James DePaiva On GH Gig

James DePaiva (ex-Max, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) will soon be making his GH debut in a mystery role — but this is not actually his first appearance on the show. “In 1984, I played a waiter trying to seduce Emma Samms’s Holly,” the actor notes. “Someone posted it online and I went, ‘Oh, my goodness, I had forgotten about that!’ I look like I’m 12!” His “comeback” was set in motion when he ran into GH Executive Producer Frank Valentini at the Daytime Emmys in April. “He said, ‘Would you ever think about doing GENERAL HOSPITAL?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ And a week or two later I got the call.” He received a warm welcome when he reported for duty at the GH set. “It was great to see old friends,” he enthuses. “Wally Kurth [Ned] came by and chatted for a while in the room, and Finola Hughes [Anna], who I met in an acting group in L.A. in 1990, was very gracious, announcing my presence to people. Frank was saying, ‘Have you met Maurice [Benard, Sonny]?’ as Maurice and I are giving each other a hug. ‘Yeah, we’ve met!’ We did an appearance together 30 years ago, when he was on ALL MY CHILDREN [as Nico].” For more with the actor, check out the new issue of Soap Opera Digest, on sale now.