General Hospital Star Cynthia Watros Speaks Out — and Up — for Nina

Cynthia Watros, who plays Crimson magazine editor Nina Reeves, sat on the scoop of the year after finding out that Sonny Corinthos was really alive and living as an amnesiac named Mike in Nixon Falls. Now, Watros is speaking to Soap Hub on the storyline, sharing why Nina did what she did and the rationale behind it.

Cynthia Watros Talks Nina’s State Of Mind

Soap Hub: The writers really motivated everyone’s position in this story. We saw Nina wanting to do the right thing but it wasn’t always clear what that was.
Cynthia Watros: I really have to praise the writers. Writing a soap opera isn’t an easy job. I feel blessed and am grateful for the material that they’ve given me — the whole journey with Nina finding Sonny [Maurice Benard], trying to tell Carly [Laura Wright] but then, Carly triggered Nina by telling her she shouldn’t be able to see Wiley, her grandson. They also have the history of Nelle [Chloe Lanier] between them. There’s a bubbling current when Nina thinks of Carly. It’s not flat water. It’s not peaceful.

Soap Hub: What’s your take on Nina’s motivations?
Cynthia Watros: Initially, she wanted to tell Carly that Sonny was alive. That’s who Nina is. She’s not malicious or evil. She is a human being with faults. When she’s triggered, she goes into her pain. As Cynthia, I can relate to that. Nina felt pain and she kept the secret [that Sonny was alive]. It snowballed from there. One of the many great lines the writers gave me was when she said that there wasn’t a day that went by when she didn’t want to tell Sonny the truth. Sonny asked why didn’t Nina do that? She said it was like they were in this alternate world.

I don’t believe that Nina felt this would go on forever. She felt at some point it would end but she didn’t know when or how. It wasn’t about Carly anymore. Nina wasn’t allowing herself [to think about] Sonny’s kids who were missing him. It’s like when you go to your favorite vacation place — you know at some point you have to leave but you don’t want to. I totally get why people say Nina’s evil but I don’t agree with it. She’s human. She has flaws.

Soap Hub: One of the great things to come out of Nixon Falls is the character of Phyllis Caulfield played by Joyce Guy. She was a great addition to this storyline and delivered big time when Lenny (Rif Hutton) died.
Cynthia Watros: She’s so great and is a great person. I’m so glad that I get to hang out with her and act with her. It’s a joy.

Soap Hub: The scenes in Nixon Falls felt like watching a play. Did you get that sense?
Cynthia Watros: Yes…I like the way you put that. It did seem like a play. It felt different. We mostly shot at the end of the day, so I wouldn’t necessarily see other cast members. People joked that nobody ever went to the bar — it was a very small group of people who worked in that set. We’d just talk to each other. It was a beautiful experience.

Soap Hub: What was it like working so closely with Maurice?
Cynthia Watros: I have so much gratitude to Maurice for being such an amazing partner and friend. I sometimes look at social media even though I say to myself. ‘Just come in and do the work.’ I know that some of the fans weren’t 100% on board but Frank [Valentini, executive producer, GH] gave us the time to play out the story. The show had confidence in us.

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.