Cynthia Watros Talks Nina Hiring Nelle at Crimson on ‘General Hospital’
Q&A
The Doctor Is In
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Nina’s (Cynthia Watros) down a key staff member at Crimson in light of Maxie (Kirsten Storms) walking out the door. Today on General Hospital, Nelle (Chloe Lanier), looking to land a job so she can fight for custody of Wiley (Erik and Theodore Olson), tries to get Nina to hire her at the popular magazine. Surprisingly, Nina’s open to the idea so that she can keep an eye on the troublemaking young woman.
TV Insider talked to the Emmy and SAG Award-winning Watros about Nina’s mindset, reaching out to folks on social media in this challenging time due to the coronavirus, and theories as to what really did happen to the baby she was pregnant with when she went into that coma decades ago. Read on for the scoop!
It’s hard to think of Crimson without Maxie, but she felt she wasn’t being appreciated. Nina, however, clearly did not want to lose her.
Cynthia Watros: No, she did not want to lose Maxie. At times, you can take people for granted not realizing fully how much they really do for you. People don’t mean to do that. This has opened up Nina’s eyes to how much Maxie means to her. She always knew that Maxie meant the world to her, personally. She’s family, but also, she did so much at Crimson. She’s the backbone. Maxie trained Nina and showed her the ropes. This is a big wakeup call for Nina.
Nelle’s reputation has to proceed her. Why would Nina even consider giving her a chance?
I find Nelle and Nina’s relationship really interesting. Nina has made a lot of mistakes in her past. Things that she regrets. She’s had some mental illness. I think she still has that in her. She has more tools to live a saner life. She sees a lot of herself in Nelle; when Nelle walks in the door and says, “Hey, how about I work here?” At first, Nina is like, “I commend your persistence and determination.” But there’s not a position for her nor would Nina want to hire Nelle.
Kirsten Storms as Maxie and Cynthia Watros as Nina (ABC/Nick Agro)
Nelle tends to be persistent.
Yes. She’s also very persuasive. It touches something in Nina. Nelle wants this job because of the custody battle with Michael (Chad Duell). Nina starts to feel that she can keep a closer eye on Nelle if she does hire her. It’s that old saying “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”
What is Nina’s relationship with Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) these days? At one point, it was fairly adversarial!
It sure was. Now, it’s definitely softened. She feels what Willow is going through. Nina can completely relate to what it’s like to have loved a child and have that child taken away from her. Sasha (Sofia Mattsson) is a great example of that. These days, Nina is feeling a great deal of compassion towards Willow these days.
How are you handling social distancing and being at home more?
There are some positive aspects to all that especially in terms of spending time with family. You don’t have that excuse anymore to say you don’t have time to call friends and family. We have beautiful people in our lives and sometimes, we’re so busy that we can’t check in on them as much as possible. Now is a time when we deepen those relationships.
This is what we have now. This too shall pass and I feel that we can learn from all this. This [situation] is happening in our world and in a wonderful way, it’s uniting us. What lessons can we learn from all this? We’re all in this together. It’s about connecting with your whole family through the phone or social media. You can read some books and write some poetry – whatever moves you. This is your chance to do it.
View this post on Instagram
Upside down and inside out I’m about to show y’all folks what it’s all about. 🧘♀️
Your Instagram posts show your love of yoga. How did that come about?
When I was living in New York [when I played Annie on Guiding Light], I had a friend who was consistently trying to get me to take a yoga class. I was like, “No, I like my spinning classes and running.” I was really hesitant. I didn’t have the time or the interest. I finally took my first yoga class and I couldn’t even touch my toes. I wasn’t flexible. It didn’t click.
Then, I got a Groupon to take a month’s worth of classes so I went and challenged myself to go every day for 30 days. The classes can be restorative, calming, and help with meditation. I noticed after the first week my body was feeling more open and spacious. It also calmed my mind. I have a very vivid imagination. Yoga has really given me the tools to soften [negative] voices. I don’t think those voices ever truly go away, but, thanks to yoga, they do get softer and sit in the back of your head.
You also posted on Instagram an inspirational talk when you were sitting in your car. I found it really uplifting.
Thank you. We’re social creatures. Being social and being out there is something we’re not doing as much now. But we still need to feel like we’re not alone. We have other people going through the same thing. I just took my phone and thought I just want to tell my friends and anyone reading that that I love them. And I’m thinking about them. I do believe if we do what we need to do to combat this virus that we’re all going to be OK. Take a deep breath. Worrying doesn’t do any good for anybody.
Do you read the various theories online as to what happened to Nina’s baby – the one she lost when she was in the coma?
I have read some things online. I love it all. Some people are thinking one way. Others debate that another theory is what’s real. And I do know some things, which of course, I can’t share. I think that everyone is going to be extremely shocked [when the truth comes out]. Let’s leave it at that.
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