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GH: Nancy Lee Grahn interview with Michael Logan

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http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/soaps/chatt...grahn-1068.html

General Hospital’s Alexis Davis—the neurotic legal eagle played by Nancy Lee Grahn—is heading toward one hell of a headache. On June 4, her adorable little girl, Kristina, will age by almost a decade and become a sneaky, rebellious teenager with an unhealthy fixation on town mobster Jason Morgan (Steve Burton). Replacing 8-year-old Kali Rodriguez in the role of Kristina is 16-year-old Lexi Ainsworth. Such overnight sprouting is nothing new. In fact, it’s such a common phenomenon in the suds industry it actually has a name: SORAS, for Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome. This can be an age-conscious diva’s worst nightmare. How’s Grahn handling the situation? We went to the Emmy winner to find out.

You soap gals need to stay as young as possible as long as possible. Are you freaking out that they’re aging your kid?

[Laughs] Better her than me! This could be good, actually. The audience will get past it quickly and there’s great story potential there. But I’m sorry to see Kali go. She is such a little dollface and really talented. She was my kittle grasshopper. I’d teach her things, like how to improvise your lines. One time on the set she said something different than was in the script and [director] Scott McKinsey said, “You have to say what’s on the page.” Kali points to me and said “She doesn’t!”

Nu-Kristina is going to be obsessed with Jason Morgan. Discuss.

Quel surprise. There’s a long line of women with that problem. I don’t think he’s going to take advantage of the situation, though weirder things have happened on our show. I can see it now. Jason Morgan: Mobster-slash-Hero-slash-Savior-slash-Pervert.

Might bratty Kristina bring Alexis and Sonny [Kristina’s mob king dad] back together—if only in mutual anxiety?

I hope so. I just don’t want it to get lethal. I don’t like it when Sonny gets threatening. I like Sonny and Alexis being friends.

How did your bosses at GH tell you about this?

They didn’t. I had no idea they were aging my child. One day, I had a scene with Kimberly McCullough [who plays new mom Robin] where I had the line “Kids grow up so fast. You’re lucky. At least you can still hold your baby.” And I went, “Huh? How come I can’t hold my kid anymore?” And the director said “Because we’re aging her to 16.” Surprise! The way I see it, this is a trial run for having a teenager in real life. [Grahn’s daughter Kate is 11.] I can go to work and get used to hearing that I’m an idiot and that everything is my fault! What could be bad?

Soap fans don’t bat an eye at this sort of thing anymore.

Remember when I was on Santa Barbara and they changed the actors playing Mason right in the middle of a scene? Terry Lester took a swing at somebody and fell down—when Mason got up off the floor the part was being played by Gordon Thomson. If the viewers can accept that, this Kristina thing is nothing. They’re going to age Molly [Alexis’ younger child], as well. They’ll probably make her 87 and age her backwards like Benjamin Button.

Back in the old days you would have stomped into [exec producer] Jill Phelps’ office and said “WTF?"

I so wouldn’t do that now. I no longer have any interest in that. [Laughs] They’ve beaten me down. I’m tamed.

You don’t care that Alexis doesn’t have a love interest?

Do I care? No. Would I like one? Yes. I loved working with Sebastian Roche [Jerry Jacks]. He was funny and charming but the writers made his character too bad… so there he went. I’m sorry about that. I don’t want my lack of a leading man to be because of my age. We have to keep in mind that much of our audience is my age and above. It’s important to promote the fact that women of a certain age have can have very interesting, fun, sexy lives. I don’t want to just be a TV mom.

What do you think of Deidre Hall and other Days of Our Lives vets getting the axe? Are you worried this could happen on your own show?

I don’t think they were let go because they weren’t popular. They were let go because they were paid too much. [Laughs] And that’s so not the case with me at General Hospital. I’m a cheap date. I’m worth more than what they pay me and that’s a good place to be. But…you never know.

The soaps have been good to you.

It wasn’t my intention to have a life in soaps. Before Santa Barbara, I was on quite a roll in primetime. I’d only intended to stay on that show for a year-and-a-half but the job lasted eight. Then came GH. I’m so glad I made the choice to stick with soaps because it’s been a great opportunity and a great life.

Besides, primetime success ain’t what it’s cracked up to be.

I have no regret about the decision I made. You can have a successful primetime series for five years and still find yourself out of work. It’s no guarantee. A while ago I was getting my nails done and I heard this other customer—an actress from primetime who’s maybe in her early forties—and she was saying to someone on her cell phone, “You know, things are so bad for me, I just might have to do soaps.” Like it was a last resort. Like she’d be slumming! I didn’t say anything. But I was thinking to myself, “You should be so lucky, bitch.”

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Cat Mentor

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I love that she loves Daytime and defends it so proudly! And how tongue-in-cheek she is over GH.

I also love the tribute she paid to Kali Rodriguez, who played Little Kristina. IMO, KR was one of the most talented child actors I have ever seen on soaps. She had little-to-no dialogue but was great. Especially when she saw Sam shoot Diego.

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Cat Mentor

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Nicolette Sheridan?

And your banner with the lovely Megan Ward reminds me of when Primetime actresses go to Daytime... and research their show using YouTube and whatnot and really get into, developing a new admiration for the genre.

Ward gave an interview a year ago about how she got the GH job and the work she did to prepare and adjust to its fast pace. She was very complimentary and modest, and her appreciation to be working in Daytime shone through. A class act.

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