Katelyn MacMullen Talks Willow, Drew, Michael and ‘General Hospital’ Conspiracy Theories (EXCLUSIVE)
‘GH’ soap star dishes drama with Cameron Mathison and Chad Duell’s recast, Rory Gibson
As Willow continues to stand by her shady new fiancé, Drew Cain/Quartermaine, and Michael celebrates the christening of his newest child on General Hospital, portrayer Katelyn MacMullen talks to Woman’s World about the huge shifts her and leading man Cameron Mathison’s characters have gone through and what it’s been like to welcome Chad Duell’s recast Rory Gibson to the love triangle.
Plus, with Willow unraveling, isolated, and determined to get her kids back, the soap actress considers fan theories about what’s really going on with Drew and shares how she decompresses after shooting one of her character’s epic breakdowns.
Why ‘GH’ beauty Katelyn MacMullen isn’t sorry Willow’s world has fallen apart
Not long ago, General Hospital’s Willow and Drew were two of Port Charles’ most upstanding citizens. Some fans even argued that, at times, they seemed almost TOO wholesome and earnest. Heroic Drew, however, took a mysteriously dark turn somewhere along the way and then, after saving Willow’s life, started pulling her down with him.
“It’s been such an adventure and so crazy,” Katelyn MacMullen says of the rollercoaster that’s seen her character survive cancer thanks to her husband’s uncle, fall for said uncle, and ultimately, blow up just about every relationship she’d built since showing up in Port Charles back in 2018.
“I’ve loved getting to experience a totally different dynamic with people I’m working with and explore new terrain, emotionally and literally,” she says. “On a daily basis, I’m getting to disappear into another world, where I do and say things that I wouldn’t normally—and that’s the great joy of it. I’ve been feeling very grateful… and also, yeah, a little tired! But in a good way, because we’ve been having so much fun.”
How ‘GH’ beauty Katelyn MacMullen’s recovers from Willow’s epic breakdowns
Having once escaped a cult to save the baby she was carrying, Willow is one serious mama bear. She’s also the type of nurse who springs to action without a second thought—even when that meant delivering Sasha and Michael’s baby in the middle of her own divorce from him.
Every once in a while, however, life hits Willow so hard it brings this damsel to her knees, as it did when the judge gave Michael full custody of their kids.
“That was great writing and when we shot it, everyone was so communicative, supportive, lovely, and very mission minded,” recounts MacMullen, who won’t let the fact that she’s not a mom stop her from relating to her character’s pain. “If it’s not something I directly understand or have experienced, I work with other people, have conversations about the scenario, and try to break it down and understand it. I just prepare, prepare, prepare… and then I see what happens on the day.”
When it’s time to come down from one of Willow’s emotional explosions or out of her latest catatonic breakdown, the actress turns to a tip she picked up from Carly’s portrayer.
“Laura Wright always says, ‘Just jump in the bath and listen to bird chirping,’ so I started doing that,” MacMullen shares. “The bath relaxes your muscles and then the bird chirping apparently helps your nervous system regulate. If I do some relaxing activities like that at night and just take care of myself, I’m usually good to go.”
‘GH’ beauty Katelyn MacMullen considers theories about Drew
That’s good news, considering Willow’s still ready to believe anything Drew says—and while everyone in Port Charles now seems to be gunning for her man and fans cannot believe how creepy he’s gotten, her mother isn’t exactly helping the situation.
“There’s so much Willow’s unaware of, so she believes Nina and Drew have had her back,” MacMullen says. “That’s how I’ve been making sense of it! I love both versions of Willow, but this version has been challenging in the best way. Because when your character is coming from a starkly different place and they’re changing, your job then changes into, ‘How do I justify this?’ It’s like this puzzle!”
With Willow’s issues surely tied to her upbringing—which included being stolen from Nina and served up to a cult leader by the woman she believed was her mother—the real puzzle in this story is what exactly is going on with Drew.
“Cameron Mathison has been doing such a fantastic job with what he’s been given, and it’s been so interesting to watch,” MacMullen raves. “He’s leaving so much to up interpretation and this is just so out of left field that people can come up with theories. We also have the best viewers. I love that they are so invested in the characters!
“And every time we open scripts, we come up with theories, ourselves,” she adds. “Sometimes, they’re right… but then others, they’re not. I have no idea what direction this is going!”
‘GH’ star Katelyn MacMullen talks her two Michaels—Chad Duell and Rory Gibson
With Willow determined to stand by her new man, MacMullen has been building a relationship with Chad Duell’s Michael since she joined the show. Now, she’s playing the climax of this triangle with recast Rory Gibson, who The Young and the Restless fans may recognize from his stint as Noah Newman, and the chemistry is palpable.
“They’re both fantastic,” she raves of Chad’s portrayers. “And Rory has been amazing. He’s so invested and, as everyone can see, so talented. I adore him and love working with him—and that’s an understatement! He’s been fantastic on so many levels. We already have inside jokes!”
One of those jokes recently made it to fans of the show, who got in on the laugh.
“My dressing room is situated in what is considered the back hall and there’s been a running joke of, ‘What do we call this hallway?’” MacMullen sets up. “Well, Rory got a room right next to mine, and we called it the Back Alley. We send each other stupid memes of people in alleyways, sneaking around, and started calling ourselves the Back Alley Brats, so the fans made us t-shirts. It was hilarious.”
Why ‘GH’ star Katelyn MacMullen believes Willow and Drew can make it… sort of!
While MacMullen and her General Hospital costars are having a grand old time, the drama surrounding Willow and Drew is only deepening.
With some fans theorizing Drew has been ‘activated’ in a Cassadine-like plot that’s turned him into a different character (like, say, Shiloh 2.0!), Woman’s World hears Willow’s summer spiral is just beginning—and MacMullen isn’t ruling out anything for her character.
“At this point in the game, it would be hard to imagine Drew and Willow working out as a couple,” concedes the soap opera star. “And Willow has such a good heart that it’s also hard to imagine her turning truly, intentionally, dark… But with the compounding of events, I feel like anything is possible!”
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