the fans, it was also a highly emotional event for the cast. Viewers enjoyed the pairing of Sam and Dante, and Dominic Zamprogna has addressed how he said goodbye to Kelly Monaco on set. Now, he dives headlong into the emotional turbulence of acting in such pivotal scenes.

High Anxiety

Zamprogna (Dante) explained to Soap Opera Digest that he didn’t sleep well the night before he filmed Monaco’s final scenes. Perhaps because he fully understood the importance of Sam’s death (and Monaco’s exit) in the soap world. “I slept, I think, an hour-and-a-half that night, because I was like, ‘Man, this is such a big character and such a big thing,’ ” he explained.

In addition, he knew that Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) and Steve Burton (Jason) would bring their A-game to the scenes in which they had to say their final goodbyes to a perished Sam. The actor didn’t want to be the “weak link” amongst those stars and worried about his upcoming performance. He felt the irony of his situation. “When you’re thinking about delivering the goods, you can’t go to sleep because you’re so worried about delivering the goods!” 

Under Pressure

Zamprogna was ready to go and realized that after Grahn and Burton did their scenes, he was up next at bat. “I was doing mine right before lunch,” he explained, adding how the pressure got to him. He worried that with the lunch crunch, he would not bring his A-game. “So I was like, ‘Great, I’m gonna [be] up there, I’m gonna be rushed right before lunch….’ I was resigned to [not doing my best].”

Because he had experienced loss in his own life, Zamprogna knew the emotions they bring can often surface when you least expect it. But it wasn’t simply about being prepared for his lines. Or even having the right emotions on hand to portray. There was something larger at work. “The problem as an actor knowing that there’s a bunch of people watching to see how you do on this major character’s departure that you really have to fight the urge to push something.”

His scenes came out great and didn’t seem rushed at all. Zamprogna should be proud of how he did them justice and really gave it his all. (Learn about the other characters who said goodbye to Sam.)