INTERVIEW
General Hospital’s Kathleen Gati on Obrecht’s Return: ‘I Missed Her Tremendously’ (Exclusive)
Fans of General Hospital were in for a treat on the Thursday, July 17 episode when Dr. Liesl Obrecht, who hasn’t been seen on the show since December 2023, made her triumphant return to the canvas, visiting with former sorta grandson Rocco and dropping in on her beloved niece, Nina (Cynthia Watros). Portrayer Kathleen Gati checked in with Soap Opera Digest about what it was like to get the call to return, finding Obrecht’s accent again, her reunion with Kelly Thiebaud and more!
Soap Opera Digest: First question: How have you been?!
Kathleen Gati: Busy, happy, working on other productions in Hollywood, as well as in Europe, but also missing Obrecht and my amazing fans!
Digest: Tell us the story of how you found out GH was bringing Obrecht back into the fold, and what your reaction was!
Gati: I received an email from casting director, Mark Teschner, asking if I was available and interested in coming back as Dr. Obrecht for one, possibly more episodes. I wrote back that yes, I am available, and I would love to return. Then I got a phone call from [Executive Producer] Frank Valentini saying he was happy I was interested in returning and discussed my availability. I said I was absolutely interested, but I had already committed to a feature film. Frank was very sweet, and said they would work around my other shooting schedule. Which they kindly did. The rest is history, as they say!
Digest: What did it feel like to get your first scripts and to start bringing Obrecht to life again?
Gati: Like Christmas! And I was very, very curious as to what would be happening with Obrecht. It honestly felt extremely familiar — “Ah, it’s Obrecht again” — and yet… extremely foreign! Who was Obrecht? Who is she today? Where did we leave her? How does she behave? How does she talk? Was she kind in the end or still evil? I had to do a lot of rethinking, rehashing and also watched some old episodes of my work. Refresher program 101!
Digest: What were you most excited about when it came to the prospect of returning?
Gati: I was most excited about bringing Obrecht back to life! I was also really excited about seeing my favorite co-stars, the makeup, hair and wardrobe department, the crew, the production, our beloved security guard, and of course meeting the new actors (and pets) who had joined the show while I was away. Wonderful actors I will hopefully get to work with!
Digest: Have you missed playing Obrecht?
Gati: Of all the roles in my 40-plus-year career to date, Obrecht has been and remains my favorite character ever! So many sides to her: evil, funny, dark, silly, playful, pathetic, warm, loving, harsh, conniving, a mad scientist, a loving mother, a performer who loves to sing and dance, who is brilliant and sharp, who speaks languages and is from another country, and therefore speaks with an accent, and uses a stylized form of speech? Oh my! An actor’s dream role. So yes, I missed her tremendously, and am extremely happy and grateful to climb back into Obrecht’s shoes again.
Digest: On screen, Obrecht’s return to town is brought about when Rocco sends her an email, curious about her and about her late daughter, Britt, who he has just found out gave birth to him. What did you think when you found out the show was digging into this history from early in your GH years?
Gati: It was really interesting to revisit one of my first storylines and to see how all of the characters had evolved over the years. It was fun for me to see present day Obrecht’s reaction upon seeing Rocco as a young man, and also to revisit the saga of having stolen Lulu and Dante’s embryo. But as I recall, it was handy and convenient for Obrecht and Britta to steal and impregnate Britta so she could capture Patrick Drake’s heart and he would obviously marry her, right? Come on, what mother wouldn’t do this for her child [laughs]! Obrecht herself does not waste time with such trivial things as guilt when other people are involved, only with her children, whom she loved with a vengeance, even though she was a rather pathetic mother. Obrecht moves right on and finds the value of what she did, and the justification of it, right or wrong! And mostly right in her mind! And now a chance to have another “grandson”? More family? Seriously? Yay! Myself, Kathleen? Gulp!
Digest: What was it like to walk back into the studio again?
Gati: Like going back home to visit Mom and Dad after being away for a while. I immediately felt at home, was so excited to see everyone, and extremely curious to work with my new co-stars. And the welcoming and enthusiastic reception I received from cast, crew and production was very heartwarming.
Digest: What do you remember about your first day? Any nerves? Any reunions with cast or crew that stand out?
Gati: I was simultaneously filming a movie, doing a table read for a possible new pilot, and studying about 30 pages of dialogue for a few episodes of General Hospital, all within a few days. And you know me, I always want to do my best, be as prepared as possible and rise to any occasion as needed. So were there nerves? Oh yes! Luckily it suited the material I was filming, so hopefully it worked! And yes, several warm reunions really stand out: Cynthia Watros [Nina], Finola Hughes [Anna], Rebecca Herbst [Elizabeth], Rick Hearst [Ric], Michael E. Knight [Martin], among others. And to be on those amazing sets again — so fantastic!
Digest: Was it easy to slip back into her accent?
Gati: It didn’t take long, but it wasn’t instantaneous either. Ask my husband! I was searching for her voice for a while! Let’s try this voice…nope, too German. How about that voice? Nah, too British. And this one? Sounds Russian, maybe French? This went on for several days. But when I got the first script and started studying it, Obrecht’s voice came right back to me.
Digest: Fans know that Kelly Thiebaud is returning to the show, but it has yet to be revealed whether she will be playing Britt or a new character. Would you be happy for Obrecht if it turned out Britt was alive?
Gati: If indeed she comes back as Britta, I would be ecstatic for Obrecht to have her beloved daughter back, however shocking it would be. Can you imagine to have that person back whom you loved most in the whole world, but had supposedly died, only to return? I cannot even fathom the feelings that would be conjured up. I can’t even imagine the shock, the anger, the frustration, the joy; a myriad of emotions. However if she comes back as another character, I am curious to see how that impacts Obrecht. Can’t wait to see how it unfolds!
Digest: Have you, Kathleen, seen Kelly around the studio yet? If so, what was your reunion like?
Gati: I had been filming several episodes when I saw Kelly’s name on the call sheet one day. Her first day back. I felt like a kid in a candy store when I walked into the makeup room, and there she was. We definitely had a very emotional and heartfelt hug upon seeing each other again. It was heart-wrenching having Kelly/Britta die in my arms nearly two years ago, knowing we would not be working together again, after nearly 10 years playing mother and daughter. Those tears were quite real knowing she was leaving the show. After working together for so long, she had become almost a real daughter to me. I love that girl.
Digest: In your first episode back, you worked opposite Finn Carr (Rocco). Tell me about your first impressions of him.
Gati: Finn Carr is a talented, sweet young man. Very professional. Enthusiastic to rehearse and to be as prepared as possible (a dream acting partner for me) so we could both bring our best work to the table.
Digest: What do you think it means to your character that Rocco is interested in having a relationship with her?
Gati: Obrecht is delighted to have a new relative, a new “grandson” she can love and nurture, guide in the world with her “wisdom” and experience. Obrecht was simultaneously very nervous and very excited to meet this young man for the first time. But also has layers of guilt, fear, grand-maternal instincts, hope of new family, of filling in the void that the deaths of her two children [her son, Nathan, preceded Britt in death] had left in her. Definitely many emotions to feel and portray!
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