Michael Easton has opened up about what it was like to say goodbye to his character on General Hospital. He played Dr. Hamilton Finn for nearly a decade and has had a difficult time coming to terms with the writers’ decision to get rid of his character. The soap star recently spoke out about how he felt “hurt and wounded” by the decision. Here is what he had to say about wrapping up his role on GH.
Michael Easton Wanted More Storyline On General Hospital
It came as a surprise to General Hospital viewers when they learned that Dr. Hamilton Finn was being written off the show. Apparently, Michael Easton was just as surprised by the revelation at first.
The final episode with Michael Easton’s appearance aired last week, and since then the soap opera star has opened up about the end of the role. He told Soap Opera Digest that he was not expecting to say goodbye to Finn’s character.
“You do have to remove your ego from it and realize you have a job to do,” Michael said. He added that the last several weeks of filming were “very raw and very draining” for him.
“Every day was emotional because every day was not only doing the work, it was also [saying] good-bye. I had such a hard time saying goodbye to Jane Elliot and to (Harrison Chase) and (Rebecca Herbst) and everybody that I had come in contact with, so everything was difficult,” he said.
To add to it, Michael Easton wanted more storyline. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the character.
“I do appreciate the writers giving me so much material going out the door, but from an actor standpoint, I would like to have had just a little more time to add a little more subtlety and a little more nuance to it,” the General Hospital star said.
‘It Has To Be Almost A Complete Emotional Break’
In the end, Michael said that he invested more of himself into the role in the last days of filming to make it better for viewers. He said, “I really wanted to make it work, so my thinking was, (Finn’s descent) had to go beyond alcoholism. Addiction and things like that, I kind of know a lot about that, but to get where I needed to go (with the character), it had to be almost a complete emotional break.”
It was revealed that Finn’s character would be leaving General Hospital to go into rehab for his alcohol addiction. Michael Easton wanted to commit to the story and provide everyone with closure on Finn’s character.
Michael Easton needed time to come to terms with Finn’s character being written out of the show. “I think in the old days I probably would have went out and got drunk. But this time, I went home and (his kids) Lilah Bell and Jack were waiting for me,” he said. “It was sort of like Daddy needed a hug and the kids were waiting with hugs and honestly, everything was better from that moment on.”
The General Hospital actor wanted to be the one to break the news to his fans. He took to Instagram on June 26 to share a video message.
In the clip, he said, “I’ve always been partial to the Irish goodbye. That’s where you leave the party without actually telling anyone you’re gone. But I thought you all deserved better. So I just want to let you know that I just filmed my final scenes here at General Hospital.“
Fans have voiced their displeasure with the decision to axe Michael Easton from the show. Unfortunately, there are no plans to bring him back at this time.
