‘General Hospital’ Star Daniel Cosgrove Looks Back at ‘Guiding Light,’ ‘All My Children,’ Luke Perry Memories & More (Exclusive)
Daniel Cosgrove made his General Hospital debut on March 21 in the newly created role of Ezra Boyle, but the actor has a host of previous soap and primetime credits. “I’ve always been grateful,” he reflects of his nearly three-decade career. “I never thought I was better than the opportunity that I was given or the job. I love connecting with people and telling stories. Before I got into business, I was a fan of story, a fan of film, a fan of television, so to have the opportunity to do it, I have been really lucky.”
All My Children, Scott Chandler (1996-98; 2010-11)
Robert Milazzo/© American Broadcasting Company /Courtesy Everett Collection
“That was my first job ever. What really stands out is the education that I got. I knew I was green, just starting off and learning the ropes, and what I love about these shows is that you get to work with people who are in all phases of their stages of life. You’ve got people like me starting off. You’ve got people who are even younger than me, and then you got people who have been on the show for a number of years. I was working David Canary [Adam/Stuart Chandler] and Julia Barr, who played Brooke [English], and I just appreciated learning the process. And then I went back when it ended. Going back there, 13 years later, there was a real appreciation for that.”
Beverly Hills, 90210, Matt Durning (1999-2000)
Randy Holmes / TM and copyright © Fox Network. All rights reserved. / Courtesy Everett Collection
“The fact that I was on All My Children is what got me the opportunity to go audition for that role, which I ended up getting. I just couldn’t believe I was on that show. I am an East Coaster. I’d never been further west than Pennsylvania, but I went out there, screen-tested and 10 days later, I’m there filming. I didn’t know what to expect.
“The show lasted 10 years and I came on in the ninth season. It was the year that Luke Perry [Dylan McCay], God rest his soul, came back. I was just like, ‘Oh, gosh, how’s he going to be? Is he going to be the ‘I rule the roost’ type?’ And that guy came on set and was the most down-to-earth, gracious person. He was so nice to everybody. That whole cast was so welcoming and nice — Jennie [Garth Kelly Taylor], Tori [Spelling, Donna Martin] and Brian [Austin Green, David Silver]. Vanessa Marcil [Gina Kincaid; Brenda Barrett, General Hospital] started the same year if I remember correctly. It was just really cool.”
Guiding Light, Bill Lewis (2002-05; 2007-09)
“In 2001, there was a threat of a writers strike and there was so much work going on. I was living in California and I did different types of stuff — I did a TV movie, I did another small little film, and then I shot a movie with Ryan Reynolds and Tara Reid, National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, and it’s one of those things where you get this role, and you think you’re going to try to parlay that into another role and another role until you can keep it going.
“But as we know, September 2001. I’m an East Coaster and that was the first time where I was like, ‘What am I doing? I’m young. I have one child, and we want to move back East. I don’t even know if I want to be an actor anymore.’ We just wanted to move to New York, and the opportunity to go on Guiding Light came up, and I ended up getting the role. And I will say there were people, like my agents, who were like, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ Usually, with parts, I was like, ‘I will see what happens,’ but with this, I just was like, ‘I want to.’ I left because I shot a pilot called In Justice, with Kyle MacLachlan and Jason O’Mara, and it got picked up.
“And then 2007, I had an opportunity to come back to the show, and I did. And then in 2009, they pulled the plug. In hindsight, I just think of everybody that I got to work with. In 2002-05, we shot at Screen Gems in New York on 44th Street, and I remember actors talking and dreaming and laughing with Butch in the audio department or Jerry or Judy on the cameras. There’s something about being on a New York show; there’s just a different vibe to it that was great. I came on that show though, ready to have some fun. I was working with Matt Bomer [Ben Reade] and Nancy St. Alban [Michelle Bauer], but Matt Bomer played my best friend and we just had laughs, being silly.”
