All throughout the month of June, people across the nation honored Alzheimer's Awareness Month, and the people at General Hospital were no exception. The soap continued to go full speed ahead with its emotional storyline that has Sonny's father battling the devastating disease, leaving viewers from New York to Los Angeles reaching for Kleenex.
July will prove to be just as heartbreaking, with both Max Gail (Mike Corbin) and Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) set to play out more tearjerker scenes. And though Carly is currently removed from the drama (being locked in a mental institution has that effect), her portrayer, Laura Wright, has been front and center for most of the heartfelt storyline. As a result, the Alzheimer's saga has touched her heart in ways she never thought possible. Read on to find out how playing such a deeply personal story has affected her as well as some fun tidbits about Carly's adventures in the loony bin. Oh, and of course we got her take on the possibility of Morgan returning to the canvas, perhaps with a new actor playing the role. Don't miss her answer about that and much more below!
Soap Central: Fan response to the Alzheimer's storyline has been incredible. You've had people come up to you and share their personal stories, which I imagine must be both so wonderful and also difficult. How has that experience been for you, given that it's so personal for so many fans?
Laura Wright: Every time we do a fan event, this comes up. Everyone is dealing with it on some level, so the response has been incredible. The amount of people when we go to these events who stand up or have questions or come to us with tears in their eyes saying we're telling their story, it's incredible. They go on and on about how wonderful Max has been in the story. They're really affected by it. It's not your typical mob story or your story where something is happening in the hospital. It's a story that is happening in many homes in America. When you look at the statistics, it's in more homes than we realize. I think it has really affected people.
Soap Central: What has been your overall impression of the way General Hospital has chosen to tell this story? It could have been any character, any way. So how do you feel about what's been playing out?
Wright: I think it's important to tell it this way, because there is no upside of this disease -- except when we were able to have the party, when they turned the Metro Court into the old bar that Mike used to go to, and Mike was able to get up on stage and sing. It brought him so much joy, but then you saw the reality of what happens. If we tell this story with sunshine and flowers, people are going to be like, "That's not how it is." It's a painful story, and it's a painful reality. And yes, you have beautiful moments, but it's hard to watch your parent, your mother, your father, your family member, slip away, and to watch them know they're slipping away. I think it's also important that we tell the story of the caregivers, because the caregiver side is hugely important. The caregiver is a thankless job, you know? You're giving yourself completely to someone who doesn't know who you are or could be verbally abusive or non-accepting. And I think showing that is so important in telling the story as authentically as we can. It's very important. And I think it's great doing it with a character like Sonny, who is so in control and has everything together, and if he doesn't, he makes sure. But with this, he can't do anything but ride this wave on how it happens. And I think it's very important to tell that story with Maurice and the character of Sonny.
Soap Central: Maurice and Max's performances make viewers cry all the time. When you're acting alongside them in these emotional scenes, are you just as heartbroken as the audience is when we watch it?
Wright: Oh, yeah! Of course. Max works so hard, and he's just brilliant. He's so fun to play with and to act with. You get right in there, and he sells it, so it's hard not to lose it.
Soap Central: A lot of people have a connection to Alzheimer's, whether they know someone who's had it or have a loved one who suffers from the disease. Do you have a personal connection to Alzheimer's, as well?
Wright: My grandmother suffered from dementia and Alzheimer's. She lived in West Virginia when I was in my early twenties, when I moved to New York to be on Loving. So, when she was at that point, I wasn't around her as much as my aunt, who took care of her. But I know the stories, and I know my aunt physically did a lot of work to take care of my grandmother, who was angry a good deal of the time. And she didn't recognize my aunt almost one hundred percent of the time, either. So, I know the thankless job that it is. And unfortunately, people don't have the funds, so the patients have to go into homes, and the state-run facilities aren't always the best. I think that's why people are afraid [to put their family members there]. And the hospitals are expensive, too. And people feel awful to put their parents in a home, so they want to be the caretakers, and it's very difficult on families. I really admire the people that take care of their parents. It's amazing because it's a selfless job.
Soap Central: I know that you weren't the one that directly helped out with your grandmother, but you were still connected. Does having a personal connection like that make it easier to tell the story? Or more difficult?
Wright: It hasn't come into play for me. I'm 47, and that was when I was 22, so it doesn't come into play. And I wasn't around my grandmother very much at the end. She was in her nineties. Prior to her suffering from Alzheimer's, she was a funny, happy, wonderful woman. So that's what I really remember of her. So, it didn't come into play, because it wasn't part of my everyday life like it is with Carly. It's a very different experience.
Soap Central: Do you approach the work any differently when you know you're playing a story that has the power to resonate so much with fans or bring awareness to an issue?
