Rick Hearst will return to General Hospital as Ric Lansing on Thursday, August 22, after an eight-year break, and TV Insider has an exclusive first look at his comeback.
Hearst’s first scenes are with Kristen Vaganos, who plays Ric’s daughter, Molly Lansing, who is grieving the loss of the baby her sister, Kristina Corinthos-Davis (Kate Mansi), was carrying as a surrogate.
“I didn’t know you were coming!” Molly says in our sneak peek, to which Ric replies, “Well, I didn’t want my presence to be a distraction but Alexis and I talked about it and we agreed I needed to be here.”
As her father stands there in support, a tearful Molly candidly shares, “I’m so glad you’re here. I just feel so alone.”
“While he may not be the best father, his intent is to be the best father,” Hearst tells TV Insider. “His intent is to always try to be the most forthright human being, and the back and forth of being that imperfect individual can hopefully be entertaining and watchable. That’s what I’ve always loved about this character. He can go anywhere, he can connect with anybody, and at the same time, you never know what’s in store but you always know it’s going to be something that can be questionable.”
RelatedRick Hearst Suits Up as Ric Lansing Again in ‘GH’ First Look
The actor, who got his soap start on Days of our Lives as Scotty Banning in 1989, admits that jumping back into the fast pace of daytime is daunting. “My secret weapon is preparation,” he says. “It will always circumvent any lack of whatever you feel you do or you don’t have. That’s always been my calling card. Most people say it’s like riding a bike, but it’s a bike that might just need a little bit of time to get oiled again.”
Thinking about who Ric is at this point in his life gave the actor somewhere to start. “I always look at what the character is dealing with in terms of the canvas, in terms of the story, in terms of how his interactions are and what his intent is,” Hearst explains. “The older we get, we try to embrace the better parts of ourselves and keep at bay the parts of ourselves that are not so great. And I really think that’s how I would like to come into this moment in the show, not denying the darker part of who Ric is and always has been. Sometimes you can’t change your leopard spots and you really shouldn’t.”
Check out the clip above.
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