General Hospital fans who always wished supervillains Helena Cassadine (Constance Towers) and James Franco's version of Franco could share the screen will have their fantasy situation come true, as the two actors have both been cast in Hulu's upcoming mini-series 11.22.63.
TV Insider reports that the Port Charles baddies play key roles in the Stephen King series, which revolves around the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy. Franco plays a modern-day English teacher who goes back in time to the 1960s to try to stop the horrific assassination, while Towers plays a character whose identity is being kept under wraps at this time to avoid a major plot spoiler. However, her thoughts on being part of the project haven't been kept secret, nor have her thoughts about working with her former GH costar, with whom she had never shared the screen until now.
"Leave it to Stephen King to bring us together!" Towers remarks with a laugh. "All my scenes in 11.22.63 are with James, so it was wonderful to finally connect. Even though GH never wrote a story for our characters, James knew we had the soap in common, and he right away asked me, 'What is Helena doing now?' And of course I had to say, 'She's dead. Again!'"
Considering Franco is in just about every scene, it's needless to say the two had the chance to bond. And Towers was very impressed with the Hollywood star. "It was so much fun talking soaps with James. He really enjoyed his time at GH. Nothing is unusual or off-limits for him. He's not just centered on being a movie star. Everything for him is an adventure, an opportunity, and I so admire that. He was so delightful!" she says, adding: "He has a wonderfully mysterious quality, just like the great movie stars of old Hollywood... The script called for James to dance with me, and when he looks at you with those eyes and flashes that smile, he sort of undresses you."
Now that we're all blushing, let's get down to business: the details about 11.22.63, and Towers' personal thoughts about the theory that Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, didn't act alone. "I was very caught up in all of that at the time and for several years after," she shares. "There have been so many books on the subject, and then Oliver Stone's JFK movie. It's hard to shake the feeling that there were indeed more people involved than just Oswald. There was talk of the Mafia and the C.I.A. being involved. And so many people connected with the assassination later died under strange and suspicious circumstances. There was a lot of smoke around that whole event, and where there's smoke..."
Catch Towers and Franco in the premiere of 11.22.63 on President's Day (Monday, February 15), only on Hulu. And for more from Towers, including her thoughts on whether or not Helena really has exited GH for good, check out her full TV Insider interview here.
What do you think about Towers and Franco sharing the screen for 11.22.63? Do you believe Helena is really dead? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
