General Hospital's Cynthia Watros Weighs In On All Her Soap Roles
Cynthia Watros burst onto the daytime television scene in 1994 as sweet nurse Annie Dutton on "Guiding Light." While she was an old friend of Rick Bauer (Michael O'Leary), it didn't take long to figure out that Annie was anything but sweet. In fact, she had quite the sadistic nature and terrorized Springfield until 1998 when Watros left soaps. She eventually found fame in the primetime world as Libby Smith on the hit series "Lost" from 2005 to 2010.
Watros re-entered the soap world to play Kelly Andrews on "The Young and the Restless" for a year before Cady McClain took over the role. In 2019, Watros returned to her daytime roots once again after Michelle Stafford left the role of Nina Reeves on "General Hospital" to make her "Y&R" comeback (via Soaps.com). In her nearly 30 years on and off soaps, Watros has a lot of memories of her time playing these memorable women.
Cynthia Watros looks back on 'Guiding Light' and Annie Dutton
Annie Dutton's biggest rival was Reva Shayne, because Annie became obsessed with Reva's forever man, Josh Lewis (Robert Newman), according to Soap Central. Their battles were epic and Cynthia Watros admitted that Kim Zimmer, who played Reva on "Guiding Light" from 1983 to 2009, was the person who influenced her the most on that show.
"[Kim Zimmer] was a pro," Watros told Soap Opera Digest. "I was schooled in theater and coming from this theater school into daytime, and she knew how to work the camera and she taught me how to work with the company. She was loving, and an amazing person, but she was also tough. She was my biggest teacher on that show, definitely."
When asked what one of her most memorable moments was as Annie, Watros recalled one of the characters most heinous acts, done to ruin Reva's life. " Oh, boy, it could be so many!" Watros said, before describing a scene that had to be coordinated just right. "But I think when Annie was carrying the baby that she knew had already passed and she made it look like Reva pushed her down the stairs when really I pushed myself backward down the stairs."
Cynthia Watros' brief time as Kelly on 'The Young and the Restless'
Kelly Andrews might have been a short-lived role for Cynthia Watros, but "The Young and the Restless" role was definitely a memorable one for the actress. She played a woman with a secret connection to Dr. Stitch Rayburn (Sean Carrigan) and eventually viewers learned she was his sister. Kelly also contributed to the break up of Billy Abbott and Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle) when she slept with a bereft Billy, who was still mourning the death of his daughter, Delia Abbott (Sophie Pollono), according to Soap Central.
Watros told Soap Opera Digest that Billy Miller, who played Billy at the time, was the co-star who gave her the warmest welcome when she joined the show. She also had a great time working with Miller, who would go on to play Drew Cain on "General Hospital." She also loved her digs behind the scenes at "Y&R," as she raved about her dressing room.
"If I remember correctly, they had bathrooms in theirs, so it was pretty great!" Watros said (via Soap Opera Digest). "I remember thinking, 'I wonder, if you didn't have a place to live, if you could just live in your dressing room here,' because you had everything that you needed. That was the first time I'd ever had a dressing room with a bathroom!"
Cynthia Watros loves playing Nina on 'General Hospital'
For Cynthia Watros, there was a comforting feeling when she joined the cast of "General Hospital" in 2019 as a recast Nina Reeves. She described it as a feeling of "home" to Soap Opera Digest. When Watros first joined the ABC soap, Nina was still heavily involved with Valentin Cassadine (via Soaps In Depth) and actor James Patrick Stuart was one of the first people she worked with. He also welcomed her to the soap with open arms after co-starring with Michelle Stafford's Nina since 2016.
"Before I started, he sent me flowers with a note that said something like, 'We love you already.' I took over Michelle's dressing room, and you know how when you hang up pictures and stuff you leave little holes in the wall? He came in and, like, spackled my dressing room for me," Watros explained to Soap Opera Digest. "How sweet is that? Either that or he has a lot of free time."
As of this writing, Nina's life has nothing to do with Valentin and everything to do with Sonny Corinthos, with Watros even appearing on Maurice Benard's YouTube mental health show, "State Of Mind with Maurice Benard."