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Chatting with actress Kelly Thiebaud of ‘General Hospital’

Actress Kelly Thiebaud of “General Hospital” spoke about her upcoming in-person and online fan events, and playing Britt Westbourne on the show.

Kelly Thiebaud
Kelly Thiebaud. Photo Credit: ABC, Craig Sjodin
Kelly Thiebaud. Photo Credit: ABC, Craig Sjodin

Actress Kelly Thiebaud of “General Hospital” chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos about her upcoming in-person and online fan events, and playing Britt Westbourne on the show.

Kelly Thiebaud as Dr. Britt Westbourne

She portrays Dr. Britt Westbourne in the hit ABC daytime drama “General Hospital.” “There is so much to love about my character Britt,” she said. “The show gives me a lot of flexibility with how I play things. They really let me tap into my own goofy side and my sense of humor and they allow me to bring that to the show, and that is unique, fun, and different to Britt.”

“When I first started, Britt was so wild and so out there, and uncontrolled, and that was really fun to play. It was fun to explore the weird sides of my character’s personality, and it was fun to watch it all unravel,” she said.

“I am enjoying this new softer side of her but I do hope there is a little bit of naughtiness or edginess that comes out occasionally from her, and if anyone can do that it’s Britt. Hopefully, we get to see some of that again,” she added.

In the show, her character has been a part of the Huntington’s disease storyline, which is a rare, inherited disease that causes the progressive breakdown (degeneration) of nerve cells in the brain. Huntington’s disease has a broad impact on a person’s functional abilities and usually results in movement, thinking (cognitive), and psychiatric disorders.

Dialogue-heavy

When asked how she handles being dialogue-heavy on the ABC soap opera, she said, “Sometimes, the dialogue is a lot and overwhelming at first but you have to get through it. You have to start, it’s part of the job, and hopefully, you have great writers because that helps you absorb the words and that helps you understand the story.”

“Over time, being on the show, my brain muscles have really adjusted to absorbing dialogue,” she added.

The digital age

On being an actress in the digital age, Thiebaud said, “It doesn’t feel any different except as an actor looking for a job, you see all of these opportunities everywhere, which is great. There is also so much more content these days. Our show isn’t really affected by that, with the exception that we are on Hulu so people have more access to watching our show, which is really great.”

“It’s awesome. I support all of the ways that viewers and fans can watch our show. AB and Disney have done such a great job in keeping things consistent,” she added.

Fan events

Thiebaud will be a part of the General Hospital Fantasy events that will take place on April 9 and 10 in Arlington, Virginia, and Raleigh, North Carolina, respectively. She will also partake in the May 1st fan event in Chicago, Illinois. “I am so excited. It has been a while since I have done fan events. It will be great to get back out there and it is so exciting. They will be so much fun,” she said.

On May 15, Thiebaud will be participating in a virtual fan event for Fantasy Events Inc. with “General Hospital” co-star Parry Shen. To learn more about this Zoom fan event, click here. “I am excited about that too. Parry and I just did a BFF interview for Soap Opera Digest yesterday and it gave me some insights on how he and I are going to be on this Zoom,” she said.

Thiebaud had great words about working with such “General Hospital” co-stars as Steve Burton (Jason Morgan), Kathleen Gati (Dr. Liesl Obrecht), Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Spencer Cassadine), Cameron Mathison (Drew Cain), Josh Murray (Russel, Drew’s prison guard). “It was amazing to work with Steve, I miss him. Kathleen Gati is the best, and I love Nicholas, he has been killing it as Spencer,” she said. “It was fun working with Cameron Mathison, I don’t know what took so long for us to work together after the tunnel collapse, and Josh was great as Drew’s guard, he is a really nice guy.”

Advice for hopefuls

For young and aspiring actors, Thiebaud said, “Make sure thing is something that you really want to do. It’s a brutal but awesome business to be a part of. It will take time and it will take endurance. It will take effort and a lot of hard work, and you have to love it.”

On the title of the current chapter of her life, Thiebaud responded, “Beautifully Unexpected.”

If she were to have any superpower, she revealed that it would be to “fly.” “I will never understand what that’s like, and it looks so fun,” she admitted. “When you are watching the birds, it looks incredible.”

Regarding her definition of the word success, Thiebaud said, “Being able to pay your bills is a part of that word, but the most important aspect is to be happy. Success, for me, is fulfillment and happiness.”

For her fans, she concluded, “I love them. I love reading their tweets and messages on Instagram. Although I can’t respond to all of them, I do read everything. I handle all of my socials myself and I see all of the fan love and support, and it means so much to me. The fans have been so kind and amazing even when I left the first time around, they were supportive of my journey moving forward, and they supported me coming back, and they have just been great.”

To learn more about actress Kelly Thiebaud, follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

Markos Papadatos
Written By

Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 20,000 original articles over the past 18 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a 16-time "Best of Long Island" winner, where for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022), he was honored as the "Best Long Island Personality" in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.

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