Soap Hub Performer Of The Week For General Hospital: Jeff Kober

Port Charles has been hit with its own kind of plague — the presence of bad mobster (as opposed to Sonny being a “good” one) Cyrus Renault. Yet something very interesting happened this week on General Hospital as Jeff Kober showed that the “Beast” has a softer side when dealing with people who don’t obviously shun him.

Jeff Kober Turns Vulnerable

And we say “Beast” because when confronted by a couple of ladies playing the role of “Beauty” — Kober infused his dastardly character with more rounded attributes of desiring a rare kind word from someone open to being his friend. We saw that really take shape during his actions with Sasha (Sofia Mattsson), who certainly knows what it’s like to be the town outcast.

But they really took hold when Sasha’s odd protector, Nina (Cynthia Watros), took on Cyrus herself in an effort to get the mafioso to give up his association with Deception’s top model. What transpired was a worthy match of wits, as Cyrus knew exactly how to play Nina. In turn, Nina more than held her own, making valid points that her effort to control her one-time daughter may backfire.

Their interesting tête-a-tête once again showed Nina’s desperate need to be validated as the more than capable woman she is and when Cyrus made his knowledge of that fact crystal clear, whether he meant it or not, it seemed like he might even have made inroads with her as well.

This was a brilliant move on the part of the writers because a villain who is one-note, who is seen almost like a cartoon in his villainy, is not what sells on daytime. Kober is an actor of great depth (anyone who saw him as a young man on China Beach already knows this), and this week he was truly given a chance to shine, delivering very powerful yet nuanced performances.

Cyrus turned from threatening Lulu (Emme Rylan) to questioning Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Jason (Steve Burton) to revealing a little bit of what makes him tick beneath the rough exterior in his conversations with Sasha and Nina.

Sure, Cyrus is still the Big Bad in town. But now things are getting interesting! Kudos to Jeff Kober for his mesmerizing work and for being named our Performer of the Week. General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.