Emmy award-winning actress Maura West sat down and chatted prior to the “General Hospital” Fantasy event that took place in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey.
Track and field legend Wilma Rudolph once said: “Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.” Maura West is an actress, woman, and storyteller, that exemplifies this wise quotation.
A native of Springfield, Massachusetts, she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree from Boston University. In baseball, she is a huge fan of the New York Yankees.
West originated the role of Ava Jerome on the ABC daytime drama “General Hospital” back in the spring of 2013. Prior to joining the cast of “General Hospital,” West was best known for her 15-year portrayal of Carly Snyder on the defunct CBS soap opera “As The World Turns.” West currently resides in Los Angeles, California, with her husband and their children.
For her powerful acting performances in the daytime drama world, West is a three-time Daytime Emmy winner for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series,” two of these accolades were for playing Carly Snyder on “As The World Turns,” and she also won once for playing Ava Jerome back in 2015.
Portraying Ava Jerome
Her character Ava is the owner of Port Charles’ most well-known art gallery. Ava and her late brother, Julian Jerome (played by William deVry), are the children of the infamous mob boss Victor Jerome. Ava is also the mother of two daughters: Avery Corinthos and the late Kiki Jerome. Ava is now married to Nikolas Cassadine (played by Marcus Coloma).
She went on to praise Marcus Coloma for being one of her all-time favorite on-screen love interests.
“What I love most about playing Ava is that she is a complete mash-up of everything,” she said.
“Ava is extremely feminine on one hand but she has these masculine elements that she is not afraid to bring out. Ava can do anything: she can play with Avery and you believe it, and she can shoot Connie [Falconeri] and you believe it. Ava is just capable of anything and it’s very fun to play a character like that,” she elaborated.
West acknowledged that she “does not mind” playing such a villainous character as Ava.
When asked how she handles being dialogue-heavy (where she has to churn out 40 to 80 pages of script a day), West explained, “First of all, I am very grateful because I love Ava. Everybody knows how much I love her. When Ava gets to talk, I say ‘thank God’ because she gets to say her side of every story. I also have all these little minions at home, and I pay them three dollars to run lines with me.”
“I actually prefer days when I am at work and I am dialogue-heavy with long scenes and a lot of dialogue. I find those easier to learn, prepare for and perform than a big group scene when you are chiming in something. I absolutely love that. It makes things juicier,” West said.
West subsequently revealed that the best advice that she was ever given was “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” which is commonly known as the “Golden Rule.” “That is super important,” she said.
Working with the younger actors on the show
She had great words about working with the younger actors on the show such as Avery Kristen Pohl (Esme Prince), Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Spencer Cassadine), and Tabyana Ali (new Trina Robinson).
“I love working with these younger actors,” she admitted. “I have some kids that are that age, and I love it. My daughter Kate, who is 20 years old, is one of the best actresses I’ve ever seen. I continue to learn to be a better actor all the time, and I can learn from young people too.”
The digital age
On being an actress in the digital age, she said, “What I like about it is that there seems to be a lot more work for people. There are so many more opportunities and that’s not only great for actors but for other people as well. There is more work even though the pay may be less for projects on the streaming platforms.”
Upcoming Zoom fan event with Michael Park
West is looking forward to the forthcoming Zoom fan event with Michael Park on July 24th, which is produced by Coastal Entertainment. “Michael Park is still one of the dearest people in my life and he always will be,” she said. “Any time that I get to chat with him is awesome.”
For more information on this Zoom event featuring Maura West and Michael Park in July, click here.
Career-defining moments
When asked if there were any moments in her career that helped define her, West remarked, “being open to absorbing the greatness that was around me, especially in ‘As The World Turns’ with Don Hastings and Larry Bryggman, and watching them how they navigated their jobs, their scenes, and their world. That helped define me as an artist.”
On the greatest lesson that acting has ever taught her, Maura West responded, “Humility.”
Dream acting partners
West listed Oscar winner Olivia Colman, CBE, (“The Favourite”) as her dream acting partner in the entertainment business. “Olivia is on my mind because I just saw a film of hers yesterday. Olivia is just magnificent,” West said.
Advice for hopefuls in entertainment
For young and aspiring actors, she encouraged them to do some plays and theatre. “Study theater, that’s where you learn the craft and that’s where you get the tools,” she said.
Motherhood and acting
On juggling motherhood and an acting career, West shared, “All I can say is that I do the best that I can. I keep my face above water.”
Superpower
If she were to have any superpower, she revealed that it would be “invisibility.” “I loved wearing the mask during COVID,” she said. “It’s not about being recognized, there is just a sense of privacy that I really like.”
Success
For West, the word success means “a happy home.” “Success as an actor can be very fleeting,” West shared. “I think success as a human being is much more important.”
In her personal life, success means being in a lengthy marriage and co-parenting her five children, who are “extraordinary human beings.” “Those are my greatest successes,” she said.
Fans
West expressed her appreciation for her loyal fans. “I hope the fans know how grateful I am to them,” she said. “These include fans of my work when I was a kid, fans of my work on ‘As The World Turns,’ all the way up to ‘General Hospital.’ The fans mean everything to me. They are just incredible, they are the best fans in the world,” she said.
“This genre has the best fans in the world, and everybody knows that. We love them,” she underscored.
Speaking of soap opera fans, West participated in the “General Hospital” fan event on Sunday, June 5, in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, where she was joined by her co-stars Marcus Coloma, Brook Kerr, Johnny Wactor, Donnell Turner, and soap vet John J. York. A review of this event may be found by clicking here.
Later this year, West will also be a part of the “General Hospital” Fantasy events on Long Island, New York (on October 29), and Andover, Massachusetts (on October 30). On November 20, West will also be in Orlando, Florida, once again excited to meet her daytime fans.
To learn more about Emmy award-winning actress Maura West, check out her IMDb page, and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
For more information on “General Hospital,” check out the official ABC homepage.
