Why A Martinez is Cheering General Hospital

It took a while for this soap superstar to find his groove, but now he's thrilled to be back!

Soap Opera Update, July 17, 2001

by Michael Maloney

Working with a talented cast and crew makes A Martinez a very happy GH camper.

    Getting shot is hardly a good thing.  Unless, of course, if happens to the character you're playing on a soap opera, which is exactly what happened to Emmy winner A Martinez recently.  Things had been a bit stagnant for his character, General Hospital's Roy DiLucca.  Roy was an ex-con who came to town to reconnect with his first love Bobbie Spencer.  His daughter Hannah was already in Port Charles, but no one knew it.  And although he was still in love with Bobbie, he played it cool -- almost too cool for the superstar hero that he played on Santa Barbara.

    Martinez was one-half of one of daytime's most beloved couples, Cruz and Eden.  And fans longed to see him swept away in a romance of that magnitude.  (Sadly, Eden's portrayer Marcy Walker is otherwise engaged in Pine Valley with Adam Chandler.)  So things weren't heating up as Martinez and his fans envisioned until...

 HE TAKES A BULLET

...Roy got shot, which incensed Bobbie, because he was defending old flame Melissa Bedford!  That bullet ignited the wrath of jealous squeeze Bobbie and brought on the fire for which Martinez had been looking.

    "For a while, there was almost a sense of Roy not having a story, per se," admits Martinez, who joined GH back in 1999.  "Roy and Bobbie had a series of events that they participated in, but we didn't do anything that had a thrust."  Not that the actor was complaining, mind you.  The veteran star realizes that storylines come in waves in the daytime medium.  "As long as the show was doing well, it's silly for any one actor to think that his or her lot should be changed.  There was wonderful stuff going on with the Quartermaines and Sonny and Carly."

MAKING MAGIC

    Roy (and Bobbie, too) took center stage earlier this year when the writers created the role of Melissa, the one woman who got to Roy while he was doing undercover work for the F.B.I  Moving Melissa to Port Charles, where she took a job at the hospital, set the stage for a dynamite triangle.  "It's a beautiful story," acknowledges Martinez, knowing that Roy will always feel responsible for the death of Melissa's brother, who died in prison after Roy's testimony helped convict him.  "There's something in the rhythm that speaks to the relationships of being true and having mattered."

    The casting of the brilliant actress and daytime soap hopper Jensen Buchanan (ex-Sarah, One Life to Live; Vicky/Marley, Another World/As the World Turns) has truly ensured the storyline's success.  "We really struck gold with Jensen," concurs Martinez.  "I had met her in New York City several years ago.  It was when  Jill (Farren Phelps, GH executive producer) was at the helm of Another World."

SOMETHING TO RANT ABOUT

    Martinez notes that Farren Phelps (with whom he first worked on Santa Barbara) has taken some unfair hits on the Internet -- and the actor isn't thrilled about the fact that some fans aren't giving her a chance.  "I've been biting my tongue, or rather keeping my fingers in my pocket and away from the keyboard, rather than going on the Internet to rant about it," shares Martinez, stating, "Jill's part of the solution, not the problem.  It's important that people understand that."

    The actor points out that Farren Phelps knows first-hand the great potential that GH has, since she was on the production team (as music supervisor) during the show's much-heralded time from the late '70s to the mid-'80s.  "Jill remembers the day (in 1981) that Elizabeth Taylor came on stage as Helena Cassadine," recounts Martinez.  "Jill quoted to us at a GH cast meeting last December about the time Tony (Geary, who plays Luke) stopped everyone and said, 'I'm working with Elizabeth Taylor!'  For many years, she regaled me with many stories of the greatness that was done here.  It had a lot to do with me wanting to be here."

    Martinez also gives kudos to new head-writer Megan McTavish.  "She's really good at knowing how to leave a show in a state where you just have to watch the next episode," observes the actor.  "I've recently heard from fans that they think that the show has taken on a nice energy as of late.  It's been a lot harder for people to say, 'Oh, I can miss a day.'"

    Fans of Martinez's Roy certainly shouldn't miss a day of GH watching.  There's not telling what will happen, such as the day that Roy was shot by the deranged gunman that took Melissa hostage.  "Director Bill Ludel did a wonderful job with the episode, " recalls Martinez.  "I had the opportunity to speak with the technical assistant and she explained to me how Roy being shot would unfold.  When people are hurt, the way that Roy was, they don't always register the pain right away.  It's only afterwards that the fear has passed that you start to actually take stock of what has happened to you."

Heating Up the Screen

    So even though Roy's daughter is off the show, don't think for one moment that Roy may be put on the back burner.  His story is just beginning to heat up all of our television screens.

    With Roy in the middle of a hot triangle with two of soapdom's favorite leading ladies, Bobbie and Melissa, played by daytime legends Jacklyn Zeman and Jensen Buchanan, plus a solid producing and writing team in place at GH, fans of Martinez can expect the actor to continue to shine even brighter as the rest of the year unfolds in Port Charles.  "I've been out and about in the field (at personal appearances) talking to fans, and it's obvious to me that they're more interested in Bobbie and Roy now than they have been in a long time," shares Martinez, adding that the optimism in the voices of the fans is echoed by positive feelings on the set.

    Along with his thrill at being reunited with Farren Phelps, Martinez has been reunited on air with another SB vet, Nancy Lee Grahn (Julia, now GH's Alexis).  "We had some great stuff over Alexis engaging Roy to find Zander and the whole thing blowing up," recalls Martinez.  "Nancy really gets it.  She's funny.  I love working with her."

    With a great cast and crew in place, Martinez is loving his job.  "It feels really good around here," he confesses with a big smile.  And despite what you may read on the Internet, the proof is in the pudding:  Check out the GH goings-on each day to see how wonderful and riveting the show truly is!

  Return to Interviews page