Brenda walks down the aisle to Sonny at last this week on GENERAL HOSPITAL, but her path to the altar was a long and winding one — both onscreen and off.
Filming the wedding took several (very) long days, during which the ensemble got to spend a lot of time together.
“I think it was one of those weddings where everybody was really supportive,” muses Maurice Benard (Sonny). “I know [shooting] weddings can be boring, and I tried with Vanessa [Marcil Giovinazzo, Brenda] not to bore anybody. For actors to sit there for that long is tough, but everybody was supportive.”
Jason Thompson (Patrick) was one of those actors who had to maintain the energy through endless takes. “It’s always a big logistical thing, because there are so many people in these shots, and everybody’s got their own little thing going on,” Thompson explains. “We do a scene two or three times, over and over, just to get everybody’s responses and looks. You’re looking at this person because you have a connection, and she’s looking at that person because they have a connection. It’s a lot going on.
“It’s a pretty big group of people in the wedding, and anytime you get that many people together in one room there’s chatter, so it’s hard to keep everybody moving forward,” he adds.
But in the end, all the hours and the effort proved worth it. “I really enjoy these kinds of days; longer days,” Thompson insists.
“It was actually fun at times,” Benard admits. “It felt like it was actually happening in some of the takes!”
Thompson agrees: “It’s fun, days like this. I think we all enjoy getting to hang out with cast members that you don’t necessarily get to work with a lot,” he notes. “You’re sitting beside people that you don’t necessarily get to sit beside all the time and chat up a little bit, so it’s good.
“Most of the time, it’s just me, Kimberly [McCullough, Robin] and maybe a sprinkling of others,” Thompson grins. “I’m not in scenes with a lot of other people very often, so it’s nice to sit around and chat with the other cast members. I don’t get to talk to a lot of other people.”
