Digest Hails GH’s Best (And Worst) Recasts

Genie Francis as Laura, 1977 For the first two years of Laura’s on-screen life, the role was played by young Stacey Baldwin, but the character’s storyline potential was only truly tapped into once Genie Francis beat out 40 other Laura contenders to land her first GH contract. Now a few years older and possessing a delicate beauty that belied her rebellious streak, Francis’s beguiling Laura was ushered into greater plot prominence, and by the time she wrapped up her first run in 1982, she was the darling of daytime and the subject of considerable mainstream attention, as well, with her two mega-hit pairings (Laura/Scotty, Laura/Luke) key both to saving the show from cancellation and landing it atop the Nielsen ratings. Forty-five years later, GH’s decision to hire her is still paying dividends, as Francis remains a fan fave and Laura remains a pivotal Port Charles player.

Wally Kurth as Ned, 1991 When Kurt Robin McKinney vacated the role of Quartermaine scion Ned after a three-year run, it was fortuitous indeed that former DAYS heartthrob Wally Kurth, who had exited Salem as Justin earlier in the year, was not only available, but eager to take on his next daytime assignment. His strong physical resemblance to McKinney and already-established rapport with Port Charles mom Jane Elliot (ex-Tracy; she played his lover Anjelica on DAYS) certainly eased the change, and Kurth seemed like a natural Ned fit from the start. The actor explained to Digest in 2021, “I went in with a hunger to make this role my own” — and as the months and years went by, he certainly did, with the show making use of his musical abilities (for the popular arc of Ned’s double life as rocker Eddie Maine) and charm as a leading man (see, in particular, Ned’s well-liked love stories with Lois, Alexis and Olivia).

Kirsten Storms as Maxie, 2005 This was a particularly tricky recast, as the actress most associated with Maxie, Robyn Richards, had begun playing her as a 6-year-old in 1993 and had grown up on camera — and when she was axed in 2002, the backlash against her suddenly older and sultrier successor (Danica Stewart) was so great that she lasted a mere four months in the role before Richards was rehired. The show tread more carefully in introducing Storms; for starters, it allowed nearly a year to pass between Richards’s last appearance and Storms’s first one, so the transition was less jarring. Having honed her considerable and colorful soap skills during her 1999-2004 run as DAYS heroine Belle, Storms hit the ground running as Maxie battled health issues and navigated young love with Jesse, and seemed in full control of the character by the time her scheming side took center stage and she entered into an affair with Liz’s hubby, Lucky.

Sydney Mikayla as Trina, 2018 When Tiana Le originated the role of Trina, GH viewers barely knew her, as in the three episodes Lee appeared in from 2017-18 her sole function on the canvas was to serve as Josslyn’s slight-bad-influence bestie. Trina became far more three-dimensional when Mikayla assumed the role. With a screen presence that was at once natural and charismatic, Mikayla fit right in with the show’s younger set — and her talent not only earned her a devoted following among viewers, but a contract with the show and a fictional storyline life that blossomed to include a mom (Portia) and a dad (Taggert — for now!) that tied her into Port Charles history, career aspirations (complete with a surprisingly touching friendship with her gallery mentor, Ava), and a besotted prince (that would be Spencer).

Jennifer Bransford as Carly, 2005 The show has had four Carlys since the character was introduced in 1996, and three of them were hits. Alas, it was a high-profile misstep when Carly No. 2, Tamara Braun, ended her run and ONE LIFE TO LIVE alum Jennifer Bransford (ex-Georgie) was tapped to replace her. The deck appeared stacked against Bransford from the start; instead of easing her into story, thereby giving viewers a chance to acclimate to a new portrayer in the role, the switch occurred in the throes of major on-screen drama (on a Friday, Braun’s Carly walked in on Sonny in bed with another woman, Reese; when the action picked up on Monday, it was Bransford’s Carly reacting with shock and heartbreak), quickly followed up by another huge moment (Carly’s reunion with presumed-dead son Michael) that just didn’t carry the emotional heft it would have had it been played out by a familiar face. After five months on the front burner, the show conceded that the audience simply wasn’t cottoning to Bransford’s interpretation and gave the actress her walking papers; the current Carly, Laura Wright, soon took over.