Five Minutes With … Stephen Macht
On GENERAL HOSPITAL, stage and screen vet Stephen Macht plays powerful mob lawyer Trevor Lansing, who happens to be a horrible father to his son, Ric, and stepson Sonny. Here, the actor waxes poetic on his larger-than-life alter ego, and boasts about his own real-life boy.
Soap Opera Digest: Trevor is such a heavy. What’s your take on the character?
Stephen Macht: He’s juicy [laughs]. Just juicy. He’s so much more than just an attorney. He’s a power manager. He doesn’t take anything too seriously except power. And in his mind, he’s got nothing to lose because he’s got real connections all over the place, not only through the law [as an attorney], but through his clients, as well. So, he really wields tremendous influence.
Digest: How can he be so mean to Kate?
Macht: He loves this girl, he really does. He’d love to restart their love affair again, but because of her involvement with Sonny, his pride is at stake and this is a big-stakes game. Ego can be a terrible thing [laughs].
Digest: Why does Trevor hate Sonny so much?
Macht: It’s all about the mother, Adela. His mother was Trevor’s secretary at one time and she was the love of his life. She had this son by someone else. Ric was our love child, but she chose not to go with [Trevor]. When she passed, it destroyed Trevor’s faith in love. As a result, he was not really a father to Ric.
Digest: Certainly not by what we’ve seen.
Macht: Right. He was not a warm and fuzzy man.
Digest: Is it tough to be so horrible to Rick Hearst [Ric] on-screen?
Macht (laughs): It’s funny because he is such a sweet, sweet man. He’s a great actor to work with, as are Maurice [Benard, Sonny] and Megan [Ward, Kate]. At first, I was pretty isolated by the story, but now I’m working with more people and it’s really fun getting to know everybody.
Digest: Think there’s any hope for some father/son bonding?
Macht: In terms of their relationship, even though it’s on shaky ground, it’s very fertile ground. Personally, I think it’d be fun [for Trevor] to teach this young guy, “You wanna play with the big boys? Don’t be a schmuck! Watch! Listen and learn! Watch a pro deal. And I might need you some time in my life. Are you gonna be man enough to reach out to me?” That’s an area that I’d love to experiment with.
Digest: You’ve worked in film, in miniseries, prime-time. How are you adjusting to the pace of GH?
Macht: Because of the way they tell story, you have time to explore different beats. As an actor, you get to be instinctive, which is terrific, but because of the nature of the medium and the speed at which it moves, you really have to stand and deliver. You can’t plan too much. Right now I feel like I’ve hooked on to a locomotive and I’m the caboose!
Digest: Veering away from GH, you’re also the father of actor Gabriel Macht.
Macht: Oh, yeah. Mommy and me and the whole family tree are very proud.
Digest: Did you encourage him to be an actor?
Macht: He was 5 years old [when he decided that’s what he wanted to do]! I couldn’t stop him! He just had the bug. He really did. He is a sweet, wonderful actor. And he just got the lead role in the new Frank Miller film, The Spirit.
Digest: The upcoming, big-budget super-hero flick with Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendes?
Macht: That’s the one.
Digest: That’s great. The man has arrived.
Macht: Just like Papa!
Wonder how Stephen Macht wound up on the shady streets of Port Charles? A longtime GHer recommended him for the job — but the two have yet to share a scene together! Find out who we have to thank for the arrival of Tropical Storm Trevor in the 11/6 issue of Digest, on sale 10/30.
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