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INTERVIEW

GH's Outstanding Newcomers: Nicholas Chavez And Avery Pohl

Nicholas Chavez (Spencer)

What is your most vivid memory of your first day of filming? “Just being overcome with nerves. My first day was not only my first day on GH, it was my first day ever filming in front of a camera that wasn’t my self-tape setup at home, or home movies that me and my friends made. I was really, really nervous, honestly. I wanted so badly to do well, to give them the confidence of feeling like they’d made a good choice by picking me.”

What was it like to see yourself on TV for the first time? “Very strange. Really, really weird. When I watched myself on the show the first time, I was with my family, which made it so much more special because they were freaking out, but it was a little bit strange to see my face with the ABC logo right next to it.”

Have you been enjoying the positive reaction to Spencer and Trina? “Yes, of course! Oh, my gosh, that is the best. I love the whole ‘Sprina’ thing. It’s just fun and such positive encouragement and tells me that the show is doing its job, which is to entertain people and give people something to look forward to. That’s what the job is, at the end of the day, and it makes me really happy to see that people are entertained by ‘Sprina’ and that they’re rooting for them.”

Spencer is working at Kelly’s; you also have restaurant experience. Who’s a better restaurant employee? “Oh, geez! I feel like Spencer and I are pretty close to the same caliber, unfortunately. I think we’re both trying really, really hard but ultimately it’s just so many things to keep track of all at one time that we kind of lose it.”

Anything you’d like to say to the GH fans? “Thank you, thank you, thank you, a million times over. Thanks for embracing me as Spencer. I’m so grateful for your support.”

Avery Pohl (Esme)

How did you celebrate getting cast on GH? “I bought a lot of people dinner, actually! And a couple of my friends took me out to dinner.”

What is your most vivid memory of your first day on the job? “Filming my first couple scenes with Jon Lindstrom [Kevin/Ryan], Genie Francis [Laura] and Nick Chavez. I just remember shaking in my boots, quite literally. I wasn’t nervous for my screen test, wasn’t nervous for my callback, but for some reason, the first day got me! I’m pretty sure I only had two items and maybe three lines, but I was freaking out.”

What was it like to see yourself on the show for the first time? “The first couple episodes I did, I’m just kind of walking around the hub at GENERAL HOSPITAL, but the first real scenes I got to watch were the ones with Nick on the turret and those were very difficult for me to watch, personally. Watching yourself kiss someone on screen is just a very uncomfortable experience, and that was my first on-screen kiss as well, so I was just terrified about how it would turn out! At first when I was watching myself, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m not liking this’ or, ‘I’m not liking that’ about my performance, but a few more episodes in, I feel like I just see Esme and I’m not really thinking about the performance anymore. Which I’m hoping is a good sign!”

What have been your most challenging scenes so far? “I had scenes at Kelly’s where Esme is crying on Cameron’s shoulder about the situation with Spencer being in jail. Trying to manipulate someone through femme fatale tears was an interesting thing to try to wrap my mind around.”

How do you describe your character to people in your life? “I usually start out by saying, ‘She’s the worst,’ just to give everybody a little warning. I say, ‘She’s very charming on the outside and quite manipulative and narcissistic on the inside. She will justify anything as long as it’s something that she feels entitled to.’ She’s a very interesting character to learn to empathize with!”

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