Disney/Christine Bartolucci; Disney/Ricky Middlesworth
Springfield Awakening: Rick Hearst (Ric, l.) and Cynthia Watros (Nina) almost played lovers on Guiding Light.
During Rick Hearst’s last longer-term stint as General Hospital‘s Ric Lansing, the shady character manipulated Nina Reeves into a quickie marriage, then colluded with her murderous mother — who he just so happened to be sleeping with — to bilk her of her fortune.
History 101
At the time, Nina was being played by Michelle Stafford, a longtime friend of Hearst’s. (He explained to Soap Opera Digest in 2015 that they had first met before Stafford was cast as Phyllis on Young and Restless, as her roommate at the time was godmother to Hearst’s sons.) In 2019, the role was taken over by Cynthia Watros — who Hearst has also known for many years.
The actors first crossed paths in New York in 1993. At the time, Hearst was playing Alan-Michael Spaulding on Guiding Light, and Watros was an aspiring actress freshly out of college. In 1994, Watros landed the role that would go on to win her the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress, Annie Dutton on GL. But as Hearst recalls it, that is not the first role she auditioned for. Says Hearst, “Here’s how I remember Cynthia. I think I have to remind her of this, as well, but she actually screen-tested for the part of Lucy” — the love interest and eventual wife of Alan-Michael!
Though the part was ultimately cast with Sonia Satra, Watros made a strong impression on Hearst. “When Cynthia came in for that audition, I just marveled at her because there was such an incredible depth to her performance. You know, she’s a very trained actor, and it was like she took it on as a Shakespearean role and was so involved. I loved what she did, but it was not the direction that they wanted to go in with Lucy. They went with Sonia, but I remembered her, and then when I finally saw her get the role of Annie on Guiding Light [the following year], I was like, ‘Oh, thank God they got her, because she is going to be a freaking powerhouse!’ ”
On GL, the actors were mostly in separate storyline corners, and Hearst exited in 1996, with Watros following suit in 1998. Now, three decades later, Hearst is finally getting the chance to share the soap stage with Watros, the woman who could have been his Springfield wife, as she plays his Port Charles ex-wife. And Hearst couldn’t be more delighted.
“I absolutely love working with her on GH,” Hearst beams. “This is genuinely the first time I’ve had that opportunity to work with Cynthia and she is phenomenal. Just phenomenal. There’s such an ease to her work. She is such an incredible listener and goes with the moment of a scene while, at the same time, having a completely full point of view from her character’s standpoint. The two of us never having worked together and yet our characters having some sort of history, she just brought it! From our first scenes together, it just jibed. I’ve really enjoyed it.”
And, via Nina, Ric has connected to Ava, played by another daytime powerhouse, Maura West. Hearst agrees that Ric and Ava is another potentially fascinating dynamic the show can mine. “I don’t know where that will go,” he says, “but the great thing is that I will be representing her in court!” He adds with a laugh, “And I’m also grateful that they didn’t throw me into the courtroom in the first week and say, ‘Here’s four pages of your opening statement!’ “
