Donnell Turner Reflects on 10 Years as Curtis on ‘General Hospital’: ‘I’m Living My Dream’ (Exclusive)
The 52-year-old soap star shares his journey from childhood fan to leading man—and why his best years are still ahead
As Donnell Turner celebrates 10 years on General Hospital, his character, Curtis Ashford, has become suspect #1 in the “Who Shot Drew?” mystery. Though he doesn’t yet know it, he’s also embroiled in yet another “Who’s the Daddy?” story with Portia. Here, the kid who grew up playing Robert Scorpio and Luke Spencer with his brother instead of cops and robbers sits down with Woman’s World to reflect on his character’s growth, as well as his own.
The soap opera hunk also gets candid about what it’s like for him as Curtis moves from the arms of Brook Kerr’s Portia to those of Tanisha Harper’s Jordan—not to mention what it takes to get camera-ready for those General Hospital shirtless scenes now that he’s in his 50s.
Plus, Turner, who was once a semi-pro baller and a stand-in for the likes of Shemar Moore on Criminal Minds and Eriq La Salle on ER, reminds us that it’s never too late to start making our dreams come true.
A ‘GH’ fan turned ‘GH’ star
They say to never meet your heroes because they might disappoint, but Donnell Turner has had a very different experience.
“When I was a kid, we would come in to watch General Hospital and then go back outside and act like Robert Scorpio—trying to talk with our best Australian accent and raise that eyebrow. So to then to grow up and get to work with these people? I’m living my dream of not just getting here, but making a career of it,” he marvels.
Turner on meeting childhood hero Tristan Rogers: ‘He growled at me!’
While Turner has found his place on the stages of General Hospital, he admits the late actor who portrayed Scorpio, Tristan Rogers, almost scared him off.
“The first time I said ‘Hi’ to him, he growled at me and kept walking,” Turner shares with a laugh. “But then we flew across the country together many times, and he answered all of my questions. I had a million! He grew to be someone I could say was a friend. That’s unbelievable for me.”
Also unbelievable? Turner has now teamed up with Genie Francis’ legendary Laura to save the world, gotten into it with the infamous Quartermaines, performed magic at the famed Nurses Ball, and seen an entire family take shape around him.
“I’m on cloud nine to still be here,” he says. “I love what they’ve done with the Curtis Ashby character, and how they’ve made him an integral character in this world.”
Did Curtis really have Drew shot? ‘I’m rubbing my hands together!’
Currently, Curtis is integral to Drew’s shooting, and no, Turner can’t tell us anything about whether or not he’s really behind it!
“I’m just rubbing my hands together,” he grins. “I love watching a ‘Who Done It?’ and being a part of it is awesome. Leaning in, selling the mystery and getting to play anything remotely diabolical or sinister, that’s a lot of fun as an actor.”
Turner on Portia’s latest paternity game: ‘Wait till you see how this unfolds!’
Meanwhile, with Curtis and Portia’s marriage officially imploded, Trina has been shooting daggers at Jordan.
“Curtis’ precious daughter thinks he’s with this Jezebel—and meanwhile, her ‘sweet mother, who works so hard and loves the family and only wants to protect us’ is out there living wild,” Turner cries. “She’s living foul!”
Not only is Portia getting busy with Isaiah, but after hiding Trina’s paternity for two decades, she’s now got another bun in her oven . . . and hasn’t told Curtis it might not be his!
“Wait till you see how this unfolds,” Turner teases. “It’s a good time to be an actor on GH.”
Turner on ‘intimacy’ with leading lady Brook Kerr
While Turner is enjoying the twists in Curtis’ life, he confesses that losing Portia’s portrayer, Brook Kerr, as his leading lady has been an adjustment.
“It’s the closing of a chapter and it’s sad. I enjoyed working with Brook.” He continues, “It took us a while to get to know each other, but once we did, a level of trust and communication developed. After five years, there’s a high level of intimacy there, albeit platonic, that makes it become effortless. To lose that after developing it… it’s interesting.”
Turner talks selling ‘the love, the intrigue and the hunger’ with Tanisha Harper
At the same time, Curtis has returned to Jordan’s orbit, but since their messy divorce, Tanisha Harper has stepped into the role previously held by Vinessa Antoine and Brianna Henry.
“I gotta sell the love, the intrigue and the hunger and make it look authentic, and it’s not just going back to Jordan—I’m doing it with a whole new human being,” Turner says. “It’s just going to take some getting used to, and I’m not the type of person who can just jump into that kind of thing easily.” “Maybe that’s one of my flaws as an actor,” he concedes. “But I’ll work on it.”
‘I would do no such things today!’ Turner says of performing his own stunts
While shifting stories can be an adjustment, Turner is not complaining about his character’s slow transformation from a fast-talking P.I. who got into all the action to a well-suited businessman who hires Selina Wu to do his bidding.
“I love it, actually,” he says. “From the leather jacket to the suits, the Curtis character has grown, just as Donnell has. When I was a little more athletic and youthful, I could do some of those scenes. I remember asking, ‘Could I dive, tuck and roll over the crate, pull up and shoot?’ I would do no such things today!”
That’s because, as fit as this martial arts expert is, he’s now 52.
“I used to have a credo: Give me a week and I can shoot you a calendar,” Turner cracks. “Now, it’s more like: Give me three months! So thankfully, the show gives me a bit more warning when I have shirtless scenes.”
“I actually have one Friday, which put a damper on Thanksgiving,” he adds with a laugh. “I did eat more stuffing than I should have, so now I’m steam-rooming, swimming and running every day, trying to get right for tomorrow.”
How has Turner changed during his 10-year ‘GH’ run? ‘I enjoy the peace’
Staying camera-ready may take more work, but Turner appreciates the other side of growing up.
“I live here out in the mountains and it’s just me most of the time, and I enjoy the peace,” he says. “A younger me would have gone crazy with this slower lifestyle. Instead, it has opened me up to learning who I am.”
“10 years ago, I was a lot more exuberant, naive and just, ‘Golly gee!’” he continues. “I am still excited about this job, good lord! But I do it from a different seat now. I understand leadership and my role. There’s a whole new crop of actors on this show that see me as an OG, right? I’m honored and privileged, so I need to represent the show and myself, my family and my late mother in the appropriate manner.”
Donnell Turner on graduating college at 50: ‘It’s never too late to turn it around’
Having started making strides as an actor in his 30s, including micro stints on Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless, Turner didn’t make his way to General Hospital until he was in his 40s—and like Curtis, he hasn’t stopped growing and chasing his dreams.
“When you’re young, you think 50 is old, but in 2023, I turned 50, graduated college and bought a house,” Turner tells Woman’s World. “I feel like I’m just getting better. I plan to do more with my upstart company, Turneround Productions—and yes, that’s a play on my name, but one of our mission statements is, ‘It’s never too late to turn it around.’ And my life is a living testament of that.”
“The journey of 1,000 miles starts with the first step,” Turner concludes. “So find that destination and just get going!”
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