GENERAL HOSPITAL'S MICHAEL EASTON RECALLS EMOTIONAL LAST DAY ON SET WHERE HE SAT IN HIS DRESSING ROOM 'IN THE DARK'

"It was a very humbling experience those last few weeks," Easton said

Michael Easton is remembering his last goodbye to General Hospital after 12 years on the show.

The actor, 57, opened up to Soap Opera Digest about his character being written off General Hospital and his final day of filming. After learning his character Finn, who he has been playing since 2016, would not be returning to the series, Easton said carrying on those last few weeks was “very raw and very draining.”

“You do have to remove your ego from it and realize you have a job to do,” he told the outlet. “Every day was emotional, because every day was not only doing the work, it was also [saying] good-bye. I had such a hard time saying goodbye to Jane Elliot and to Josh [Swickard] and Becky [Herbst] and everybody that I had come in contact with, so everything was difficult.”

Easton continued, “And it happened so fast. I do appreciate the writers giving me so much material going out the door, but from an actor standpoint, I would like to have had just a little more time to add a little more subtlety and a little more nuance to it.”

Related: Michael Easton Says Farewell to General Hospital After 10 Years: 'I've Loved Every Minute'

The series vet admitted that it was hard for him to want to put in the work knowing Finn was reaching his departure, but he decided “investing more” into his character to give him a good ending was important.

“I really wanted to make it work, so my thinking was, [Finn’s exit] had to go beyond alcoholism,” he explained. “Addiction and things like that, I kind of know a lot about that, but to get where I needed to go, it had to be almost a complete emotional break.” 

Through connecting to the emotions his character would have been feeling, Easton said he had to find “truth” in the situation Finn found himself in. This included being able to “cleanse yourself of any feelings” to fully commit to the role.

“It was raw for me, and it was humbling, but it also felt good,” he said. “I felt like I left everything out there.”

Related: Michael Easton Says He Was Holding One Life to Live Costar Kamar de los Reyes' Hand When He Died

When it came to his final day on set, Easton said he shot with Swickard, who plays Chase, “at the end of the night” outside. He confessed that the moment felt emotional for him.

“I have such an affinity for Josh,” Easton said. “He’s a beautiful human being, ridiculously kind. There weren’t a lot of people there; it was a very small crew and Josh and me, so he gave me a big hug and I got to hug all the crew, and I was able to hold it in and not shed any tears.”

He continued: “After we were done, I just sat in my dressing room for about 45 minutes in the dark. Everybody went home and they basically had turned the lights off — I was worried they were going to change my locks on my door before I got out and take away my security pass.”

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When he was getting ready to head home, Easton revealed he pulled out his phone and made the announcement of his departure, which he posted on Instagram last week.

Easton said he initially was going to keep it private until the show aired the next day, but he felt like the fans deserved to see his vulnerability.

“I had already been very humbled that week,” he said. “It was a very humbling experience those last few weeks. I was pretty drained and down, and I thought, ‘Hey, let’s just share this. Just be raw, live without a net.’”

General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC (check local listings).

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2024-07-03T18:30:54Z dg43tfdfdgfd