GH: Classic Thread

[slick jones]

If Tom were to be an entity, which he won't unfortunately, I might suggest Michael Park.  For Tom, Jr.   maybe Nathan Owens.   Of course, that's in an alternative universe

[amybrickwallace]

Those are great ideas. Though of course, if Michael Park were to be cast on GH in any role it would be inevitable that he'd be paired up again with Maura West.

[Liberty City]

I agree and disagree with this: Michael Park received some very well-done pairings on As the World Turns in terms of actors. And I know Laura Wright even stated she'd love to see Park on General Hospital. I think if he did do another soap it would be a guest-stint, and nothing major.

[amybrickwallace]

Good points. Didn't he once say that musical theatre is his main passion? 

[titan1978]

I think Park would make a great Tom Hardy.  And I am only really for Tom coming back if the show is going to invest in Tommy as well.  They missed a perfect opportunity to utilize that family line when they decided to copy Grey’s Anatomy with their already cooking Sopranos recipe when Patrick, Robin, and the rest of the hospital characters were being used prominently again.

[amybrickwallace]

Agreed. It would also be nice if they developed a bond between Tom and his adopted cousin, Scotty Baldwin.

[slick jones]

No one asked you

 

[Liberty City]

Yes. Plus, he's doing a lot of Netflix series, too. I think it mainly comes down to him being predominately on the east coast.

[FrenchBug82]

It is probably inevitable they'd try to see whether MW/MP magic would work again but GH hosted one of the most infamous chemistry-on-one-show-does-not-always-translate-with-different-characters-on-another when they tried to reunite MBE and Stephen Nichols so while this was ages ago, I'd think the lesson would have been learned - by them and any other soap executive - by now that a chemical reaction requires the exact same ingredients to be reproduced and one of those ingredients are the characters that were played. 
Same actors, different characters almost never ever work. Even on the same show (see on current Days Jake/Gabi vs Stefan/Gabi)

[Liberty City]

Well, they even tried it recently with Jason Cook and Kirsten Storms, and even that did not feel the same.

[titan1978]

Katherine was ill defined in every relationship on the show except for Lucy.  I like MBE, but Stefan was very well defined and the Laura obsession made any of his relationships pointless.

[Forever8]

The chemistry wasn't there anymore as Maxie and Matt. 

I think Michael Park would be a good recast for Tom Hardy too. But the man is booked and busy with Netflix and HBO. I do agree Tom/Simone/Tommy/Jeff all need to be on canvas some point soon. I can see Grant Aleksander as Tom Hardy. Though I think he is mainly on the East Coast too. 

My choice for Tommy would be Robert Ri'chard  but Nathan Owens would be a decent  too. And my ideal choice for Simone would be Amelia Marshall. She doesn't have to be on contract. But I just remember she is on the East Coast too though she might be willing appear if it is a substantial role. 

Edited July 10, 2021 by Forever8

[Vee]

Grant Aleksander is also too old AFAIC. Michael Park is on the edge. You can scale down a bit on the age from Ashford and no one's gonna care. Tom was a little boy in the early '80s and his son can be in his 20s or early 30s.

Back on topic, I still don't know how Katherine lasted so many years after her intro story with Scott was, AFAIK, a flop before 1994 even rolled around. I always liked Mary Beth Evans, though. She always played the role to the hilt even in inconsequential or bad storylines - she was not doing Kayla.

Edited July 10, 2021 by Vee

[amybrickwallace]

I actually first saw MBE as Katherine. She did a really good job selling the dark sides of the character, and of course every Katherine/Lucy scene was a treat.

As far as love interests go, I remember her and Stefan, of course. I think she and Mac were engaged at some point. Wasn't she also with Tom?

[Liberty City]

Grant Aleksander is one-year younger than Matthew Ashford, though, whereas Michael Park is nine-years younger than Ashford.

I'm going to throw out this idea for a Tom recast: Todd McKee (ex-Ted, SB; ex-Jake, B&B). He's a bit younger than Ashford, but, still relatively close to the age. Though, he seems to be happy in his career as a financial advisor.

As for Tommy, what about Brooks Darnell (ex-Nate, Y&R)? I don't know if he's in the age bracket, but I remember enjoying him in the role of Nate. Simone should be back as a recurring player. And I also thought of the roles of Harrison Davis and Meg Lawson.