Steve Burton is opening up about saying goodbye to Kelly Monaco‘s Sam McCall on General Hospital. After 20 years on the soap, Sam died from a heart attack after undergoing surgery to donate part of her liver to Lulu Spencer. In a recent episode of The Daily Drama Podcast, Burton admitted that he struggled during his preparation for Jason’s final scene with Sam.
“I was really at a loss in the sense of I wasn’t sure how to play this,” Burton 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.”
He eventually turned to his longtime costar and “mentor,” Maurice Benard, for help. Benard, aka Sonny Corinthos, gave Burton some sound advice about the heartbreaking scene.
“Whatever happens in there is supposed to happen. And that’s it. You don’t have to force anything. Just let it work,” Benard told Burton.
Burton said Sam’s sendoff was “heartbreaking” to film. He commended his costars for their performances in the wake of Sam’s death. “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 told his co-host Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).
The actor also revealed that he shot Jason and Sam’s hospital goodbye scene before the buildup to Sam’s death. “I had to shoot that stuff with her first and then go backward because we shot everything out of order, so those are my first scenes,” he disclosed.
He added, “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.”
What did you think of Jason’s goodbye to Sam? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
