Everything We Know About General Hospital Newcomer Michael Blake Kruse
When Michael Blake Kruse made his "General Hospital" debut, you could have mistaken him for an extra on the Port Charles Police Department set because he had no lines (via Cheat Sheet). He was destined for bigger things, though. When he appeared again a week later at the town coffee shop, Kelly's, fans got to know what he sounded like when Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) and Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) began talking to him (via Soaps.com) and fans got the feeling he was about to become a big new character on the ABC soap.
In fact, before Kruse ever aired as Officer Rory Cabrera, fans knew he had been cast thanks to confirmation from ABC that it had hired a brand-new contract player for its only remaining daytime drama. It's the first soap for Kruse and so far, he seems to be having the time of his life as a "GH" player.
Michael Blake Kruse is a proud dad
Unlike his brand-new "General Hospital" character who is single and unattached, Michael Blake Kruse is a happily married man. He and his wife Cara wed on August 3, 2019, according to Soap Hub, and his little girl, Harlow Blake Kruse came into the world in November of 2020. The actor is a proud papa with picture of his daughter all over his Instagram account and his love for her shines through.
On Father's Day in 2021, he shared a photo of himself with little Harlow in an adorable bright yellow dress. "It's a special day and I'm grateful to be in the club," Kruse wrote in his Instagram post. "I don't take this role lightly and I've been blessed to have so many men in my life who have always been present with their kids, including my own dad."
Kruse told Soap Opera Digest that being family-oriented helped him bond with co-star Tabyana Ali, who plays Trina Robinson, the character he may or may not be paired with. "She is extremely down-to-earth and relatable and kind and she is always sharp when we are taping, so it was easy to connect with her," the actor said. "She knows that I'm a family man and she is very much family-oriented herself, so we have that going for us."
How Michael Blake Kruse landed his GH role
Soap opera newcomer Michael Blake Kruse appeared in some popular TV series before landing his "General Hospital" role, with parts on "Criminal Minds," "Everything's Fine," and "Grey's Anatomy" (via IMDb). In fact, the "GH" studio might even look familiar to him as medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" is taped on the same ABC lot, according to TV Insider.
While he had auditioned for another soap several times, "GH" is the gig he landed with a short audition scene that he could feel went very well. "The audition was only one scene, but I felt great about it and I felt connected with what they had written for me," Kruse told Soap Opera Digest. "I think it was a pretend scene from some other past character, but we sent it off and I didn't hear anything for a week or so."
He was heading back to Los Angeles from his home state of Iowa when he learned he was asked to read for the producers. Again, he had a good feeling about things but he had to wait it out before he heard back from the show again. "I didn't hear anything for another few days, but thought I had a chance, and then I got a call that they wanted to network test me," he said. "Cut to, like, two days later, and for whatever reason, they didn't need to network test me and I was offered the job."
Michael Blake Kruse thrilled his mom when he was cast in General Hospital
"General Hospital's" latest top cop casting find, Michael Blake Kruse might not have been a soap fan before landing his new gig, but his mother was and she was overjoyed when he landed a daytime role and the two immediately celebrated his new role. For his mom, that meant doing a deep dive on his future co-stars.
"She was looking up the cast and figuring out who had crossed over from other shows, and she was extremely excited that I might be working with, you know, so-and-so, or Maxie, who she kept referencing," Kruse told Soap Opera Digest.
Maxie (Kirsten Storms) is the longtime "GH" character who is a well-known presence in Rory's neck of the woods, as she was once married to a fallen member of the PCPD, Nathan West (Ryan Paevey) (via Soaps In Depth).
Michael Blake Kruse was not alone as a newcomer
It turned out that Michael Blake Kruse had a compatriot when he taped his first scenes as new "General Hospital" police officer Rory Cabrera. It was only the second day of work for Tabyana Ali, who had just taken over the role of Trina Robinson from Sydney Mikayla (via Soap Opera Digest). Trina is the young college student who was falsely arrested and who Rory was tasked with guarding.
"I don't think she really knew how I was going to fit into the story; I think she just assumed, and rightfully so, that I was just a day player or a background guy in the scenes in the interrogation room," Kruse told Soap Opera Digest. "And we just made some small talk and I told her it was my first day, and she told me it was her second day, and that was kind of it!"
A few days later, Executive Producer Frank Valentini told them that their characters might end up connected to one another down the line but, as of this writing, Trina still has feelings for Spencer Cassadine (Nicholas Alexander Chavez).
General Hospital fans took Michael Blake Kruse by surprise
When rumors started buzzing on social media that "GH" had hired a new contract player, fans couldn't wait to see who he would play. As soon as Michael Blake Kruse was confirmed to be the PCPD's newest officer, fans started speculating on who he would be paired with and after just a few scenes, it looks like many picked Trina.
"Spencer better step it up, because Trina and Rory are looking good," one fan tweeted of the young man who has spent months pining for Trina and doing nothing about it. "This is your last warning, young man."
For Kruse, it was a bit of a shock to see just how devoted soap fans are. "I didn't know if the warm reception from anyone was anything exceptional, or if it was just because I was a newcomer, but I was kind of surprised by how kind everybody was and I was also very surprised by how invested these fans are and how much they know about the storylines," Kruse told Soap Opera Digest, before adding that he is using tweets he is seeing to further educate himself on the show.