GH Exclusive: Eden McCoy On Evan Hofer’s Exit, Josslyn’s Future And More

Josslyn’s General Hospital life just took a devastating detour she didn’t see coming: Her policeman beau, Dex Heller, died suddenly after seemingly being on the road to recovery following his stabbing at Rice Plaza. Soap Opera Digest checked in with Josslyn’s portrayer, Eden McCoy, to find out how she feels about the departure of leading man Evan Hofer, the end of “Jex,” and what the tragedy means for her character.

 

Soap Opera Digest: How did you react when you first found out that Evan was leaving the show?

Eden McCoy: I was really shocked when I found out what was going to happen. They just had so many people dying and I really didn’t expect them to pull this one off right now. It was a lot of shock and obviously there was sadness that he and I weren’t going to work together anymore, and grieving for that era and celebrating that together and just sharing great last moments together on and off screen. I mean, I’m super-excited for Evan in the future and what is to come for him and I’m super-proud of him. I think he’s done an amazing job.

Digest: I’m sure “Jex” fans would love to hear more about those off-camera moments you shared with Evan in the lead-up to his exit. What stands out to you about your final scenes and final days working together?

McCoy: Well, it was really nice on his last day, because we were shooting his death stuff all out of order. So my monologues over his dead body and all of that stuff, those weren’t our last filming moments together. It definitely was nice to have his last day be a little less heavy. I think the last scenes we shot were a few moments with me and Evan alone, and then it was group stuff with me, Evan, Tabyana Ali [Trina] and Gio [Giovanni Mazza, Gio] when they go picking out Christmas trees and doing silly stuff together. So that was actually the last time we all filmed together, and that was just really sweet because we could kind of all be together and just laugh and play and kind of have one last hoorah. It was nice to [savor] that sense of community and gratitude for Evan and kind of giving him his flowers. It was super-sweet, and I’m glad that it was happy vibes for his last day versus, you know, him lying in a hospital bed and being nonverbal for his last day on the set! So I was grateful in the end that we ended up shooting so out of order. But on set his last day, his mom brought cookies and like everybody made sure that he felt super-celebrated and overall, it was obviously a bittersweet day, but I think he had a really good time.

Digest: Joss has been through grieving a serious boyfriend before, having lost Oscar to cancer back in 2019. Obviously, the circumstances here are quite different.

McCoy: Yeah, it’s the second loss of a boyfriend, which is interesting, but it’s such a different relationship, you know? I think that this was her first real, adult relationship, and it’s the loss of a great love and in such a shocking way. The dichotomy between the death of Dex and the death of Oscar, for her, is that with Oscar, she knew what was coming. She could prepare. That was a long, drawn-out process. That didn’t make it less challenging for her, but it was a different experience versus Dex’s death, which was just a total, total shock. I think it’s super-difficult for her that she didn’t get to say all the things she wanted to say. She didn’t get to have a final conversation with him the way that she would have wanted to, had she known she was never going to speak to him again. Little things like that are all new for her. And then to have his actual death be something that doesn’t make sense — he’s healthy one second and dead the next second — is so confusing for her.

Digest: I do want you to rest assured that even though having two boyfriends die is not a great track record, Josslyn has still had fewer lovers die than Michael. Four of his past girlfriends have bit the dust — Abby, Sabrina, Kiki and Nelle.

McCoy: Period! Well, he’s got 10 years on me. So we’ll have to check back in in a few years and see how many people I’ve killed by then [laughs].

Digest: Right after Josslyn says good-bye to Dex on the Monday, December 16 episode, she has scenes with Jason as she is trying to process the shock of losing him so suddenly. And it doesn’t take long for her to put together that his death wasn’t an accident.

The Mourning After: A grieving Josslyn will want answers about Dex’s (Evan Hofer) mysterious death.

McCoy: Yeah, for sure. She’s really, really angry, and she’s very hungry for answers — and this is not going to be something that she lets go of until she feels like justice has been served. And I admire that about Josslyn. She’s determined to get answers and I think that’s all anyone is kind of searching for when someone close to them died. It’s like, “Why and how could this happen?” No words of comfort from any character are going to suffice for her until justice is served, in her eyes. But those scenes with Steve [Burton, Jason], I loved because I love their relationship, Jason and Josslyn’s. Jason knows to kind of treat Josslyn as an equal a little bit. He kind of gets her, and he sees what’s going on and he doesn’t tell her something just to tell her something, you know? He gives her the space that she needs and the air that she needs and he understands that she’s gonna do what she’s gonna do. He’s not necessarily trying to change her mind or change her perspective. He treats her feelings with a lot of respect, and I feel like that’s super-special because it could so easily go to, “Hush, hush, I’m here for you, this is so hard.” And all of those things are true, but he kind of lets her feel what she needs to feel and doesn’t try to stop the pain. He wants to let her process that she’s feeling in whatever way is best for her, and I think this is just another example of something that has always stood out to me about Josslyn’s relationship with the character of Jason, which is that they’re going to tell each other like it is, you know? Both of them, to each other. And I think that’s really important, for this young woman to feel safe enough to open up to this man that she has known for so long and trusts more than anybody. To have him just be there and to be present and also tell her that it doesn’t make sense, I think that’s kind of all she can ask for in that moment.

Digest: Were you worried at all, when you found out that Dex was being killed off, about where this would leave Josslyn storyline-wise?

McCoy: Not too much, because when I found out about his death, I also. found out about everything that was coming [up for the character], which was nice. It was kind of a silver lining, because I could see where we’re going with this, and I think [what the show has planned for Josslyn] is going to be really tough and challenging, but also super-cool and important and a story I will love doing.

Digest: Evan’s exit is a big blow to “Jex” fans, and in closing, I want to give you the floor to speak to them directly.

McCoy: Well, I definitely want to say, “Thank you for the support.” [Dex and Josslyn’s romance] was such a fun time and I think people loved it because it was so soapy and just fun to watch the element of danger of their relationship and how it began and then where we got to…. It was a big moment for me and it was a big moment for my character, her coming into adulthood and Josslyn having that first real, adult romance. Obviously, I was just prepubescent when I started this job, so it was definitely fun for me, because I remember being 12 and watching other people go through all the stuff that we got to do and to be — to live that was really fun for my 12-year-old self. Having such a “ship” was really great because I kind of got to check that off my soap opera bucket list with the fans! The fans of that relationship were so supportive and the smartest, most comedic people online and how much they cared [meant a lot]. The memes they made and the hilarious edits they made when we said ridiculous things and were in ridiculous circumstances — it was so fun and so special to be living that with them. Evan is great, but this would not have been enjoyable for me as it was without the fans for sure. It was a huge element of fun for us when we were doing the whole storyline.