GH Exclusive: Van Hansis And Laura Wright Say Working Together ‘Feels Like Home’
Home Sweet Home: Van Hansis (Lucas) and Laura Wright (Carly) love bringing their characters’ family dynamic to life.
Since Van Hansis assumed the role of Lucas Jones on General Hospital last October, both he and Laura Wright (Carly) have been having a blast picking up the brother/sister relationship between the characters where it left off with the previous Lucas, Ryan Carnes.
Sibling Revelry
“I love the sibling relationship between Lucas and Carly,” declares Hansis. “I think that the way Lucas and Carly talk to each other has a loving kind of snarkiness, and they hold each other accountable. I think it’s very true to how siblings talk to each other and it’s very fun to play.”
Speaking of fun, that’s the name of the game whenever the actors share scenes together. “I love working with Laura so much,” Hansis enthuses. “She just has so much joy in what she does as an actor — really in everything she does!” Case in point: “A couple of days ago, we were working on a set, a club or a restaurant, where there were multiple storylines happening at once. A lot of times in scenes like that, you’re just sitting in the background and the camera may catch you, but you’re not in story — they’ll shoot your stuff, and then you’re still sitting there because there are other scenes they’re taping on that set for different storylines. So, Laura and I were both kind of just sitting in the background, and she said, ‘Are you having fun?’ I was like, ‘I’m having so much fun!’ And she was like, ‘You know what? I always have fun. I just always have fun doing this!’ ”
Wright’s passion for her work particularly impresses Hansis given the demanding pace of soap opera’s production format. “She’s just such a positive person to be around,” he marvels. “You know, soaps can be really tough, and it’s not a secret how quickly we move and how much material we have sometimes. So I just love that about her. Especially for her, because she’s got days where she’s got 25 or 30 scenes or something, and she’s just such a pro. And she’s not just getting through it because it’s her job — she really, really loves it! And whenever I get to work with her, that kind of attitude just rubs off on you.”
Wright is just as enthusiastic about working opposite Hansis. “Oh, I love him,” she says. “This is not to put any shade on any other actor who has played the role of Lucas, at all — I’ve loved every one of them. But there’s just a different dynamic that I have with Van. Off camera, as well, we just laugh so much and we like to play. I love, love, love working with Van. We just connect and have this great energy when we work together. We have a lot of scenes coming up, and everything is just easy with him. If there’s a last-minute change, we’re just like, ‘Oh my God, let’s do this, this seems funny.’ There’s no, like, having to rehearse it 100 times to make it work. He’s just so easy and in the moment and so funny and just happy to be there.”
The actress notes that Hansis brings such good vibes to the set despite the challenge of living in New York and working in Los Angeles. “It’s not easy in his life,” Wright points out. “His husband lives in New York, he flies back and forth, and he still shows up with joy. It’s just so impressive to see that, because it’s not easy to commute from L.A. to New York and to have a main storyline and to leave your family behind. And he does it with grace and appreciation. He does not show up like, ‘Oh, I can’t believe I have to be here, I wanna be home.’ None of that. It’s the opposite. It’s more like, ‘We’re here, so we might as well have a damn good time!’ He just seems like such a theater, New York City actor, which I love, because that’s where I got my start, and my first co-star [Paul Anthony Stewart, who played Casey to her Ally on Loving] was a theater actor. He feels like home to me.”
As much as Wright appreciates the on- and off-screen chemistry she feels with Hansis, she doesn’t think it’s unique to their working dynamic. “I think he has that with so many actors here,” she opines. “I watch him [in his other scenes] and I think he shines with everybody! I think I’m just one of the many who gets to have that Van pixie dust sprinkled on me! I feel like he brings that beautiful charm of his to everyone he works with.”
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