‘General Hospital’ Star Kristen Vaganos on Recasting Molly & Facing Sonny: ‘I Was So Scared!’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Molly’s portrayer talks love in the afternoon (with Cody?) and new movie, ‘Ramona at Midlife’
General Hospital’s Molly Lansing-Davis thought she had life all figured out…until Kristen Vaganos assumed the role and the soap opera’s scribes pulled every rug out from under her character. The popular recast reflects on joining Molly’s “sweet, crazy” onscreen family and considers life after T.J. Vaganos also gets candid about Molly’s new, snarky side, how it felt to take down Maurice Benard’s Sonny and whether General Hospital is chemistry testing her with Josh Kelly’s Cody.
Plus, the actress, writer, and producer who goes for laughs in viral online sketches reveals what drew her to produce the dramatic comedy Ramona at Midlife, which premieres on streamers today.
‘GH’ recast Kristen Vaganos on efforts to find a new Molly—‘It was so tumultuous!’
General Hospital had a tough time replacing Haley Pullos, who literally grew up before viewers’ eyes as Molly, but after a few misfires, Kristen Vaganos signed on in 2023 and made the role her own.
“It was so tumultuous,” she recounts. “It seemed like there was a new recast every week, so I wanted to come in and be a solution—and I feel that’s what I’ve done. I know soaps rely on what the fans like and don’t like. I’m playing in their playground, so I’m very appreciative that people have accepted my Molly.”
While Vaganos is enjoying a bit of a breather right now, she hit the ground running alongside Tajh Bello, Kate Mansi and Nancy Lee Grahn—who play Molly’s now-ex T.J., half-sister Kristina, and mother, Alexis—and has stayed right in the thick of the soapy drama.
“It was a lot in the beginning, and it was crazy to jump in,” she admits. “But I’m grateful for it, in hindsight. Spending a lot of time with Molly, all the people in her life, and Tajh, Nancy, and Kate was the quickest way for me to immerse myself in that character. It allowed me to figure out all Molly’s dynamics, and then put my own spin on it.”
Kristen talks Molly’s new snarky side and taking down Maurice Benard’s Sonny on ‘GH’
While Molly has always been a fighter, Vaganos has given the good girl turned A.D.A. a new edge.
“I love when heavy drama and comedy come together,” she explains. “That’s the most fun, which I think is why I’ve made Molly so snarky. I just love infusing humor into what’s innately dark. Molly’s also matured, and she’s a tough gal, right? She’s no-nonsense and like, ‘I can do everything and fix everything, and I’m always right.’ I love it when she gets to exercise and go off on people!”
While she loves a good onscreen tussle, Vaganos admits her heart sank when she read that script for the scene above—which saw Molly let into Maurice Benard’s Sonny for being a violent thug and a terrible father to Kristina.
“I was so scared, going up against the heavy hitter,” she shares. “But the funny thing is, that scene was written so that I win. He’s a small, little scared man who barely talks back, so it was kind of awesome! I hope to do a scene with him where we’re really going at each other, but our first toe-to-toe was an easy win for me.”
‘GH’ star Kristen Vaganos talks clashing with Kate Mansi and being a Davis Girl
The person who’s kept Molly on her toes since Vaganos joined has been Kristina—who failed her character at almost every step of her surrogacy storyline and ultimately, lost their baby after she fell out Ava’s window.
“It’s been really fun to work with Kate, especially on the heavier scenes, because we have each other’s backs,” Vaganos says. “We quickly developed a true sister relationship, where we’re yelling at each other in the green room about borrowing each other’s clothes and being silly, and we know we can trust each other. That makes it easy to just go there… and then we’ll break laughing at the end of it.”
With her love of dramedy, Vaganos concedes she appreciates the Quartermaines’ “sassy character moments,” but she’d never trade the Q mayhem for life as a Davis girl.
“It’s such a sweet, crazy, female empowerment dynamic,” she raves of Alexis’ brood. “Nancy’s insane and I love her. Working with Kelly Monaco (who played Sam) was great while I got to.
