General Hospital star Steve Burton says he was “very sad” filming Kelly Monaco’s exit from the show.
Burton, 54, recalled his last moments with his longtime costar on the Friday, November 1, episode of his podcast “The Daily Drama.”
“I was really at a loss in the sense of I wasn’t sure how to play this,” the actor said. “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.”
Burton, who plays Jason Morgan on the ABC soap, first shared the screen with Monaco, 48, in 2003, when she made her series debut as Sam McCall, and the two characters had a longtime on and off love affair before calling it quits for good. News broke in August, however, that Monaco would be leaving the show and her final episode — where Sam was killed off — aired earlier this month.
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Burton and Monaco filmed a scene together in the hospital, with Jason saying goodbye to Sam before her death. “I had to shoot that stuff with her first and then go backward,” Burton recalled on his podcast.
In his recollection, “It was very sad because Kelly was obviously leaving, and then the emotion of the character passing and all these things, and I just thought everybody really did a wonderful job,” he continued, adding, “It was really interesting to have gotten all that emotion out and then have to go back. I know people in movies do this all the time, but as an actor, it’s not your favorite thing to do.”
Burton’s costar Maurice Benard, who portrays Sonny Corinthos, offered Burton some helpful advice before cameras rolled.
“You don’t have to force anything,” Benard told Burton. “Just let it work.”
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He advised that “whatever happens in there is supposed to happen” and to be in the present.
While Monaco had been a fixture on General Hospital for 11 years, Us Weekly confirmed earlier this year that she would be exiting the long-running series. In late September, Monaco addressed her departure in a since-deleted Instagram comment on a Soap Hub post after one user referred to the actress as “monotone, had no primary roles and just boring.”
‘No primary role’.. do your homework,” Monaco replied. “When Billy Miller was fired, Sam’s storyline stopped. Stripping Sam of every characteristic she had. Something I worked for decades to build… Slowly dismantling her, into a character that I did not recognize, let alone the audience. Call it what you will… retaliation at it [sic] finest. I will give a proper statement. The truth will set you free.”
General Hospital airs weekdays at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.
