‘General Hospital’: Cynthia Watros on What Nina Wants the Most & Her Frenemy-ship With Ava

The relationship between Nina (Cynthia Watros) and her “frenemy” Ava Jerome (Maura West) is one of General Hospital‘s more complex dynamics. They got past the whole Nina stealing Ava’s daughter Avery after she gave birth only to have their bond torn apart over Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard), a man they have both loved.

The two women are set to interact again in the March 12 episode when Ava comes to Nina to ask her for a favor. Will this ask challenge the duo’s renewed friendship?

TV Insider sat down with Watros, who made her daytime debut as Guiding Light‘s Annie Dutton in 1994. She won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1998. Before taking off for Hollywood, landing roles on Titus, The Drew Carey Show, and Lost, she showed just how much she loves the soap opera genre by stepping in temporarily as Vicky on Another World for Jensen Buchanan. Read on to get the scoop from Watros on Nina’s many relationships on the show’s canvas, a look back at some of her well-known roles, and the possibility of Nelle coming back into Nina’s life!

Your and Maura’s scenes from last year earned TV Insider’s No. 3 spot on the “21 Best Soap Performances of 2024.”

Cynthia Watros: I love working with Maura. I think that really shows on camera. We don’t run our scenes together, typically. We just show up on set on the day. When we did the scenes where I found out about her double-crossing me with Sonny, we could have played them two ways – screaming at each other or the hurt. They have similar traits. There’s the pain of having to let go of a friendship. There’s some anger in there. We didn’t talk about it. But we went on set that that’s where we both wanted to design the scene — not screaming at each other but weaving through all those emotions. We hugged each other afterwards. I said, “Hopefully, we’ll be friends again on TV someday.” And here we are! We’re friends again.

Nina and Sonny aren’t together these days, but they do run into each other every now and then. When they do, it’s clear that the love is still there.

Thank you. It’s a very special. When I get to do scenes with Maurice, I love it! I love the Nina and Sonny coupling. It lasted about two years. I’m so grateful for that. I don’t know what the future holds. Whenever I get scene with Maurice, I treasure it. Nina will always love Sonny, want the best for him, and care for him. I don’t think that will ever go away. Who knows what will happen? But every time the writers write for Sonny and Nina, I’m super-happy.

What shows did you watch growing up?

I was a huge Guiding Light fan. I loved watching Josh [Robert Newman] and Reva [Kim Zimmer]. When they had a good day, I had a good day. That was my escape from reality. Life can be challenging and difficult. I get the fans who really love soap operas. I really love soap operas. It was the best hour of my day as a kid. I watched other shows, too, including The Brady Bunch. That was an interesting show for me. Everything seemed to work out for them. They hardly ever fought.

Was Annie your first soap opera role?

I moved to New York after Boston [University]. I had no money! Betty Rea, the legendary casting director of Guiding Light, kept bringing me in for different parts. Before I was cast as Annie, I played this southern girl in a diner in scenes with Kurt McKinney [Matt]. Usually, when you’re cast in a role, that’s it. But she kept bringing me in, and later, I was cast as Annie.

That’s a great story about persistence in the acting world.  

I think as long as people have drive and don’t let the “no’s” get to them, they’ll be okay. It’s hard because you’re always getting doors slammed in your face, but as long as you keep that drive…that’s 90 percent of the battle.

You left GL but you came back to daytime fairly quickly to step into Jensen Buchanan’s role as Vicky on Another World for about a week. Do you have memories of that time?

I have very clear images of that. Jensen was not able to do it. I think it was for a week. I had a blast. Everyone was so amazing. I don’t feel like I was even really nervous. Even now, I have a little bit of nerves as I’m saying my first lines but then, they go away. I remember my last day there and it was hard to say goodbye. That was an amazing opportunity.

You then came to Los Angeles and got to play comedic roles on Titus as Erin and The Drew Carey Show as Kellie. It must have been fun to flex those muscles after so much drama on daytime.

People might argue with me, but I tried to bring a sense of humor to Annie even during her most outlandish moments. Comedy is always flowing inside me with most if not all of my characters. I was the first person that the producers of Titus saw. That can be either a good thing or a bad thing. I ended up getting the role [of Erin], and it was amazing. I was kind of the straight woman on that show. Every comedian needs someone to bounce off of; I was that person for Christopher [Titus]. I got to do some comedy. On Drew, that whole cast was funny. They wrote me a lot of jokes and I really enjoyed my time on that show. It was a blast.

At Nancy Lee Grahn’s (Alexis) ALS charity fundraiser last year, you were asked to recreate your dance from Drew Carey. Eat your heart out Elaine Benes! How’d you come up with that dance?

[Laughs] When they said, “Kellie dances,” I just did it! I love being silly so, I was like, “Yes, please! I want to do this crazy dance.” If you’re trying to get a laugh, you usually don’t get a laugh. But if you’re authentically trying to live your life and some silly just comes out, that’s when it’s funny. If you try too hard, it tends not to be funny. I just try to be silly.

I remember now when you did inject some humor into Annie. Her poor friend Fran (Catherine Curtin) would get this look of bewilderment on her face when Annie would come up with her schemes. The denouement of the story was when Annie confessed all on the witness stand. Viewers hated what Annie did, but you couldn’t help but feel for her.

Annie will always be such a love of mine. When she was confessing her sins, I felt like she was talking to the audience even though she was looking at the jury. Some of the lines were, “Don’t feel sorry for Reva. Look at what she’s taken from me. I have nothing.” Jerry verDorn [Ross Marler] was amazing in those scenes. My goal was always to show the more humorous side of Annie, and also, the desperation and the pain. There’s always a reason people do the things they do. I imagine Annie had a little bit of mental illness. I will always love her.

She exited in dramatic fashion. Abandoning a plane that she had set to crash, hoping to do away with Reva once and for all.

The hardest thing was to jump out of the airplane. That was my last scene as Annie. It was like saying goodbye to this person you fell in love with. That’s how I feel about all of my roles. Whether they’re good or evil or funny, they become your work. Along with the producers, writers, and directors, you’re creating this piece of work. Then, when it’s over, you’re done.

Nina’s so hopeful to have a solid relationship with Willow. It’s nice to see them getting along but there are still secrets – like Nina’s fling with Drew (Cameron Mathison) – that have yet to come out.

Katie is the most authentic, talented…the sweetest soul you’ll meet in the industry. She has so much going for her. She’s a beauty. I just love her and I love working with her. She’s just a good, honest, amazing person, who’d do anything for you. Cynthia loves Katie so much; I don’t have to act very hard. Nina’s wanting to have this relationship with Willow is so pure. She just wants to have her daughter. She’d like to have both of her daughters. She wants to have that family and her grandchildren because all that was taken from her after her mother [the late Madeline, played by Donna Mills] put her in a coma. It’s the No. 1 thing she wants in her life.

Some thought Nelle (Chloe Lanier) would be Nina’s daughter; others thought it was going to be Willow. It was a smart move to have it be both – twins! Fans would love to see Nelle pop back up and play out dynamics with her mother and sister.

I’ve been crossing my fingers on that one for a while. I don’t know if it’s happening. I really don’t. But I think Chloe’s great. I’d love for Nina to have Nelle there. I’m happy to go with whatever the writers are planning.

General Hospital, Weekdays, ABC