Actor Walt Willey chatted about “General Hospital” on ABC, and his upcoming fan event at Governor’s in Levittown on Long Island.
Willey is known for his longtime portrayal of the character Jackson Montgomery on the defunct daytime drama “All My Children,” which he played from 1987 to 2011.
Joining the ‘General Hospital’ family on ABC
Most recently, he reprised the same role on the ABC soap opera “General Hospital.”
“I was honored that ‘General Hospital’ called,” he acknowledged. “That was really nice of them. I felt great that they thought enough of my character and my portrayal of him that they wanted to bring him back from the larger population of ABC daytime,” he said.
“It was great that they brought Kassie DePaiva back too, I just love her,” he said.
Playing Jackson Montgomery on ‘General Hospital’
“Getting to play Jackson is a lot of fun,” he said. “Even though, now, it is a different business than it was 12 years ago. Also, the sheer amount of work that they do on ‘General Hospital’ is noteworthy.”
“Back in my ‘All My Children’ days, a big day for us would be 65 items of dialogue. Now, every day on ‘General Hospital’ seems like 85 to 90 items of work,” he recalled.
“I enjoy it. I’ve never felt more welcomed and taken care of on a set before. People were excited that I was there, and frankly, that was a great feeling. Every time that I went on set, the show turned out really well,” he added.
Dialogue-heavy on the show
When asked how he handles being dialogue-heavy, Willey said with a sweet laugh, “I’m still not sure how I handle it… it is definitely interesting.”
The digital age
On being an actor in the digital age, Willey said, “I’ve tried to keep up with social media across time. I’ve used it for promotional reasons from the start. The work is the same.
“Also, I really do enjoy speaking with the fans, I always have, and I’m not sure if that is healthy or unhealthy. I’ve always felt that I’ve wanted to be somewhat accessible to the fans. I try to keep myself current,” he added.
Governor’s Comedy Club fan event
On October 22, Willey is looking forward to participating in his own Coastal Entertainment soap fan event at Governor’s Comedy Club in Levittown on Long Island. This will feature comedy, a Q & A session with the fans, meet and greets, photo ops and autographs.
“I am very excited about that one,” he admitted. “I’ve always had a great time doing fan events there.”
On the day prior, on October 21, Willey will be a part of a private fan dinner in Astoria, New York.
Stage of his life
Regarding the title of the current chapter of his life, Willey said, “Revival and Reassessment.”
Success
Willey defined the word success simply as “being able to do art every day.”
Fans
For his fans, Willey expressed, “The fans have supported me for the last 40 years (nearly), and I really do appreciate all of the love and support that they have given me all of this time.”
To learn more about veteran actor Walt Willey, follow him on Instagram, and check out his IMDb page.
