On General Hospital, Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) is getting a bitter taste of his own medicine. Once infamous for locking a pregnant Carly Corinthos in a hidden panic room back in 2003, Ric now finds himself on the other side of the door – chained up and held captive by Alexis, Ava, and Kristina in a storyline dripping with irony. Hearst recently opened up about the “reverse panic room” twist, why the parallels aren’t lost on him, and how much fun he’s having leaning into the darkly comedic edge of Ric’s predicament.
Ric’s Ironic Captivity
Fans have never let Hearst forget that Ric once kept Carly (then Tamara Braun) hostage. Now, the writers have flipped the script, placing Ric in his own nightmarish prison. He admitted to Soap Opera Digest that the parallels weren’t lost on him, remarking, “It’s a reverse panic room, right in his face!” The storyline pits Ric against three very different women – Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn), Ava (Maura West), and Kristina (Kate Mansi) – all with distinct motives for keeping him chained to a cot.
What makes the twist especially delicious for longtime viewers is the heavy dose of irony woven through the drama. Hearst sees elements of dark comedy in the situation, pointing out that while Alexis wants to protect her daughter. Ava just wants money. And Kristina wants payback. The result is a claustrophobic, layered plot that he feels will satisfy the fans: “I think people are going to enjoy it and that it’s going to be very gratifying for many fans to see Ric get it this way.”
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Finding the Humor in the Horror
Behind the scenes, Hearst has had to literally throw himself physically into the role. He joked about having to fall several times after Ava clocked him in the head. “When you’re doing a stunt fall, you’re hoping that you fall into a fairly comfortable position, because I had to lie there looking like a crash test dummy when I hit the ground,” he humorously stated, adding he was grateful that he could still do such a stunt.
Hearst also enjoyed balancing tension with humor. When Alexis entered the basement, Ric thought she was going to save him, but his hopes were dashed when he realized she was part of the plan. “So, even though it was heightened, we played it with a slightly comedic edge to the whole thing,” he revealed, noting that his voice cracked when he realized she was one of his captors, and the crew thought it was so funny, they kept it in.
