General Hospital’s James Patrick Stuart Cracks Up Twitter With the Hilariously True Story of His First-Day Mistake: The Boss ‘Groaned’
Well, how could he have known?
On the sixth anniversary of his General Hospital debut on July 8, James Patrick Stuart shared with his Twitter followers an anecdote that left them ROFL. Some of us are still down chuckling, as a matter of fact.
Though the actor was a daytime veteran, having played All My Children’s villainous Will Cortlandt, and a primetime mainstay who’d appeared on everything from Frasier to 2 Broke Girls, his entrance wasn’t exactly flawless. “During rehearsal on my first day,” he admitted, executive producer Frank Valentini “hated the hat and asked me to lose it.”
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During rehearsal on my first day on GH. @valentinifrank hated the hat & asked me to lose it. On “ACTION”, I entered with gun drawn & proclaimed, “I’m Valentine Cassadeen!” There was an awkward silence then a voice yelled “CUT!” Frank groaned,”Nobody told him how to say his name?” https://t.co/QPV2Ty8Cmt
— James Patrick Stuart (@japastu) July 8, 2022
Not so bad so far, right? But wait. “On ‘Action,’” Stuart continued, “I entered with gun drawn and proclaimed, ‘I’m Valentine Cassadeen!’”
Crickets. “There was an awkward silence,” he recalled, “then a voice yelled, ‘Cut!’ Frank groaned,‘Nobody told him how to say his name?’”
In response to Stuart’s post, castmate Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) cracked that “I’ve been called worse” than Valentine Cassadeen. Several fans noted that back in the day, when Elizabeth Taylor had guest-starred as Helena, she’d had trouble with the name, too. And one pointed out that Robert “still pronounces Valentin as Valen-tin.”
Well..Robert STILL pronounces Valentin as Valen-TIN, so…ur not alone.😜👊 pic.twitter.com/hb6arzqxu3
— Anna’s best top/DRESS👊💖 (@Annasbesttop1) July 8, 2022
Despite that inauspicious beginning, Stuart of course went on to transform Valentine… sorry, Valentin… from a remorseless baddie into a soulful romantic lead. He’s so beloved these days that viewers don’t just accept him as a love interest for Anna, they clamored for the pairing!
The trick for the character will be continuing to walk the straight and narrow. Which under ordinary circumstances would be a piece of cake, especially considering how precious to him his new relationship is. Unfortunately, Daddy Dearest Victor has other plans for Valentin — and he’s not above using granddaughter Charlotte as a pawn in his game.
Heck, he’s not above much, come to think of it. Already, at his father’s behest, Valentin darn near poisoned Laura. So he’s a bit “stuck” at the moment, caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. While we wait to see whether he, perhaps with Anna’s help, can find a way out of his predicament…
… see how all of the Cassadines are related in the below photo gallery that climbs the branches of their family tree.
