Exclusive Interview
‘General Hospital’s Kirsten Storms Reflects on Maxie’s Romances With Spinelli, Nathan & More
On May 23, Kirsten Storms will mark 20 years of playing General Hospital’s Maxie Jones, the eldest daughter of Frisco (Jack Wagner) and Felicia Jones (Kristina Wagner). Over those two decades, Maxie has experienced her fair share of romance.
Ahead of her milestone anniversary with the ABC soap, Storms is looking back on the many loves of her alter ego, from Jesse Beaudry (Matt Marraccini) to Damian Spinelli (Bradford Anderson).
“So many of them are dead,” she muses to Swooon. “Maxie is black widow-ish.” Scroll down to see the actress reflect on Maxie’s love life since she’s taken Port Charles by storm.
Which of Maxie’s romances is your favorite? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
General Hospital, Weekdays, ABC
Jesse Beaudry (Matt Marraccini)
“This was my first adult relationship on a soap because even Belle [Black, who she played on Days of Our Lives] and Shawn [Brady, Jason Cook] were still young loves, taken from teens to young adults. So Jesse [Matt Marraccini] was the first man Maxie dated. I remember both of us still trying to figure out what we were doing on the show. And then the character died.”
Lucky Spencer (Greg Vaughan)
“It was weird. I’ve known Greg [Vaughan] since I was, like, 14 or 15, and to me, back then, he was a grown up. So, that was a very interesting experience. Of course, I always thought Greg was a gorgeous guy, but that was a little strange for me. And the storyline was rough because of all the things Maxie was doing just to get him. So, that was a crazy time and questionable choices were made.”
Cooper Barrett (Jason Gerhardt)
“He was such a cutie and so kind. I was devastated when he was let go. There are times when you feel like, ‘Oh, this could actually be something if they had just given him a little more time to get comfortable.’ So, I was upset about that, because I felt like he had the potential to do really well on the show. But I loved working with him. He’s a good guy.”
Damian Spinelli (Bradford Anderson)
“I still enjoy working with him so much. We grew into the adult versions of our real selves together. I learned a lot about what I’m capable of, as far as comedy and stuff in a scene, and so much of that is thanks to him. Talk about being prepared as an actor. When you come to work, he has the most complicated dialogue of anyone I’ve ever worked with, and he’d show up with it memorized, which made it so much easier for us to figure out fun things to do in the scene because he knew what he was doing when he got there already, and he understood what he was saying, which blew my mind on another level. He made those scenes and that storyline so much easier and more fun for me, which is why, when they were talking about putting us back together, I was immediately like, ‘Yes!’ We’ll have days now where we’re like, ‘Oh, that kind of felt a little reminiscent to 10 years ago.’ I love working with him.”
Johnny Zacchara (Brandon Barash)
“I remember being super excited to have a makeout scene with him. We were good buddies. Even still, our banter is unlike anything else in my life, and we always had that. If someone had told me then that I was going to have the most amazing, kind and beautiful girl with him [their daughter, Harper Rose Barash, who was born on January 7, 2014, and played Georgie Spinelli], I would have been like, ‘Shut up. No way that’s happening. Brandon [Barash]? Really?’ I never would have guessed, and if I’m thankful for anything that came out of GH, obviously, it’s that I got Harper.”
Franco (James Franco)
“I was very excited to work with him. I thought he was interesting and unique and his authentic self, if you will. I loved that he was honest about his nerves. He didn’t walk in as the movie star James Franco. He walked in as somebody who wanted to learn about how we do things and then was honest about being overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we had to do. And he was humble. He was great to work with. I was nervous to work with him, but it was a great experience.”
Matt Hunter (Jason Cook)
“It was great working with him for a second time. I think that some of what we had at DAYS was lost in our GH pairing, but I was so happy to see him and catch up with him again and stuff.”
Levi Dunkleman (Zachary Garred)
“He’s doing well for himself now, and I’m not surprised. He was another truly kind individual. It is a coin toss when you work with a male actor who’s really attractive if he’s going to be kind and genuine, or knows he’s really attractive, and I feel like GH has gotten so many guys who just were so great to be around and kind and thankful for their jobs and stuff. So, Zach is on that list for me.”
Nathan West (Ryan Paevey)
“I still talk to Ryan [Paevey] occasionally, just over social media or text. That’s very few and far between, but I’ll catch up with him and stuff. We had times where we really got along, and then there were times I think I annoyed him like a little sister kind of, and those moments only helped our onscreen chemistry, like, the tension, I guess. I always laughed with him, and I enjoyed being around him. And I think that’s one of the best, on a non-humor level, romantic storylines I’ve been able to play with somebody.”
Peter August (Wes Ramsey)
“I’ve never worked with someone who’s Juilliard trained. I learned a lot from him, and he made me want to show up more prepared and gave me a different way to think about things. He’s very kind and I just adore him.”
