General Hospital Villain Ross Cullum Was Supposed to Die, Andrew Hawkes Reveals
General Hospital villain Ross Cullum was never meant to stick around for long — and the actor who plays him, Andrew Hawkes, initially thought his Port Charles run would be over before it even began.
Evil Never Dies
Speaking on Maurice Benard’s State of Mind YouTube series, Hawkes reflected on joining GH, the uncertainty he felt after his early episodes aired in January, and how Cullum cheated death to become a more entrenched presence and thorn in the sides of an ever-expanding group of characters.
Hawkes has plenty of experience with his resume, including prime time series like ER, JAG, 24, and Community. But aside from playing a thief in one episode of Young and Restless in 2014, daytime was a completely new animal with its heavy workload and fast pace. “I had 65 pages of dialogue,” Hawkes recalled of his first day on set. ”And I remember Chris McKenna [Jack] saying, ‘Wow, they really threw you to the wolves right away, didn’t they?’ And I was like, “Did they? I don’t know.’ But I was terrified.”
While his alter ego was meant to be cool as a cucumber, confident and ruthlessly efficient, the actor noted, “I was feeling the complete opposite way [on set]. I was feeling stiff and just tense and couldn’t relax. And when I finally saw my first two episodes, I was just like, “I want to die. I’m the worst actor on the face of the earth.’ And I told my wife, Sasha… ‘Listen, I just want you to know, do not be surprised, because they’re probably going to call and fire me.’”
Obviously, Hawkes was worried over nothing — not only was he not let go, but the actor also found his short-term role expanding as Cullum became an integral facet of the ongoing storyline surrounding Faison’s (Anders Hove) final project. In fact, the episode when Cullum attempted to kill Jason (Steve Burton) and Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) was supposed to be the end of the villain’s reign of terror.
“I was supposed to be on for like, two months,” Hawkes revealed. “And I was supposed to die when I was shot by Rocco [Finn Carr] on the pier. And they’ve kept me around. And it’s been so amazing.”
How much longer can Cullum continue to get away with his crimes — and who do you think will be the one to bring him down? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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