Disney/Christine Bartolucci
Hello Again: Carly (Laura Wright) can’t believe her eyes when they land on Jason (Steve Burton).
For Laura Wright (Carly), having Steve Burton back in the GH mix as Jason can be summed up in one word: “Amazing,” she beams. “Steve and I are so close as friends and then we also really love and understand and respect the Jason/Carly relationship and all aspects of it. And that’s just my character’s story with him! There’s also his dynamic with Sam and dynamic with Elizabeth and dynamic with Sonny. And how about his children? Jason has kids that are teenagers now that are going to be asking questions. I mean, there are just so many options [for where his story will go]!”
When it came time to shoot their characters coming face to face for the first time since Jason’s return, “I was so excited,” Wright says. “Oh, my God, it’s like going home, working with Steve.” And, she reports, “The scenes were incredible. Our stage manager was like, ‘Oh, my God, you had me in tears.’ It was quiet, it was caring. It was so perfect.” Burton has a similar take on the matter. “I was super-excited and I thought how they shot it was amazing,” he offers. “Laura and I always have great chemistry, so there was really no running lines. Any time there’s any kind of emotional reunion or whatever it may be, we just want to get it on camera. We don’t want to really talk before, and we didn’t really have to prepare much, quite honestly, because of the history [between our characters]. We just wanted to get into it because we knew that without pushing or forcing, it was probably going to be emotional, and I think those scenes came out great.” Picks up Wright, “It just felt right, you know?”
Carly can barely believe her eyes when Jason shows up at her house on Friday, March 8. “It takes her breath away,” the actress shares. “She’s walking up the stairs and she hears him say, ‘Carly’ and then she just turns and sees him and it’s like, ‘Oh, my God, Jason. Is it you? Is it really you?’ And he says yes and she runs into his arms — and then she realizes he’s been shot.” Carly immediately goes into panic mode. “She’s like, ‘Oh, my God, oh, my God, you’re hurt,’ ” recounts Wright. “And there’s this great moment where she says, ‘I have a First Aid kit,’ and she goes to leave and she stops and she’s like, ‘I don’t want to leave you.’ She’s afraid he won’t still be there, like, ‘Is this real?’ She’s like, ‘Promise me you won’t go anywhere.’ And he’s like, ‘I promise.’ ” When Carly returns, “She’s trying to fix the wound and she says, ‘I wish I could call my mom.’ And he goes, ‘No, don’t call Bobbie.’ And she looks at him and she’s like, ‘I can’t. She died.’ And he’s like, ‘What?!’ It is so, so good. That’s a heartbreak for Jason, to know he wasn’t there for Carly when it happened. I’m crying, he’s got tears in his eyes — and then the doorbell rings and it’s the police. ‘Open up the door!’ ”
Carly is far from thrilled by the interruption — which comes courtesy of John and Anna, who are in hot pursuit of Jason — but Wright had a ball filming those scenes. “It was so fun,” she raves. “First of all, give me Finola [Hughes, Anna] all day long! Finola is absolutely hilarious, so funny, ready to play. She got right in my face, which I loved! Carly says something because she’s trying to [stall] so that Jason can get away, and Anna’s like, ‘Uh-huh. Nice try. He’s here.’ She doesn’t let Carly get away with any b.s. and it’s just so fun, bickering with John and fighting with Anna.”
It came as no surprise to Wright that Carly would risk running afoul of the law to protect Jason. “She would die for him,” Wright declares. “She doesn’t know that they think he tried to shoot Sonny and shot Dante, and there’s a great moment where John tells Carly that, and Carly looks at Anna and she’s like, ‘Are you crazy?! Jason would never try to kill Sonny and he would never shoot Dante. What the hell are you thinking?’ It’s a great moment for Anna to have because she knows this, but she can’t deny what’s in front of everybody. It’s great for her and I and the Anna/Carly relationship — ‘We’re talking about Jason, Anna!’ It’s so interesting, because the town becomes a bit split on who believes Jason did this, that he shot Dante and Dante might die.”
