Digest checked in with GH’s Laura Wright (Carly) about the possibility of another romantic go-round for Jason and Carly, her thoughts on the new men in her Port Charles orbit and more.
Disney/Christine Bartolucci
There have been a few new male characters in Carly’s orbit, including Charles Mesure’s Brennan. The fans seemed to be pick up on some sparks there. “I could definitely see him being a really great pairing for Carly, honestly. His dynamic, his strength, his no B.S. [attitude] — you know, Carly is a very strong character that is very passionate about what she believes in and feels she’s right all the time and runs over people and their opinions. I’m not saying it’s a great quality about her, at all, but it is who she is. And I think he’s someone that can handle her — and I don’t mean handle her, like, physically, but handle her antics [laughs]. And he’s someone that might find them charming, because he’s someone that has his own, I’m sure! I don’t find him to be so much of a rule-follower that he couldn’t handle or understand Carly and who she is, which I think is important for the character. Anyone that’s going to be in a relationship with Carly is at some point going to have to understand her and accept who she is! And I absolutely loved working with Charles. He’s a fantastic actor.”
Then there’s the FBI agent formerly known as Jagger, John, played by Adam Harrington. “I love Adam. He’s incredible. Adam is such a great, funny, fun guy to have on set. I’m interested to see where it all goes, too!”
On that note, it’s an interesting time for fans of GH, because those fans that do follow what’s going on behind the scenes know there was a head writer change, with Elizabeth Korte and Patrick Mulcahey taking over the reins. And there are a lot of eyes on the show, curious to see what direction things will go in. I’m sure it’s not entirely dissimilar from how the actors feel. “Yeah, and you know, I grew up with daytime television and I really love it and all the dynamics of it. There are going to be some changes, some quick changes, but to me, that’s soap opera, that’s daytime television — the Friday cliffhanger, things happening differently than you expect, you’re screaming at your favorite character doing something you don’t want them to do. That is what daytime has always been about and I think that we’re going to have a lot more of that. I think it’s going to be told in a classic soap opera [fashion], which I love, that involves love and romance and family and deception and passion and anger. I just think it’s gonna have all of it and I think the fans are going to be thrilled.”
Would it surprise you if the show circled back to a Carly/Jason pairing at some point? “If Sonny is around, Jason and Carly aren’t going to be to together, I don’t think. I don’t think Jason trusts Carly [with Sonny in the picture], you know? I feel like if they are together, they have to be all-in and, like, ride into the sunset together. I don’t feel like they can live in the same town with Sonny and function. I think they just have to be alone. Their love for one another is so deep and so protective, I think they’re terrified of it. I know she is; I can’t speak for him. I’ll tell you the interesting thing for me is that I feel really strongly that the two years he’s been gone, those years terrify her because they’re years that were without her. When she sees that sleeve, that tattoo sleeve [that is now on Jason’s arms], she is going to be like, ‘Who are you? What happened?’ So far, she’s not asking because, ‘I don’t know if I want to know.’ I think that if Jason had any part of a life that Carly doesn’t know about that could take how important they are away from her, I think it’s, ‘I don’t wanna know, I don’t wanna know that you might have loved someone. I don’t wanna know what you were doing for two years and had experiences I was unaware of. You weren’t kidnapped or someone kept you away from me, you made a choice.’ I think that’s interesting. I don’t know if they’re going to go there, but that would be what I feel underneath.”
How would you describe Carly’s reaction to so many people around her not questioning that Jason shot Dante? “Carly’s like, ‘You guys are missing everything.’ Carly can’t believe that people don’t see what she sees. Carly is like, ‘You know Jason would never shoot Dante, and even Sam is like, ‘Do I?’ Sam is very split, as well, and came at Carly, but Carly is very like, ‘This is Jason, you know he wouldn’t do it.’ ”
It’s rare that Sonny and Carly are not on the same page when it comes to Jason, but they’re on opposite sides in this case. What has it been like to play that dynamic with Maurice Benard (Sonny)? “Sonny is going by the same evidence [the cops are], the evidence that Jason was on the roof shooting. And so I feel like he has a great point of view, and Carly and Sonny, when they’re at odds, are at their best. I love playing that dynamic with Maurice. It’s a lot of fun and we both go for it and we both trust each other to just go for it. This is coming off Michael hiring Dex, and then Carly hiring Dex, and him thinking we betrayed him as opposed to protecting him. They’ve given us both really strong points of view, which I think is great.”
Disney/Christine Bartolucci
The New Guy: While Wright doesn’t know if GH has a Carly/John pairing in mind, she praises her new co-star, Adam Harrington, as “a great, funny, fun guy to have on set.”
