Interview: Micheal Easton In TV Guide

Soap opera giant Micheal Easton brings his OLTL character John McBain to General Hospital. In an exclusive chat with TV Guide Magazine, Easton gives the lowdown on McBain's bad past with Sonny Corinthos and what GH plans to do about his own wicked history in Port Charles.

Michael Easton (John McBain, OLTL; ex-Caleb, PC) had the same reservations as most fans did about bringing some characters onto GH from another soap. He’s all for supporting soaps and playing out an exciting story promised him by executive producer Frank Valentini. But he didn’t want to do it at the expense of everything built by GH. 

“My biggest concern was that I didn't want to go to GH just to bait some of the OLTL audience. I didn't feel that was very valid or fair. It would just piss off the GH audience and disappoint the OLTL fans. There needs to be a really good reason why McBain is in Port Charles — something organic, not forced — and I think they came up with a good one.” 

Easton gave some spoiler insight about his place in Port Charles, including a checkered history with mob boss Sonny, a déjà-vu run-in with former Port Charles co-star Kelly Monaco (Sam; ex-Livvie, PC), and perhaps more history with more GH characters. John’s beef with Sonny will involve having lost a loved one because of the mobster’s actions, then an inability to do anything legal about it within the jurisdiction of FBI law and order.  

“It was one of those situations where the only way he could catch Sonny was to corrupt evidence or manufacture some and he couldn't find it in his heart to do that. So he had to bury it and let it go. So Sonny remained the one that got away, the big white whale. This time around, McBain is determined to see justice done one way or the other.” 

Going after Sonny won’t be easy for John. He’ll have to go through Dante, who seems to be running the show. He’ll also have to keep a closer eye on Starr who may be falling for Sonny’s son Michael.
Leaving OLTL proved heartbreaking for an actor not easily given to fleeting Hallmark sentiment. He described the process, leading up to a particularly odd end-of-show party.

 “I went to the wrap party and it seemed like everyone was medicated. It was kind of like that movie Westworld where everyone is walking around in a daze. And I really feel bad for the fans who were left with that false hope that something was going to happen. That's why I feel so strongly about this move to GH. We have to do everything possible to keep these soaps going.”  

So what happens to his life in Llanview? He's got his wife, Natalie, and a child back there. How will they address that?

 "They'll have their hands full trying to make that work because that baby was everything to McBain. I think they're waiting to see if my storyline works or not. For now they have him calling Natalie saying, "This is going to take longer than I expected." But they do need to deal with it since they have me tied up for quite a block of time."

Meaning a long term contract?

"Yeah, but you know how those things go. They can still drop me after six months. Who knows if this will end up lasting?"

 –TV Guide, March 5, 2012 interview with Michael Logan

(TVGUIDE)