Veteran actor Gregory Harrison sat down and chatted about “General Hospital,” his acting career, and the digital age.
He is known for his iconic portrayal of Dr. George Alonzo “Gonzo” Gates in “Trapper John, M.D.” as well as Joe O’Toole, the father of Oliver, in the Hallmark Channel’s “Signed, Sealed and Delivered.” The fans of the latter series are affectionately known as the POstables.
‘General Hospital’
In “General Hospital,” he plays the role of Gregory Chase, the father of Dr. Hamilton Finn (Michael Easton) and Detective Harrison Chase (Josh Swickard). “Michael Easton plays my older son and I am having a great time,” he said.
“I love Josh,” he admitted. “Josh is the best. There is nobody in Hollywood that is a better-looking couple than Josh and his beautiful wife, Lauren.”
“When I first started ‘General Hospital’ 14 months ago, it was supposed to be a 10-show arc, and the first people I worked with were Michael and Josh and I was terrified due to all those pages of dialogue, I didn’t know how to pull it off,” he said.
“I had heard rumors of how insane the page count was each day but they were so cool and so relaxed, and they just made me feel like it was all possible. I was able to blend in with their vibe, I survived the first week, and after that, it was fun,” he elaborated.
“The biggest trick was discipline and doing your homework each night,” he added.
Harrison had great words about working with Kim Delaney. “Kim is great,” he admitted. “I have known Kim for a long time, she’s the best. I remember shooting ‘One Tree Hill’ when she was filming ‘Army Wives’ not too far away so we would bump into each other a lot. Kim is amazing.”
On the title of the current chapter of his life, Harrison responded, “So far so good.” “That’s my favorite saying, it’s optimistic and it says that I have been around and there is more to come,” he said.
The digital age
On being an actor in the digital age, Harrison said, “I gave up years ago trying to keep up with technology. When I started, there were three networks, that was it. The world is so much more complicated now. The entertainment industry is so much more diversified and complicated that I don’t fight it. I’ve learned to let go and to not try to control it.”
“There are many more shows being made, many more venues, and networks for entertainment and niches that need filming. It is much easier these days, you can make a web series and anyone can become a filmmaker. Now, everybody wants to throw their hat in the ring and get in the game,” he added.
RomaDrama in West Palm Beach, Florida
From June 24 to 26, he was a part of RomaDrama Live! in West Palm Beach, Florida. “I love it,” he said. “The series that I have been involved in for the past seven years ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’ has a big contingent of their fans that came down here so that has been fun. Many of them are great ‘General Hospital’ fans so there’s double the excitement.”
Success
On his definition of success, Harrison said, “Peace of mind.”
For his fans, he concluded, “I am so grateful for them. I wanted to be an actor since I was 20 years old, and do this process that I was falling in love with. I am not interested in results as much as the process. I never wanted to sit in an office or do a 9 to 5 job, I wanted to act and do creative work. I dreamt of that possibility at 20, and now at 72, I am doing exactly what I dreamt of back then. All I am doing is living with gratitude.”
