Nobody ever said being a soap star was easy (well actually, a lot of people outside the industry say it, but they're dead wrong, as daytime experts know), but General Hospital's Anthony Montgomery admits he goes the extra mile in playing his Port Charles alter ego, Dr. Andre Maddox.
"Man, I'm putting this college degree to use!" he says with a laugh about the consistent effort he puts in each day to make sure his GH character is the best he can be. "I'm actually making this work. It's obviously not just about going in to the set, grabbing the script and then making melodrama and doing all of that stuff. I [sometimes go] to bed at night at literally 3:30 in the morning, going through the stuff that we're shooting because emotionally, everything has to connect from one moment to the next."
Some might wonder why he goes so far out of his way when he's not a front burner Port Charles resident, but he says that's precisely why he gives the role so much of his energy.
"You don't see Andre very often, so whenever you do see him, it has to be poignant," he says. "Everything that happens has to happen for a reason. I'm not one of those actors, especially at the speed we have to shoot daytime, I can't show up and grab my script that day and then make all of those choices that are going to give him a solid through-line and actually give him the life that I need for him to have on-screen. So yeah, I have to put in a lot of work."
What do you think about the commitment Montgomery gives to playing GH's Andre? Do you think his hard work shows? 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.