Wright: I really don't look at it like that. I look at a script or a story, and I'm like, "Ooh, the fans are going to love this!" I usually see the big picture, how a story will affect the whole cast, but I don't ever think things like that. I mean, I can get affected by a story once I'm in it, like when Morgan (Bryan Craig) died in the car explosion. That was physically difficult and not the easiest story to tell once I was in it, because it was emotionally draining, and the scripts were so real. But no, I really... don't ever really look at things like that. We were talking about this yesterday at work; I don't pay attention to who's directing that day until I get to the set. I don't have any opinions, really, even negative, when I hear about my storylines. I'm like, "Ooohh, how can I kick ass in this? How can I bring this to life?" [Laughs] But as far as opinions about what fans will think or if it's going to touch people, I don't really [think about it]. I mean, I kind of knew that if you took away Morgan, I knew that fans would be blown away and it would be emotional, because I knew it was a story they could write powerfully. But usually, I just show up to work, do my job, and jump in with excitement. I really do. I'm that annoying person. I've been doing it for 27 years, and I'm always like, "Let's go! Let's make this happen."
Soap Central: Well, obviously it works because fans love you, and you always just light up the screen. So, I'd say stick to your method, because it's working!
Wright: [Laughs] Thank you.
Soap Central: Carly is a bit removed from the Alzheimer's storyline at the moment because she's been locked away in Ferncliff. I always get so excited when there's a mention of a mental institution on a soap opera because you just know fun stuff is ahead. Do you feel the same excitement when you see the mention of an insane asylum in your scripts?
Wright: Well, I started in Shadybrook for like two days, but that was a long time ago. I did get excited about this one, because I was the one put in the mental hospital. So, yeah, when I was told I was going to be committed to the mental hospital, I was like, "Yes! Bring it!" I love it. I love how they told the story, I had fun doing it. I'm still having fun and... I've gotten to work with actors I've never worked with before, and that's always a treat.
Soap Central: Nelle is really pulling the punches here, and I know Carly is a fighter through and through, but can you ever see her reaching a point where she gives up? Or do you think she'll always have that fire in her?
Wright: As long as she has children, she'll never give up. As long as she has her kids, she's got something to fight for. Michael and Josslyn, I mean, she has already lost one child, so she knows how important it is to fight and do everything it takes to keep them safe. She says that coming up. "When Morgan died, I knew something was wrong, and I did nothing and kept my mouth shut, because I was supposed to let him figure it out. And had I said something, he would still be here." So, there's no way she's keeping her mouth shut now. She's like, "I will scream at the top of my lungs all day long before I lose another kid."
Soap Central: Speaking of Morgan, obviously you could never replace Bryan Craig, but would you be open to a recast if it meant having the character back on-screen again? Some fans are hoping that the mystery patient at Ferncliff is him.
Wright: Yeah, I'd be open when they're ready to tell that story. It doesn't make sense now, though. I'm just a believer that it is going to happen when it should happen, and it should be a story told that has tons of attention, where it's focused, and it can't be lost. Right now, we're dealing with the Max and Sonny story, and Carly is in a mental hospital. If you brought Morgan back right now, it would be kind of squished in the middle of other things, and it would be lost. And I really think it should be around the sweeps or something like that, because there is story structure in how things are set up. But sure, I'm up for Bryan coming back, I'm up for a new person. Bryan chose to leave, he's doing great, and he is happy. So, if they wanted to bring back Morgan and had to recast, that's just life. I'm the fourth Carly, so clearly, I'm not going to be judgmental to anybody being replaced! [Laughs] This is what makes the world go around on daytime.
Soap Central: Is there anything else you want to add about the Alzheimer's storyline or anything else before I let you go?
Wright:Well I just think people should follow Maria Shriver on Twitter and really listen to what she has to say and follow and support her charities for mental illness [which include the Women's Alzheimer's Movement and Move for Minds events]. Women suffer from dementia and Alzheimer's far more than men, and they don't know why. They're doing tons of research, and it's scary. They have discovered that 20 to 30 years before you see the first symptoms, it's already in your brain. It's not something that you get and the next day you have symptoms; it actually comes 20 to 30 years before, and that's scary. And Maria is doing tons of work and raising money for research, so I think being aware of all the work that she is doing is very important.
For more information about Wright's work with Shriver, check out the Good Day L.A. interview she and Max Gail conducted with Shriver below.
June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month. For more information about Alzheimer's disease, visit the Alzheimer's Association's official website at alz.org.
What do you think about our interview with Laura Wright? How has the show's Alzheimer's storyline affected you? Who do you think is the mystery patient in Ferncliff? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below, on our message boards, or by submitting Feedback.
