Sure, it’s a TV show, but fans still invest in characters on soaps and it can hurt when they die. Actors, including Laura Wright of General Hospital, are not immune to becoming connected to fictional characters.
At the General Hospital Convention event held last month, Wright, who plays Carly Corinthos, was asked which TV death affected her the most. Read on for her surprising answer!
It wasn’t a passing in Port Charles that has stayed in Wright’s memory the most. Rather, she recalls the death of Casey (Paul Anthony Stewart) on Loving, her first soap, on which she played the part of Ally Rescott, Casey’s wife.
“[Casey’s dying] was my first [big] emotional storyline,” Wright shared with Convention attendees. “I didn’t know what I was doing. Someone said to me [recently] it breaks my heart when actors leave. [Casey dying] was my first heartbreak. Paul played my husband on Loving and it was my first job. He died in Ally’s arms.”
The story took an emotional toll on Wright, who recalls losing 10 pounds due to the emotional stress and heavy subject matter.
“When Paul left, I was very depressed. My person was gone and we were telling the story of his [character’s] on-air funeral. It was very powerful and great. I learned so much from [that story].”
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Wright shares that, as a young actress, she wasn’t sure what to do with the emotions she was emoting each day when the cameras stopped rolling. “I know how to pull from that ‘toolbox’ now,” she says. “[I know] that person is not really your husband. We didn’t have breaks back then [as we do now]. You lived at the studio! My life was working from 8 a.m. to 10 at night.”
Not surprisingly, the actress could relate to what her TV daughter, Eden McCoy (Josslyn), and the heavy story she acted out when Oscar (Garren Stitt) died earlier this year.
“She’s much younger than I was doing a much heavier storyline,” Wright says. “That’s why I try to give her as many technical tools as I can.” General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC. Check local listings for air times.
Video Credit: EmieCraigo
Video Credit: General Hospital
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