General Hospital Excusive: Bluesy Burke Opens Up About Her Emotional ‘Goodbye for Now’ to Charlotte
General Hospital star Bluesy Burke has pressed pause on playing Charlotte Cassadine to go to college on the East Coast. She took a break from hitting the books to chat exclusively with Soap Opera Digest about her emotional last episode, her message to GH fans and more.
Soap Opera Digest: After you made the decision to go away to college, did you ever second-guess it, even though you had Executive Producer Frank Valentini’s assurance that you ‘ll still be playing Charlotte?
Burke: I’m a huge over-thinker, so I second-guessed myself a few times! Every day I was at GH, I was like, “I just feel like I’m going to miss this so much, every single person who works here is just so incredible!” I’ve definitely had moments like that, but I think I also knew deep down that this is the right choice and the right path for me at this very moment, because if not now, then when?
Digest: What were your last days on set like for you?
Burke: My last day was on a Monday, and the week before, I was working a lot. So that whole last week, I pretty much spent with Finn [Carr, Rocco] and Asher. We pretty much didn’t separate and just spent a ton of time together. They stayed at my house, we went to Universal Studios … I really appreciated getting to do that because I wanted to spend as much time with them as possible.
Over the past year, I have definitely gotten really close with both Asher and Finn. I would consider them my bestest friends. I have so much love for them both. Pretty much from the get-go, I had a lot of my scenes with Asher and we’ve spent so much time together and we’ve really, really gotten to know each other, and Finn is like a real brother to me. I’m an only child, so it’s really nice to have someone like him in my life. I am so grateful to have both of them in my life. They’re both very important people to me.
The last day on set was very emotional for me. After my scenes with Alexa [Havins, Lulu], I was sobbing, and Finn was on set watching and he immediately ran to me and gave me a huge hug. Alexa brought me flowers, which was really sweet. It was a really long day on set and I had a lot to do, so I had a lot to preoccupy myself with. I’m glad that I wasn’t in for just a quick scene; I got to really be there and soak it up and hang out in the hair and makeup room … and in full honesty, I cried the whole way home! But that’s okay. And it was very comforting to talk to Frank and to know that this isn’t the last of Charlotte by any means. It’s just a goodbye for now!
Digest: The final scenes between Charlotte and Lulu were really powerful.
Burke: Alexa is the best. She’s a good mom on set and just has so much wisdom and in the last scenes I had with her, she just brought out so much emotion in me that I didn’t even really know I had access to yet. That’s the power of Alexa Havins, honestly! She’s such an incredible scene partner and I’ve learned so much from her.
Digest: Looking back on your year in Port Charles, what Charlotte storylines or scenes stand out to you as the most fun to do?
Burke: I had a lot of fun throughout the year! But I think the most notable one is probably what happened more recently: finding Brennan’s [Chris McKenna] body in the pool. That was super-fun. I think that was the most out-there thing that I’ve done on the show. I had filmed a lot on the Metro Court pool set, and in my head, I was like, “I wonder if I’m ever going to get to go in the pool? I want to go in the pool!” And boy did I go in the pool [laughs]! It was so fun to do and emotional, as well, because it was a very jarring scene to be a part of. I loved being able to work with Chris McKenna on some of his last days, because he’s such a great guy.
Digest: Do you see a big change in yourself as an actress from when you first started to now?
Burke: Oh, wow. I mean, personally, I feel like I’ve grown in a lot of ways. GH was my first really big acting job, and so going into it, I was, like, insanely nervous — I was having stomachaches going into work every day, I was so nervous! That completely went away. Spending that much time there, I feel like I became a more confident person. I just feel like I’ve grown into myself a little bit more; I was a lot more timid at first, and I think that I was able to make Charlotte more my own throughout the year. And now, I know her! That’s my girl!
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