In 1993, a then-23-year-old Michael Sutton entered the soap scene as Stone Cates, the streetwise youth who Sonny Corinthos took in off the streets. Stone would go on to capture a teenaged Robin’s heart — and viewers’ — only to be diagnosed with AIDS in May 1995 (he died that November). The actor briefly reprised the role in 2010 when Robin was in duress, and he’s popping back in now when Sonny needs him most. He checked in with Digest about Stone’s lasting legacy, on-screen and off.
Soap Opera Digest: What was your reaction when you got the call from GH?
Michael Sutton: I said yes before I could even process it. Mark [Teschner, casting director] was like, “Would you be interested in —” and I was like, “Yes!” before he even got the whole sentence out! Then he told me it was going to be with Maurice [Benard, Sonny]. I came back in 2010 to do some scenes with Kimberly [McCullough, Robin], but this was the first chance to do posthumous scenes with Sonny and Stone. Maurice is so talented, and with all the history we have together, I just knew it was going to be worthwhile.
Digest: Fans were thrilled when news of your return broke. What does it mean to you that nearly 22 years after Stone’s death, your work on the show is still so well-remembered?
Sutton: It’s humbling, to be honest with you. The remarkable part is that I hear about the Nurses’ Ball and the references made to Stone over the years and that astounds me, 22 years later. I knew the work was important back then; all the actors, the writers, the whole staff knew how important the story was and it really felt like we tried to do it justice. The response now validates what we did. If the work wasn’t right back then, it wouldn’t have stood the test of time like it has.
Digest: It’s pretty amazing that you fell into such a landmark story during what was your first real acting job.
Sutton: Yeah, it’s really true. I wasn’t an experienced actor back then, and I wasn’t at the level to be able to do that performance, truthfully. To make that story-line believable really [required] throwing myself into that situation. There was no separation between Michael and Stone, that’s all I can say. That’s how I sort of went with it, because I didn’t have the toolset at that time to do a storyline that heavy. I’d never cried before on camera or in a scene and then on top of it, you’re doing 60 pages a day. I was in the majority of the scenes. I gained 15 pounds when the storyline started so that when I lost weight, I would look emaciated, and I cut my hair off. We just went for it. We really just chose to give in to the characters and the storyline and commit to it, and that’s why it worked, and that’s why, I guess, I’m still getting a call to come back and do scenes with Maurice. And because acting isn’t my day-to-day [job] anymore, to get to do it is just that much more special.
Digest: Did you have any nerves about finding the character again? Save for that 2010 stint, it’d been 22 years since you played Stone.
Sutton: It’s funny; back when I was 23, 24, 25 years old, I read the material and I knew exactly what I was going to do because I was living that character. So many years removed, it wasn’t just on instinct, but the writing was there, and the reason Sonny would be calling for Stone at this moment in time was appropriate; it sort of made the choices for me. It was actually quite easy to jump back in, especially with Maurice. When you’ve been in the trenches with somebody, you can always just look into their eyes and you’re right back in the moment. It was amazing to have that connection still.
Digest: What were the emotions you experienced walking back into the GH studio?
Sutton: It was pretty sentimental for a lot of reasons. My mom and my grandmother had watched GENERAL HOSPITAL throughout my lifetime; I came onto their world back then and got to take them onto the soundstage, and it was such a bond that I had with my grandmother. I recently got married, and my wife and her mom got to come to the set with me the day I came back. It brought back memories of my mom and my grandmother, and it was also nice to share the experience with my wife and her mom. And then, you know, all of the emotions of just being in that spot — I flashed back to my first meeting with Mark and the callbacks and the screen tests and, obviously, all my memories of the [AIDS] storyline, and sort of that monumental stigma of what [an AIDS diagnosis] meant back then. I also felt a sense of pride about going back to that soundstage. I sort of got to the point where I owned that soundstage because I was able to do what I wanted on it, and it was good to kind of go back to my arena, if that makes sense.
Digest: Tell me about your reunion with Maurice.
Sutton: I saw him for the first time when I was going through hair and makeup. Got out of the chair, gave him a big hug, introduced him to my wife. I had seen Maurice a few years prior at the screening of his film [The Ghost and the Whale], and maybe five years before that, when I had a nightclub, he came and hung out one night. We keep in touch as much as we can, but the guy’s crazy busy with the show still, so when we get a chance to hang out, it is something special. That day, I think we sort of knew that what we were about to embark on was just such a big symbolic thing for us as actors and for our characters, and we just had that moment of, “All right, let’s go bring it!”
Digest: Who else did you get to see that day?
Sutton: Obviously Frank [Valentini, executive producer] was new to me, but I had a great chat with him and I loved seeing that he was on the floor, looking at the monitors, interacting with the cast and the directors. There was a lot of staff who I knew from before, so there were big hugs and kisses all around. There’s a bond there that can’t be broken because I had to be so unveiled and vulnerable when I was doing that storyline. Every day was tears, it was raw, and we’re just at a higher place [of trust] because they saw me so exposed. Maurice’s wife [Paula] was also on set, and I met their daughter [Cassidy], who hadn’t even been born when we were on the show together. It’s crazy! Time flies, yet we reconnected as if no time has passed. There were a lot of new people [behind the scenes] but they saw how the people who knew me were happy to see me, not, “Ugh, there’s so-and-so.” God forbid if I was that guy that no one likes or wanted be around! So, that kind of set the tone for the day.
Digest: Can you put into words how the experience of playing Stone influenced you?
Sutton: We did this ABC After-School Special [in conjunction with the GH storyline, A JOURNEY INTO AIDS] and there’s a moment in it where I’m asked, “How has this changed you?” And I remember as vividly as it was yesterday, saying, “I honestly don’t know — but it has changed me forever.” Because at 24, you’re not supposed to be thinking about mortality. Like I said, I didn’t have the acting skill and the tools to do it; I had to live it. I had to think about all those things to play that character — death and disease and shame and all the things that the character had to think about. I grew up a lot quicker and I appreciated life a lot more, so in that sense, I’m so grateful. I have so much gratitude toward the show because I was aware of how precious each of life’s moments are, stuff a lot of people maybe don’t think about until their twilight years.
Digest: It’s also played into your current work, if I’m not mistaken.
Sutton: Yes, I’m a real estate agent and developer with The Agency of Beverly Hills. But I also am a co-founding partner in a few companies, and our group owns Malibu Community Collective [a medical marijuana dispensary]. Embarking on the cannabis endeavor was a direct result of the in-depth knowledge I got researching how to personify Stone as he embarked on his battle against HIV and AIDS. Visiting the hospices and interviewing people back in 1994 taught me that cannabis was a medication with healing properties and benefits. Without that firsthand insight I don’t think I would have joined the movement as an early adopter for this boom.
Digest: Is there anything you want to say to the GH fans who are excited to see you on the show again?
Sutton: The AIDS storyline was eight or nine months long, and it was so intense and it emotionally connected to the fans in their soul. I was in their home every day and the work that we were doing was so far from phoning it in, they feel that they know me and know the character. I’ll always have that connection with the fans. And I just want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. That they care still, that’s amazing and humbling, and I’m proud and grateful to be worthy of that from them. w
