Non-MX Interviews: Michael Easton (8/13 The Examiner)
The Examiner 8/1/13: Michael Easton
Interview: 'General Hospital': Michael Easton talks Credence, John McBain, Silas
By: Phyllis Thomas August 1, 2013
Creating characters as an actor has always been a part of Michael Easton’s life. He has created many memorable characters over the years on popular soap operas “Port Charles,” “One Life to Live” and “General Hospital.”
Now he follows up his graphic novel “Soul Stealer,” with his new graphic novel “Credence.” In “Credence,” Easton creates Danny Credence, a New York City cop who's live is a mix of gritty everyday crime. Some of the stories in "Credence" were inspired by some real life crimes that have played out in New York City.
Daytime TV Examiner caught up with Easton to talk about the new novel and also to chat about his new GH character Silas.
Check out my interview with Easton below:
Phyllis: Tell me about your new graphic novel “Credence.” What was inspiration for the character? Is he anything like [your “One Life to Live” and “General Hospital” character] John McBain? I ask because of the detective angle.
Michael: It’s about a New York city cop and some of what motivated me or inspired me to do it was I did a few a ride-a-longs when I was in New York before I started playing McBain just to get a feel for it. Some of the things I saw and some of the guys I became friendly with told me some other stories and a lot of them were notorious stories. Guys they knew back in the day, and I thought this would make a great story. So there is definitely a cross over element there.
Phyllis: How long did it take and was it something you were always thinking about?
Michael: It took me about a year to write it and it took about three years to illustrate it so we’ve been working on it for about four years now. These are our preview copies here at the Con and it will come out in October.
Phyllis: Do you go to different Cons, meet fans? How do you promote the book?
Michael: It’s nice to be at the Cons because often times they’ll pick up the book one day and red it that night and give instant feedback the next day. It’s almost like being on stage. You don’t have to wait months in advance. I usually hand out a card to people who read the book. I just like to hear what people think of it and I’ll get back to you right away. You get a real instant reaction that I find at the Cons. It’s pretty much the way we do it.
Phyllis: I know you have a lot of soap fans who know you from “Port Charles,” “One Life to Live” and now “General Hospital.” Do you think the fans here are any different than soap fans or are they similar? Talk about the fandom.
Michael: Although, it’s Comic-Con, it’s a big pop culture event. I’ll get people coming by with old copies of “Total Recall 2070” and “BR5” and “Two”. ..things I’ve never ever seen before, bootleg copies of BR5 from Hong Kong, so I sign those. Some people don’t know you do the soap opera; some soap fans didn’t know you do this and they get turned onto it. It’s a nice cross over. I think the fans are equally…they have a great energy and they’re very passionate. And, hey I’m a fan too. We saw some of the “Games of Thrones” people in our hotel and I was totally star struck. So I’m a fan. It’s just like...it’s kind of a mutual thing just being here. It’s nice to be around people who are excited about their literature and their comic books and their films and their television.
It’s pretty good. I think the fans mesh pretty well together. I was telling a story earlier. Last year I was at Comic con and I was in the bathroom. This guy in a full Boba Fett costume was in the urinal next to me. He looks over and says, “Are you the soap guy? And I say, ‘yeah, I guess…’” and he goes, “Man your fans are crazy!” Anyway, I thought that was pretty funny coming from a guy in a full Boba Fett costume.
Phyllis: So now that “Credence” is done, will it be just the one book or will there be a series down the line?
Michael: I’ve mapped out another book. I’ve got to refuel. We’ve been working on this, remember these are preview copies; we were working on this right up until last month. I think I’ll power down for a little while and then I’ll come back and hopefully hit it. Apparently we have people asking us about doing another “Soul Stealer” so Chris (Shy) and I are talking about doing that. One of the reasons we are here to get together is he lives in Wisconsin. One of the things we are going to do is take a couple of hours to map out what we do next. So it’s exciting.
Phyllis: Do you have other ideas in your head? I know you are also a screenwriter. Is it hard to write while shooting “General Hospital?”
Michael: It’s nice. The schedule at "General Hospital" and the way things are sometimes, it’s like feast or famine. Sometimes you’re working a lot and sometimes you’re not. It depends on the storylines and this and that. I never really worry about it. I l just look at it if I’m not working a lot, I’ve got a week off to write. I’ve never been upset by any of that. The show’s got their thing to do and they do it well, so I just…it’s just an alternative to that.
Phyllis: With everything that happened with Prospect and ABC regarding the “One Life to Live” characters on "General Hospital," will we ever see John McBain again in some capacity? Will you be playing him and do you miss playing him?
Michael: Honestly, I don’t know the answer to that. I’d imagine…they have that character and they can put him up there with somebody else and whoever it is would probably do a great job at it. I don’t know what the situation is. I think those guys are still trying to work out their stuff. And maybe when they do, they’ll allow us to do it. I certainly miss him. I saw Bob Woods (Bo, "One Life to Live") two days ago, so I certainly miss seeing my friends. I enjoyed working with them and if there’s a story there that I can contribute to the show, I would…I would certainly be open to that. We’ll see how it goes. I know they’re doing great and I excited for them, I hope it ends up doing really really well.
Phyllis: Now you’re playing Silas on "General Hospital." You had to create a whole new character...
Michael: With very short notice.
Phyllis: How did you work all of that out? And are you still trying to feel him out a little bit?
Michael: Still figuring him out. Yeah. You know, I had to make some very strong decisions quickly. Sometimes when you walk around in his shows for a while, you start rethinking that. I basically created a story for the guy in my head and that’s what I...Harkening back on that, I usually try to take an object and always have that. A personal object I wear or have it with me and that reminds me to b that characters. So that’s what I’m going with right now. I’m sure Ron’s got a great story. I don’t know if it’s the story I’m going with. (Laughs)
I know they have a great story mapped out for him. And hopefully, it’ll be very rewarding. It’s an uphill battle. It’s a lot to ask of the audience. They’re very…they’re mostly forgiving and my hope it if we tell a good story, they’ll be gracious and forgive of for all of this. I think most of them have been understanding about the situation where hands were kind of forced. Hopefully they’ll allow us to retell the story a bit. Plus I get to work with some really cool people.
Phyllis: You’re working with Kelly again…
Michael: I love working with Kelly so there’s that comfort of having someone’s that’s…that’s easing me back in. I get to see Roger (Horwath, Franco) again and Maura West (Ava Jerome) is doing a great job. She’s a really brilliant actress. Just some really good people.
Phyllis: Wait…is Kiki going to end up being Silas’ daughter? I know can’t tell, but what do you think in your head?
Michael: It certainly seems to be leaning in that way, but you know, they don’t tell us anything. You know how they are. The minute there’s questionable DNA that could change every 4 years. It’s like the Olympic Games. Paternity will change every 4 years. But sure. It would be great. I love Kristen (Alderson, Kiki). I’ve been knowing her since she was a little kid, so I’d get to work with her and that would be a lot of fun.
"General Hospital" airs weekdays on ABC.
© Examiner