General Hospital’s Andrew Hawkes on His Exit as Cullum, Cast Bonds & ‘Epic’ Goodbye (Exclusive)
Ross Cullum’s death on General Hospital brought Andrew Hawkes’ six-month Port Charles stint as the duplicitous WSB agent to an end in the July 2 episode. Hawkes spoke exclusively to Soap Opera Digest about saying goodbye to the daytime home he’d come to love.
Andrew Hawkes Calls GH Exit ‘Inevitable’
When Hawkes originally signed on to appear on GH, he was expecting it to be a brief run. “At first it was only supposed to be three episodes,” he notes. “Then it was supposed to be six to eight episodes. And I think now, when all is said and done, I’ve done about 40 episodes!”
The actor views all the extra time he spent on the show as a gift — one he knew came with an expiration date, given how dastardly his character was. Cullum’s death — and with it, his exit — “was inevitable,” he says. “I knew it was coming at some point.”
Playing Cullum, he says, “was just an incredible experience as an actor at this point in my life.” So, despite being prepared, saying good-bye was emotional.
Hawkes muses, “The way I look back at the whole experience, honestly, is that I just fell madly in love with the cast and crew. They’re just incredible people, and I’m astonished by them and all the work that goes into putting the show together. When you’re working with professionals who are really enjoying what they’re doing and trying to do their best work, it’s just the best feeling. You feel like you’re on a team.”
From day one, the theater-trained actor took his GH work seriously. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re doing Shakespeare,” he declares. “I put the same work into it as I would doing Death of a Salesman or Richard III or anything else, because everybody that I worked with there was too! You have to be on your game.”
Cullum’s ‘Epic’ Ending
Hawkes never had to be more on his game than during his action-packed final day of shooting. “We had a ton of stuff to get done and I had to stay very focused,” he explains. “Whatever feelings I had at that point, it was really about just doing the work because I had a big day ahead of me. I couldn’t really be like, ‘Oh, I’m so sad!'”
His last show featured stunts, a location shoot, a helicopter and special guest star John Oliver. Sums up Hawkes, “It was an epic sendoff, without a doubt.”
He was happy to share the bulk of his final scenes with Ryan Paevey (Cassius). “I love Ryan,” the actor grins. “We got to really dig into our scenes when we worked together — I’d grab him and we’d go to the green room or to his dressing room and talk stuff out and run our lines and run the blocking we had gotten so that when we got up to set, it just went so smoothly. He’s an incredibly interesting guy who’s living the life that I think all of us dreamed of living as young men: riding motorcycles, surfing, making jewelry. He’s just a really cool person and a lot of fun to be around.”
Paevey is just one of the GH stars who made a strong impression on Hawkes. He describes Carlo Rota (Sidwell) as “so entertaining and so good at what he does,” Kelly Thiebaud (Britt) as “a brilliant actress — she lights up every scene she’s in” and says of Chris McKenna (Jack), “We have become very close. If you don’t like Chris McKenna, I’m sorry, lose my number! He’s such a good man. All his fans out there should know just what an incredibly good human he is.”
Hawkes also has high praise for the younger actors he worked with during his Port Charles run. “I got to work a bit with Asher [Antonyzyn, Danny] and Bluesy [Burke, Charlotte] — really grounded, great young people with super-bright futures. And I have to give a special mention to Finn Carr, Rocco — I just adore the kid. He’s a beautiful, kind young man and so talented.”
Hawkes Would Return to GH ‘In a Heartbeat’
After his intense final day of filming, “I slept for, like, 12 hours,” Hawkes confesses. “It took me a few days to kind of recover and get perspective on what this whole experience meant to me. It’s been one of the greatest experiences of my career. It’s one of the things I’m most proud of and have had the most joy in doing.”
He continues, “The people over at General Hospital, to a person, have been nothing but beautifully kind and supportive of me. Would I like to have stayed? Yes, of course. But at the same time, I feel like I had an incredibly rounded experience.”
Which includes getting to appear on State of Mind, the mental health series hosted by Maurice Benard (Sonny). “Getting to talk to Maurice and doing his show and talking about mental health struggles — being able to maybe help some people with my own experiences — was a really cool element,” he reflects. “I just love Maurice for doing that podcast and being as open and vulnerable as he’s been. That’s why he’s so beloved. I mean, you gotta love the guy! He’s just a raw nerve. He’s so authentic.”
Having connected with fans both via State of Mind and on social media, Hawkes cherishes the bonds he’s formed with GH viewers. “Best damn fans in the business,” he proclaims. “I think at first, people were like, ‘We don’t need another villain, we hate this guy, get him out of here.’ And I get it: When they hate Ross Cullum, it’s because they love Carly, they love Britt, they love Rocco.”
But online, viewers got to know the guy behind the menacing character he played. “I’m a goofball, and the fans responded so beautifully to that,” he smiles. “That’s been such a lovely part of this whole experience.”
And if GH were to ask him back as Cullum’s ghost or a new character? “I’d say yes in a heartbeat,” he says.
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