Hennesy is starring as Diane Miller, a top-notch attorney, on the hit ABC daytime drama, General Hospital, for which she has earned an Emmy nomination for her role in 2010. “The General Hospital Emmy nomination was wonderful. Listen, an Emmy nomination is an Emmy nomination. Those are fun times,” she admitted.
When asked how she handles being dialogue-heavy, the veteran actress responded, “When the role began extending (weeks, months and years) with major monologues, I had to drill and drill. That particular muscle in my brain was not real strong. Now, it is much stronger.”
She praised fellow General Hospital cast-mate and Emmy winner Laura Wright for being a “miracle actress.” “Laura is letter perfect. She is punctuation perfect, every single take. I am in awe of her. She truly respects the writers,” she said.
This February, Hennesy will be starring in the horror indie movie St. Agatha as Mother Superior, which will be released via Uncork’d Entertainment. “That comes out on February 8. That is the antithesis of someone like Diane, who is straight-arrow and has a good moral compass,” she said. “Mother Superior is none of those things. The role is so extraordinary, and Darren Lynn Bousman is my director. She is dark, deep and tortured. I am thrilled to be a part of this film.”
She revealed that she has a few more projects coming up, which include The Swing of Things, which is a romantic comedy that is set in Jamaica, and she is fortunate to be voicing General Leia Organa in Lego Star Wars: All-Stars and Star Wars Resistance. “When you get to say ‘May the force be with you’ as Leia Organa you know you’ve made it,” she said, with yet another sweet laugh.
Hennesy co-starred in the Netflix miniseries Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life which is available for streaming. In addition, she starred in the TBS web series These People. On the big screen, her film credits include Legally Blonde 2, Terminator 3, and Click.
In 2017, Hennesy was the recipient of the Daytime Emmy award “Outstanding Guest Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series” for The Bay, which was an incredible experience for Hennesy.
Each day, the actress is motivated simply by waking up every day and doing what she loves for a living. “So few people on this planet can say that. I am so blessed that I knew what I wanted to do from the age of four, and I did it. That is a successful life,” she said.
The past two years, Hennesy has provided Facebook Live red carpet coverage at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards and the Daytime Emmy Awards respectively. “I love doing that. I think it’s so important for the fans since it’s not televised anymore, and they want to see their favorites on the red carpet,” she said. “We are like family to the fans. I am proud of the fact that I can bring their favorites to them from the red carpet of the Daytime Emmy awards.”
Aside from her acting work, Hennesy is also a best-selling author, entrepreneur and an animal welfarist; moreover, she is an enthusiastic trapeze artist. She is is an author of the Pandora book series for kids, as well as The Secret Life of Damian Spinelli, which made the New York Times Bestsellers List.
Speaking about trapeze, Hennesy shared that she would give the following advice to her 18-year-old self: “Start trapeze class earlier,” she said, with a sweet laugh. “It is so much fun. I would have been so much better if I started earlier. Also, don’t take yourself too seriously.”
For aspiring actors, she said, “It’s all about attitude. If you have a north-pointing moral compass and an attitude that you are not the most important person on that set, whatever set you are on, you will go far. The moment that you start thinking that you are the living end, that’s when you are starting your decline.”
Digital transformation of the entertainment business
On the impact of technology on the entertainment industry, especially with streaming services taking over, Hennesy said, “I love the streaming services. I really do. As an actor, there are more avenues and outlets for me to apply my trade and to work the craft.”
Hennesy also has her own app “I’m Just Sayin’,” which may be found in the iTunes App Store. “I really need to tend to it more than I do,” she said. “There are some really cool things coming out.”
When it comes to her scripts (especially for her role as Diane Miller), she noted that she uses hard copies as opposed to digital scripts. “I am old school,” she said.
Hennesy furnished her definition of the word success. “Success is doing what you want for a living, in conjunction with good health and tremendous friends. I am lucky to have all three things,” she said.
To learn more about Emmy award-winning actress Carolyn Hennesy, follow her on Twitter and on Instagram.
