‘GH’ Bombshell: Steve Burton Shares Emotional Details About Final Scenes with Kelly Monaco!
General Hospital star Steve Burton got a lot of praise from viewers for his portrayal of Jason Morgan’s emotional goodbye to Sam McCall. The actor opened up about filming his final scenes with fired co-star Kelly Monaco. Keep reading to find out what helped him get through the difficult scenes.
Sam McCall’s Death Rocks Port Charles
General Hospital fans anxiously waited to find out how General Hospital planned to write out Kelly Monaco. News broke in August that the actress was let go and would be leaving the show this fall. She joined GH as Sam McCall in 2003. Many fans assumed Sam’s death would be related to Lulu Spencer’s survival. Sam decided to donate her liver to save Lulu’s life, only to die herself after making it through the operation.
Sam’s loved ones said their goodbyes one by one. While GH fans were angry about the decision to fire Monaco, they agreed that the main three actors – Dominic Zamprogna, Nancy Lee Grahn, and Steve Burton – knocked their scenes out of the park.
Steve Burton Opens Up About Last Scenes With Kelly Monaco
The last scenes Kelly Monaco filmed on GH were with Dominic Zamprogna, who plays Sam’s love interest, Dante Falconeri. They got engaged in the hospital before Sam died.
Dante and Sam had their share of fans, but nowhere near the level of Jason and Sam fans. JaSam spanned nearly two decades. So, it was only fitting that Jason got a moment alone to say a heartbreaking goodbye. Viewers couldn’t praise Steve Burton enough for the emotional scenes.
The actor came under fire in August for his tepid response to Kelly Monaco’s firing. However, he may have been in shock like everyone else. Steve Burton shared more insight about filming his last scenes with Kelly Monaco on the Daily Drama podcast he hosts with co-star Bradford Anderson.
Steve Burton confessed that he was at a “loss” on how to play the goodbye scenes. He added, “Obviously, we have a huge history. Obviously, we’ve worked together for a long time, so there was all of these things going on, but I didn’t have a clear vision.”
He revealed that his co-star, Maurice Benard, gave him some advice that helped. “You don’t have to force anything. Just let it work.”
Another thing that made the scenes difficult was they weren’t filmed in order. Steve Burton revealed that he had to film the goodbye scenes with Sam first and then backtrack to earlier scenes.
Despite his reservations, fans agree that Steve Burton did a great job with the emotional material. Do you agree?