“I was also so happy the show brought Rick Hearst back as Ric,” she adds. “I call him ‘Papa’ when I text him. Like with Kate and Nancy, the connection was instant. We’ve all seamlessly slipped into these relationships, which I think shows on camera, and we all love each other.”
‘GH’ star Kristen Vaganos talks Molly, T.J.… and Cody?
Since Vaganos has taken on the role, Molly has not only lost two babies via surrogate and big sister Sam to murder, but she’s lost T.J.—the domestic partner she’s loved since she was 14 years old.
“It’s crazy… but how interesting is it going to be to see these two characters who’ve been together forever have to navigate not having each other?” she considers. “Now they’re both single again, which they’ve never really experienced as adults. What’s that gonna look like?”
While neither of them is on the prowl quite yet, General Hospital does seem to be testing out the chemistry between Molly and a few local bucks—including Cody.
“There’s definitely an exploration going on there,” Vaganos hedges. “They’re polar opposites. Molly’s so laced up and high strung and Cody’s this fun, reckless, goofy guy. There’s something innately interesting in that, so we’ll see what happens there.”
‘GH’ star Kristen Vaganos celebrates indie film ‘Ramona at Midlife’, streaming today
As much fun as she’s having playing Molly’s drama in Port Charles, this NYU Tisch School of the Arts grad also enjoys doing improv with the famed Upright Citizens Brigade and is often recognized for her viral comedy sketches with Content Machine, imag9ne, and other collaborators.
She’s also a producer celebrating the release of her second film, Ramona at Midlife—a female-driven dramedy about a one-time bestselling writer who’s now a single mom, working at a vet’s office.
“Ramona’s in her 40s and grappling with life not looking exactly how she thought it would,” sets up Vaganos. “When another filmmaker ends up writing this movie entirely based on her life, down to her first name and having stolen bits from her writing, she has to decide whether to confront him—and in doing so, she has to reclaim her own narrative.
“She doesn’t blow up her life in this big Hollywood way,” she continues. “That might be interesting, but it’s more a look at how you can maneuver through this moment and these anxieties that all of us feel.”
She was drawn to ‘inspirational, redefining nature’ of ‘Ramona at Midlife’
Though only in her late-20s herself, Vaganos was instantly won over by writer/director Brooke Berman’s script about a woman facing a midlife crisis, of sorts.
“Brooke’s writing is so witty and fun, and I was so excited by the inspirational, redefining nature of this film,” she explains. “I came into it like, ‘Yes, please, let this story exist to tell us that we’re not done by a certain age. We’re not expired, no longer marketable, and no longer interesting once we’ve had kids, gotten married, or have a wrinkle!’”
If this soap beauty who’s also taken the lead in thrillers like I Am Lisa has her say, she’ll be telling stories long past that point.
“My happiest place is acting in something that I believe in and had a hand in bringing to production,” shares Vaganos—who makes cameos in Ramona and the film Bobcat Moretti starring Vivica A. Fox, but spent most of her time on both films working behind the scenes and learning the ropes.
“Now, if I read a book, see a script, or have an idea that I think deserves to be made, I have the vision, the resources, and the skillset to actually get that through development,” she says. “I’m excited about being able to champion and executive produce projects I feel passionate about, moving forward.”
Vaganos teases Molly’s future—including fun with Cody!
While Vaganos is thrilled to invite General Hospital fans to rent and watch Ramona at Midlife on Amazon and other streaming services, she also reveals there’s some silly good fun coming for Molly and Cody in Port Charle this week. After a run-in this Thursday, Friday will give them— and audiences—a break from the heavy drama that’s followed them this year.
“The scenes we shot felt like we were on a sitcom, which you don’t get on this show that often,” Vaganos teases to Woman’s World. “It was really fun and a cute change of pace from how dark everything has been for Molly. It’s a nice little breath of fresh air.
“I’m excited to see what Molly’s next chapter looks like,” the General Hospital star concludes. “There’s a lot of freedom to it. She doesn’t have the kids she thought she would have or the partner she thought she would have. She’s open to possibilities.”
Dea
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