General Hospital’s Dante Is ‘Fully Aware’ Michael May Have Shot Drew, Says Dominic Zamprogna (EXCL)
After playing a detective on General Hospital for the last 16 years, Dominic Zamprogna (Dante) is used to the show taking creative license with police procedure. “That’s part of this business that you’ve kind of got to get over,” he says. “You’re obviously saying things to people in places that you never would, nor would you be saying those things to those people! I know every time I do something” — most recently, placing Willow under arrest in front of her two small children, Wiley and Amelia — “exactly what the fans are going to have a problem with. I know exactly when [what Dante is doing] will be picked apart!”
Now that Dante is investigating the shooting of Congressman Drew Cain, the ex-husband of his own late fiancée, Sam McCall, with a suspect list that includes his very own brother, Michael, Zamprogna is doing a lot of rolling with the punches. That actor spoke to Soap Opera Digest about Dante’s concerns about Michael’s role in the crime.
Too Close to Home
When Willow was arrested after the gun used in Drew’s shooting was discovered in the room she’s been bunking in at Elizabeth’s house, she immediately insisted that she was being framed — by Michael! “So far, Dante’s take on that is that she doesn’t have an alibi and Michael does,” says Zamprogna. “And while Michael’s alibi is pretty thin, it exists. Whether you like it or believe it or not, it is there, and Willow’s simply is not. So, that’s where he is on that. She’s the one who has the holes in her story.”
However, contends Zamprogna, “Dante is also fully aware that it could all be BS, and Michael is the one who did it.”
That’s precisely the worry he expressed to his brother in tense scenes that aired on the October 20 episode in which Dante confronted Michael about Willow’s accusation and the dark turn Michael appears to have taken in recent months. As Zamprogna sees it, Michael’s behavior isn’t entirely out of character. “He’s kind of doing what he always did — he’s just being a little more sinister about it, maybe,” the actor muses. “But I think Michael has always had that kind of chip, that [capacity to be] a ruthless guy or a wannabe ruthless guy. So, honestly, I don’t really feel like it’s all that much different from the way he was being written before, but of course, the scenarios have changed, the circumstances have changed — Drew was shot and he is now a suspect because of everything that he and Drew have been through!”
As for the previously mentioned, not-so-airtight alibi Michael has for the night of the shooting, which comes in the form of sex worker Jacinda, “Yeah, he’s not really buying that,” scoffs Zamprogna. “He’s not really buying Michael’s defense on that, and people are also throwing in Dante’s face that Michael’s done this kind of thing before.” The actor says Dante “feels that he has got to defend his brother, and so he’s going to bat for his brother.”
Which comes with a certain degree of risk. Zamprogna points out, “The last thing he wants is for that to backfire, for him to defend Michael and then find out, ‘Oh, you actually did do this?!’ He wants to make sure Michael knows how much it looks like he did it, and the fact that he’s [killed someone] before makes people able to justify [suspecting that he did it again].’ ”
On a lighter note, Zamprogna shares that he found Dante’s dialogue making reference to how Michael had changed since the fire at Sonny’s earlier this year quite hilarious, given that the fire paved the way for Michael to quite literally change when Chad Duell exited the show and the role was recast with Rory Gibson. “As far as Dante talking about Michael changing, I didn’t know if the writers were actually trying to throw us a little [inside joke], but once you read that, and then you joke about it on set, it’s hard to kind of get rid of it!” he chuckles. “But you can kind of use it to your advantage in the scene, though. It’s like, ‘Well, you really have changed! That’s a very true statement!’ ”
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