Maurice Benard got to welcome an old friend to his video podcast series, State Of Mind — John Homa, the former acting coach on the General Hospital set. With no notes in hand, the two quickly got into it in this very special episode.
Acting and Anxiety
One of the first topics they discussed had to do with where Homa was during the January 17, 1994 earthquake that did so much damage to Los Angeles. He got word of it when he was on the East Coast set of Interview With The Vampire, helping actress Kirsten Dunst with her role as Claudia in the film. He heard the news about the earthquake and quickly headed back to Los Angeles but it led the discussion to talk of Tom Cruise (read about when Tom Cruise auditioned at Days of our Lives), whom Homa has seen a few times since over the years. He spoke warmly about how the megastar has always remembered him and treated him kindly.
Benard found it interesting and remarked about how some actors have a problem with a coach on the set — and Homa said that there was an issue and he dropped a little tea about that, as well as the fact there were over 40,000 submissions for the role of Claudia and how long it took for Dunst to get cast. The exchange seemed to take the host by surprise as he learned more and more about the process — which included Homa taking a surprising role in the audition. It’s a fascinating look at a huge Hollywood blockbuster that shouldn’t be missed.
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He then brought up getting a call from GH casting director Mark Teschner. Considering he had recently worked on Jumanji and Mrs. Doubtfire, it wasn’t really something he wanted to do. Also, he had worked on soaps as an actor — Edge of Night and The Doctors. He described what that was like, which Benard, of course, understood from his time on All My Children. But that wasn’t what he wanted to do. He went to tell Teschner exactly that in person and instead met Wendy Riche, the show’s executive producer at the time. The conversation with her about wanting to elevate the level of acting changed his mind — as did seeing Benard. But he was told the actor was off-limits, which sent the host into fits of laughter.
Homa revealed he was brought on specifically to help Kimberly McCullough with the transition from playing young Robin into handling a more adult role. (McCullough thanked Home in her 1996 acceptance speech at the Daytime Emmys when she took home the gold for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series). Things grew from there, but it wasn’t always easy. Find out why he didn’t want to work with Vanessa Marcil (ex-Brenda) and what happened to change his mind. Things were said that may want to make you grab a tissue. That’s just scratching the surface of this one-on-one interview that you will not want to miss. The tone takes a serious turn when talk turns to drinking, the covid pandemic, his almost dying, therapy, and the late Tyler Christopher. Watch the entire episode here.
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