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Interview

Steve Burton Interview

Soap Opera Digest: When you exited GENERAL HOSPITAL, was the thought of doing another daytime show — or in this case, the streaming companion series to a daytime show — anywhere on your radar?

Steve Burton: When I left GH, I literally was not auditioning for anything. I got sent a lot of auditions. My agent really doesn’t like me — no, he does, but he’s like, “Are you going to audition for anything?!” [I] didn’t really plan on [auditioning]; I was just taking that time to work on myself and grow and be with my kids and then this opportunity came, and I thought it was super-interesting because it was a limited series and it was on Peacock and it was streaming. When I met with Albert Alarr, the co-executive producer, who’s an awesome guy, months ago, he was like, “Hey, this is kind of what we’re doing. We’re not sure if it’s going. Would you be interested? What’s your feeling?” As you know, I started my career on DAYS in 1988, and Ron [Carlivati, head writer] thought it’d be a great idea to bring back that character, so there was a little bit of history on the show and that’s what they did. When they got closer [to the start of production] and they got scripts, they were like, “Hey, this is the character, it is Harris Michaels from when you were on the show, this is what you’d be doing, it’s a five-episode run on Peacock in the summer,” and I was like, “Awesome, let’s go! Sounds great! I’m ready.” That’s kind of how it went down, you know? I’ve known Marnie [Saitta], the casting director, for a long time. I’ve worked with Ron [when he head-wrote GH], and also Albert, back in the day when he was a director. I knew a lot of people going over there and I thought it was a great opportunity, great timing. It’s just been a lot of fun.

Digest: Let’s not gloss over how remarkable it is that you were on a show in 1988 and in 2022, it’s still around for you to come back to!

Burton: And I’m still around! That’s what’s crazy, right? At that point [in my career], I was a horrifying actor, but I did have great hair. The casting director back then, Fran Bascom, she hired me and it was supposed to be only for a few episodes. I don’t know what it turned into, 11 or 15 episodes or whatever it was, and then I had to go back to OUT OF THIS WORLD. That’s actually how I met Scott Reeves [ex-Jake], because he played my buddy on the show. So it was kind of surreal driving back over to the studio where I basically started my daytime career and I was like, “Man, that was 34 years ago?! That’s crazy!” It’s incredible. What a blessing. I’m so grateful to be able to even talk about that I’m still around. It really is amazing.

Digest: How would you describe your feelings about separating from your job at GH?

Burton: I mean, look, it’s always going to be my home. That’s where I’ve been my whole life, so obviously I have great feelings toward the show. I’ve always been very grateful for the opportunity there, leaving and coming back, the people there, the cast and crew. You never want to leave your home, especially when it becomes kind of unexpected. They had to do what they had to do, I had to do what I had to do. There’s no hard feelings … I will always have awesome memories of the show and the people there and all of that. I have never, ever had a bad thing to say about GENERAL HOSPITAL.

Digest: So, how did it feel to be back in the DAYS universe?

Burton: It’s been great because I’ve seen a lot of friends, Brandon Barash [Jake; ex-Johnny, GH], a lot of people that I know, and I’ve met some new people that I didn’t know, that I’ve heard of my whole career or saw at the Soap Opera Digest Awards or just in passing. Everybody was so welcoming, Drake [Hogestyn, John] and Stephen [Nichols, Steve] and everyone. Kristian Alfonso [Hope] is amazing. Mary Beth [Evans, Kayla] goes, “I remember you in the makeup chair back in 1988!” I go, “I don’t know how you remember that, because I don’t!”

Digest: Must be the hair, Steve. You don’t forget that hair.

Burton: And all the hairspray! And she had some hair, too, as did Stephen!

Digest: How did you approach revisiting Harris — to you, was he like a new character or a continuation of the character you played in 1988?

Burton: It is a new character, because obviously I wasn’t on the show long enough to establish [much about the] character. I make references in the digital series to that character a couple of times, but it’s a new character and I just let Ron figure it out and do his thing, like we always do as actors, and talked it through with him. I’d go, “Hey, what are you thinking here and here and here?” [because] I had a lot of questions about how I should respond, where I should take the character, where is he in the beginning of the arc to the end of the arc. Ron and Albert helped me with that a lot.

Digest: What did it mean to you that Ron thought of you for this project?

Burton: Just to be in the conversation, and to be having this conversation, it’s an honor, and I’m grateful. I work hard and I love what I do and if that’s a value to somebody, then that’s awesome. They thought of me and it’s really cool that they did. I think it was Ron, Albert and Marnie together going, “I think this could work.”

Digest: “We vaguely remember a man from the past with great hair, wonder what he’s doing.”

Burton: Or, “Steve’s out of work, wonder what he’s doing! Wasn’t he on DAYS and isn’t he not working? Great! Give him a call!”

