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GENERAL HOSPITAL

Jeff Kober Reveals What’s Next After GENERAL HOSPITAL

What started as a three-month stint turned into a year-and-a-half run for Jeff Kober on GENERAL HOSPITAL. After the villainous Cyrus Renault made his debut in February 2020, the character was given some relatives on the canvas, including longtime star Genie Francis’ Laura Webber Collins. But instead of being redeemed, Cyrus went completely off the rails, being shipped off to prison in June 2021.

However, on a visit to the That’s Awesome podcast hosted by GH stars Steve Burton (Jason) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli), Kober admitted he thought he was done slightly earlier than he actually was. “We did what I thought was my final scene and I said, ‘Thank you, goodbye’ and I was shaking hands and hugging people,” he recalled with a laugh. “And one of the producers came running out and said, ‘No! No! You have one more day!’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s awkward!”

Since leaving GH, Kober has auditioned a little, but has mainly been putting his focus elsewhere. “I have some art prints in the store and I have a tintype photography series that I’m in the middle of doing,” he reported. “I was just admitted to a show in New York. And I’m using the time to write. I have two books that I’m trying to finish. So I’ve got plenty to do. And I get to audition once in a while.”

But while he appreciates relaxing a little after the hectic pace of shooting a daytime soap, the actor is also looking forward to applying what he learned while doing GH to his future work. “Just the importance of knowing your lines cold, no matter what,’ Kober explained. “And the importance of throwing yourself into the moment regardless of how much homework you’ve done. And the willingness to do that. I really want to try that out in another show. In another venue where you’re shooting maybe eight pages a day instead of 120.”

Still, should GH come calling, Kober would be more than happy to bring Cyrus back to the canvas for another go-round. “Well, I suggested to Frank [Valentini, GH’s executive producer] that maybe Cyrus goes to the big house and finds religion and comes back as an itinerant evangelist preacher and really tries to sell people on accepting Christ into their life,” he confided before adding with a chuckle, “And… he didn’t buy it.”

GH Cyrus Martin Florence
Cyrus showed hints of having a heart, so might the villain be redeemable?ABC

The material that Kober delivered in 2020 got him a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor, and he also gave even more powerful performances in 2021 that he could submit for next year’s contest. So he is more than happy with his experience on GH. “The last week of shooting, all that big stuff where I was in the hostage situation and ready to kill Genie’s character and myself,” Kober recalled. “I left it all there. As actors, that’s the best we can ask for. That we put ourselves into it entirely, left it there, walked away, and left it to someone else to sweep up the pieces.

“If it comes back, it comes back,” he added. “If it doesn’t, I’m so satisfied with the experience I had and with all the fantastic people I got to work with.”

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