As the World Turns, Chris Hughes (2010)
“So they had just gotten the news that they were coming to an end, so I knew was going to be a short-lived show. I can say this right now, I don’t have one complaint about anyone or anything. Whenever I am in the moment, I’m having a great time, but I will say, looking back, I was already kind of feeling depressed. I’m working with Van Hansis [Lucas Jones, General Hospital; Luke Snyder, As the World Turns] now, and we were just actually kind of laughing about that. My character had received heart transplant from his boyfriend on the show.”
Days of Our Lives, Aiden Jennings (2014-15; 2016)
“I went there and had a blast. The first time I was there, what I really recall is on my last day, they had such a nice party for me in the hair and makeup room. They put a little cake in there and did a photo op. It was a very nice thing, so awesome, and I missed it when I was gone. Three months later, I got the call to come back and I was like, ‘They shot me. They zipped me up in a body bag,’ and they were like, ‘Yeah, just don’t shave.’ And then a few weeks later, I’m shooting the old ‘lookalike was the one who got killed’ story. So, anything can happen. I loved it.”
Billions, Danny Margolis (2016-21)
Jojo Whilden/©Showtime/courtesy Everett Collection
“I had an opportunity to do two small scenes in the pilot, and that was going to be it, as far as I thought. But what [cocreators] David Levien and Brian Koppelman will do is, they’ll have these characters who play a small role come back. So, I had an opportunity to come back each season, up until Damian [Lewis, Bobby Axelrod] left, maybe two shows each season. So it was just a real treat.
“That bare butt scene [in Season 2 of Billions], swimming in a pool in October in New York, was something else. Noah Emmerich, who’s an actor and a director, directed that episode. I got a call from David and Brian and Noah who said, ‘Oh, this scene, there’s going to be a little bit of nudity, but don’t worry, we’re going to have stand-in available to you if you’re uncomfortable,’ And I said, ‘First of all, did I do something or say something to you guys that you want to get back at me and you wrote this? I apologize if I did.’ So then they probably thought, ‘Oh, God, he’s gonna be nervous.’ But I said, ‘Listen, I think it’s hilarious, but I have to be 100% committed for this thing to work the way you want it to work, so I want you to know, if you want someone to come out of that pool who looks like a Greek god, you may want a double. If you want someone who has embraced his dad bod coming out of that pool, then I’m your man.’ They said, ‘Your dad bod’s going to be just fine.’ I got there that day, and they had the stand-in getting ready in makeup. I guess they had him in case I chickened out, but I already gave them my word that I was committed to this scene, and I was. I did the whole swinging the hips thing and everything. So, it was just funny.”
You, Ron (2017)
“When the opportunity came up, I actually called my agent and said, ‘Look, this character is written as this total sloppy drunk.’ I just saw him as someone physically completely different from me. And I said, ‘There’s this other character who I probably have a better shot at. Smaller role, but I probably would have a better shot.’ They inquired, but that role had already been cast. They said, ‘If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to,’ but I said, ‘No, no, I’ll do it.’ So, I went in and I just kind of made it my interpretation of this guy. This is one of those things where I started small, just really on his rage and anger, and ended up booking it. I had a great time. But that was some pretty dark stuff. I felt totally guilty about because I’m like, ‘I’m so mean to this kid. He’s the nicest little boy.’”
And Just Like That…, Edward, “Trick or Treat” (2023)
“That was cuckoo crazy. I get all these crazy roles if you want to just sum them up. I used the same line from Billions: ‘If you want someone who looks like a Greek god, you’re going to want to go a different direction.’ But when I left that set, I called my agent and said, ‘I haven’t had so much fun on a set in so long.’ Cynthia Nixon [Miranda Hobbes] directed that episode, and it was a silly role, and they kept saying, ‘This is so reminiscent of the Sex and the City series,’ because it was so much fun. I totally embraced it. From the producers on down, it was such a welcoming group of people that it was a great time, and a positive memory.”
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June 2017
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