Digest: When you tackled your first script, did you feel rusty at all?

Burton: Well, I didn’t have a choice! You’re always going to feel a little rusty, but that just means I put in more work at home before I get to set. For me, repetition is what lets you be free when you get on the set, it’s knowing it, knowing it, knowing it, which I was taught by Maurice Benard [Sonny, GH]; you’ve got to know your stuff backwards and forwards, and then you can be free. So, I spent a lot of time on that before. But walking on the set, seeing familiar faces the first day — one of the camera guys, I knew from GH, one of the wardrobe people, one of the boom operators — you just feel at home. It’s amazing.

Digest: What was your feeling walking out of the building after your first day of work?

Burton: I felt amazing. It was difficult stuff, I felt like I did a good job, it was a full day’s work and there was excitement about this series there in the building. It just brings kind of a new energy to the building. Everybody thought daytime was dead for so long, and now we have digital, right? And DAYS is a big draw for streaming on Peacock. So there’s a great energy around it. I felt great the first day. I felt great every day, really, but the first day, I was like, “That was cool! Awesome!”

Digest: You mentioned Kristian Alfonso; obviously, there’s a lot of excitement from DAYS fans about her and Peter Reckell (Bo) being part of BEYOND SALEM.

Burton: When I was on the show, back then, Patch and Kayla were [GH’s] Luke and Laura — that’s the equivalent that I can say, right? And they were the couple. Kristian said she wasn’t on when I was on in ’88. Obviously, I know her, I know Bo and Hope — everybody does — and look, it’s exciting! I always pay homage to guys like Drake, Stephen Nichols, Stuart Damon [ex-Alan, GH], Tony Geary [ex-Luke, GH]. I could name 50 more. Josh Taylor [Roman; ex-Chris], who’s on DAYS. All these guys who kind of pioneered it for guys like me. They literally opened the doors for guys like me to have a job! Obviously, they set a great example with their work ethic and taught me a lot of lessons and so that was so cool to see. Drake ran up on stage like, “It’s so great to have you here,” and all this stuff. It was just so cool because he’s been around for so many years.

Digest: Did your five days there make you want to do more with DAYS?

Burton: Look, in the beginning, it was enticing because it was a short run. Being there, the people are great, so I don’t know. I’m open to things, I’m open to hearing things. But that’s up to them, that’s not up to me! We’ll see what happens!

Digest: We’ve talked before about how dedicated you are to self-improvement. I’m curious if you feel like how much energy you’ve devoted to that has helped you handle some of the curveballs of this profession.

Burton: One hundred percent. I coach now, mindset and nutrition, and it’s all about mindset. Life is truly about attitude and mindset. For me, leaving GH in 2012, I believe it was, people don’t like to hear it, but it was a great thing for me because I really got to discover myself more and have a lot of personal development. [I’m] always open to learning and growing and figuring out what life is trying to teach me, because we can have this mindset of looking at things as a victim, like, “Life’s happening to me, I lost my job, all this stuff’s happening in my personal life, it sucks, poor me, poor me.” People use that as an excuse to go do stupid crap or just stay in a victim mentality. Making decisions from fear and scarcity will never get you to where you want to go and what I ask myself every day is, “Do my thoughts, behaviors and actions align with the vision I want for myself?” I’m trying, literally, to create a new version of Steve with my habits and my discipline in what I do daily. It’s gotten me through the hardest times of my life … When you’re worried about you and working on yourself, that other stuff really doesn’t matter. I’m focused on trying to be the best version of me, and how I treat others. I’ve always taken the high road with things but now, it’s like, I don’t have any animosity toward GENERAL HOSPITAL. I just don’t! I’m so grateful. I’m in a place in my life where I’m in such a grateful state and I’m just grateful for the opportunity. I was grateful for being there, I was grateful I won an Emmy for being on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS [as Dylan] and GENERAL HOSPITAL, I’m grateful for the opportunity at BEYOND SALEM. Gratitude really is everything … This has been one of the hardest stretches of my entire life and one of the best.

Digest: So what you’re telling me, Steve, is that your life didn’t end because you’re not playing Jason anymore.

Burton: No, literally, it was a new beginning for me. Again! There was a door that closed and I was like, “Okay, what’s the next door that’s going to open? But in the meantime, I’m going to keep building myself up, working on me, not sitting around, just work on me.” And I’m not getting any younger, either. I just feel like I have a new beginning now and it’s been incredible.

Digest: Anything else you feel like we should touch on?

Burton: Well, listen. This is my first job back on daytime. I’m excited about it because, again, I started my career on DAYS, and I would just love everybody to watch BEYOND SALEM, streaming on Peacock! Get it and let me know what you think!        

 

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